‘Death of democracy’ in Cambodia as court dissolves opposition and outlaws politicians

CAMBODIA has been accused of “killing off democracy” after the country’s supreme court dissolved the opposition party and outlawed more than 100 politicians ahead of a general election.

Yesterday’s ruling to disband the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) was widely expected amid the most severe crackdown on freedom and human rights in two decades.

The government of Hun Sen, the prime minister and a firebrand former Khmer Rouge fighter who has held office for 32 years, had already accused the CNRP of plotting a Us-backed revolution. Kem Sokha, the party’s leader, was jailed in September.

After a horrific genocide in the Seventies, when the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot, the dictator, killed as many as three million people, Cambodia has functioned nominally as a democracy since 1993. Analysts say the dissolution of the opposition reveals Mr Sen’s desire to cling to power after a surge in the CNRP’S popularity.

“This is the end of democracy in Cambodia. We have not done anything wrong. We have fought for democracy. They have killed the will of more than three million people in Cambodia,” said Yim Sovann, CNRP spokesman, referring to the party’s recent support in June’s local elections.

Mu Sochua, 63, the deputy opposition leader, has been lobbying for international help since she fled her homeland in October, after being accused of being an “urban terrorist.” She met with British officials in London this week to shore up support for sanctions on the regime. Britain is one of Cambodia’s most important trading partners, importing roughly $1billion (£760million) worth of goods in 2016.

She told The Daily Telegraph the party was anxious to see more action from the international community, “especially the UK”, and hoped yesterday’s decision would be seen as “a red line being crossed”.

“You can let peace die, democracy die in Cambodia or you can take action to be accountable to your own taxpayers,” Ms Sochua said.

She added: “If the prime minister can go as far as dissolving the party that is the only competitor, I think Mr Hun Sen can do anything else, so the situation for democracy and for peace in Cambodia looks really bleak.”