At Angkor Wat, Cambodian strongman stamps brand on kingdom
ANGKOR, Cambodia: Thousands of orange-clad monks joined Cambodian Premier Hun Sen Sunday for a prayer ceremony by the famed Angkor temple, lauding ‘political stability’ after the main opposition party was dissolved, an act that has cemented the strongman’s grip on power.
Hun Sen has ruled Cambodia since 1985, making him one of the world’s longest-serving leaders, an accolade earned through a mix of cold political strategy, deft public relations and repression.
His rule appears virtually assured after a court early this month disbanded the main opposition party ahead of next year’s elections. As dawn rose over the tiered stone domes of Angkor Wat, Hun Sen joined prayers with 5,000 Buddhist monks, in a ceremony touted as celebrating peace and stability at the symbolic heart of Khmer power.
Graceful apsara dancers, fingers curled in the traditional art, went through their moves as thousands gathered for the event at the vast Angkor complex – the centrepiece of the Khmer empire which draws back to the 9th century.
Hun Sen, who has cast himself as a figure of stability in a country ravaged by the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, was front and centre of a morning of careful choreography.
Kneeling, hands clasped in prayer, he received blessings from monks who sang Buddhist mantras and scattered flower petals.
“We live with peace under the prime minister’s rule,” Prum Seab, 49, who was among the crowd told AFP. “I am happy.”
Analysts had predicted a strong challenge to Hun Sen at next year’s election, after the youth vote in 2013 took the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) to its best ever electoral result. — AFP