Hun Sen back on Facebook after row

Cambodia’s ex-leader Hun Sen returned to Facebook yesterday, claiming the social media giant had “rendered justice” to him by refusing to suspend his account after he posted violent threats on the platform.

In a post, Hun Sen said Facebook had rejected a recommendation from its Oversight Board to suspend his account after he had posted a video threatening to beat up his rivals.

It is the latest twist in a months-long row that has seen the prolific user quit Cambodia’s most popular social media site, deactivate his account and threaten to ban the platform.

“I have decided to use Facebook again ... after Facebook rejected recommendations of a group of bad people and rendered justice to me,” he wrote, referencing the Oversight Board.

Hun Sen’s hugely popular page – which has around 14 million followers – was reactivated in July, but his social media assistant claimed to be running it in his place at the time.

The row kicked off in June when the platform’s Oversight Board recommended that Hun Sen’s Facebook and Instagram accounts be suspended for six months due to a video he posted in January.

In the clip, he told opponents they would face legal action or a beating with sticks if they accused his party of vote theft during elections in July.

The Oversight Board’s recommendation prompted a furious reaction from the then-prime minister, who banned Facebook representatives from the country and blacklisted more than 20 members of the panel.

However, Hun Sen said yesterday the Ministry of Telecommunications would allow Facebook representatives to return to work in Cambodia – although the ban on members of the Oversight Board remained. – AFP