Cambodia’s democracy betrayed
Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia has been in power for more than 30 years. On Wednesday, he vowed to stay in power. “After witnessing the treasonous acts of some Cambodians in recent days,” he said, “I have decided to continue my job for another 10 years.”
Citizens might have thought it was up to them to decide, in general elections next year, who will govern their country. Mr. Hun Sen has set them straight: He has no intention of losing that election or future ones to an opposition that did better than expected in the last vote in 2013. If this means charging opposition leaders with treason, so be it.
Earlier this month, Kem Sokha, leader of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, was arrested on absurd charges of plotting to overthrow Mr. Hun Sen’s government. The charges were based on a 2013 video in which Mr. Kem Sokha spoke of bringing democratic change to Cambodia.
Mr. Hun Sen’s government has also forced the 24-year-old Cambodia Daily newspaper to close over trumped-up charges of tax evasion. That comes on the heels of the closing of 15 independent radio stations broadcasting programs from Voice of America and Radio Free Asia. “After they close down all the independent newspapers and radio stations,” the Daily reporter Aun Pheap observed, “no one will be able to print true information for the upcoming election.”
Senator John McCain has urged the Trump administration, which has shown little concern about the global rise of autocracy, to “send a strong message that the United States is committed to promoting democracy, human rights and rule of law in Cambodia and throughout the world.” The European Union has asked for Mr. Kem Sokha’s release.
Mr. Hun Sen has much at stake. His family has grown exceedingly rich in a country ranked the most corrupt in Southeast Asia by Transparency International. He has the support of China, which provided Cambodia with nearly $5 billion in loans and investment from 2011 to 2015.
But if he doesn’t drop the charges against Mr. Kem Sokha; permit a credible political opposition; and allow The Daily, radio stations and all news outlets to operate freely, the world will know that Cambodia is no longer a democracy.