Cambodia adopts anti-America line
PHNOM PENH: Cambodia hit back yesterday at US criticism over its decision to expel a US-funded pro-democracy group, accusing Washington of political interference and describing American democracy as “bloody and brutal”.
Prime Minister Hun Sen, the strongman who has ruled Cambodia for three decades, has taken a strident anti-American line in the increasingly tense run-up to an election next year.
The US State Department criticised Cambodia’s decision to expel the National Democratic Institute (NDI) on Wednesday and a statement from the US embassy in Phnom Penh questioned whether Cambodia was a democracy.
In an open letter yesterday, the Cambodian government asked whether the US was “coming to Cambodia to help or hinder the Khmer people” and blamed it for contributing to the rise of the genocidal Khmer Rouge in the 1970s.
“Cambodians are well aware of what a democratic process means. You do not need to tell us what it is,” the letter said, describing US-style democracy as “bloody and brutal”.
“We wish to send a clear message again to the US Embassy that we defend our national sovereignty.”
Tensions have risen in Cambodia, with rights groups and the UN expressing alarm and the opposition accusing Hun Sen of persecution ahead of the election.
After the government’s order to expel the NDI and a threat to shut down a newspaper founded by a US journalist, the US State Department voiced concern at the government “curtailing freedom of the press and civil society’s ability to operate”.
Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge commander who is one of China’s closest regional allies, warned of a possible return to war if his party doesn’t win the elections.
The NDI has urged Cambodia to reconsider its decision to shut it down. The institute said it worked with all major parties and was “strictly non-partisan”.
Hun Sen has also targeted local media in what rights groups say is a growing crackdown ahead of the election.
Cambodia’s ministry of information has also revoked the licence of a local radio station for selling air time to the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party.