Cracking down on Cambodians to serve Hanoi's interest: Hun Xen's true nature?

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen at Phnom Penh international airport November 8, 2009. Cambodia marked the 31st anniversary of the fall of the murderous Khmer Rouge regime on Thursday in celebrations clouded by the threat of a crackdown on opponents of long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen. (REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea/Files)

Cambodia marks liberation under cloud of crackdown

Thu Jan 7, 2010
By Prak Chan Thul

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia marked the 31st anniversary of the fall of the murderous Khmer Rouge regime on Thursday in celebrations clouded by the threat of a crackdown on opponents of long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Before the festivities, attended by thousands of people in the capital Phnom Penh, the premier vowed to arrest anyone seen handing out leaflets opposing his rule, the latest in what rights groups say is a growing campaign to silence dissent.

Hun Sen's warning to his critics, who say the government is abusing its power to crush all forms of political opposition, came five days after a court issued an arrest warrant for main opposition leader Sam Rainsy.

The crackdown coincides with trouble in one of Southeast Asia's most impoverished economies after an unprecedented boom which saw economic production expand 10 percent annually in the five years up to 2008. Since then, foreign investment has collapsed, tourist arrivals have plummeted and construction has stalled.

Data this week showed about 30,000 workers in the garment industry, a mainstay of the economy, lost their jobs last year as exports to the United States shrank.

Opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua, sued by Hun Sen in July after she accused him of defamation, on Thursday called on the public to resist what she said were intimidation tactics by authorities. "We must still continue to express opinions, not back down because of threats," she said. "We must give a clear message that we can't accept the closure of free expression."

ARREST THREAT

Hun Sen on Tuesday announced the threat to arrest anyone handing out leaflets that express opposition to him or his policies. He said he had seen some such leaflets that were printed in neighbouring Thailand for distribution in Cambodia.

"Leaflet distributors be careful, I will arrest," he said.

He also rejected claims he had been using the courts to intimidate his opponents and warned Rainsy to "be prepared" to go to prison, adding that his long-time political rival, who is now in exile in Europe, would not be pardoned.

The threat appeared effective. No opposition leaflets appeared during Thursday's celebrations marking an invasion by Vietnamese forces in 1979 that toppled the ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge, blamed for the deaths of 1.7 million people.

The National Assembly, dominated by the ruling Cambodia People's Party, passed legislation last year outlawing protests of more than 200 people and tightening existing defamation laws in what opponents said were measures to prevent criticism and keep rival politicians in check.

Risk analysts say despite corruption and concerns over human rights and judicial interference, Cambodia's political and economic stability should remain intact in the foreseeable future, with little threat to the government's grip on power.

South Korea and China, the country's biggest sources of investment, signed agreements late last year to pour more money into Cambodia, which will open its first stock exchange later this year as part of a $2 billion project to build a new financial centre.

Rainsy, who heads a party named after him, is accused of causing criminal damage after uprooting several border demarcation posts to appease farmers.

(Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Jason Szep)