Hun Sen on EIU instability report in Cambodia: Deny! Deny! Deny!

PM again refutes UK report purporting instability of Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has once again dismissed a UK report claiming that the kingdom is among the top five countries at high risk of political instability amid the current global economic climate, the official Agence Kampuchea Presse (AKP) said on Tuesday.

With its report, British think tank the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) possibly aimed to interrupt the foreign investment in Cambodia, the AKP quoted the premier as telling the 5th Asia Economic Forum here on Monday.

Fortunately, all the projects in Cambodia were now going ahead, and didn't retreat, he added.

The premier also revealed that the EIU had invited him to visit England in September and he still hesitated whether to accept it or not.

The recently issued EIU report classified the risk of social upheaval and political unrest as high or very high in 95 countries, as a result of the current global financial crisis. Cambodia was ranked fourth in terms of such threat.

In late March, Hun Sen had already rejected the report, saying that "we have political stability and live in peace now."

"We know that their assessment had other purposes inside," he added.

Top CPP leaders afraid of being uncovered by the KR Tribunal?

Cambodia's ruling party warns against politicising genocide trials

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Cambodia's powerful ruling party Monday warned against politicising the country's genocide trials, while voicing its support for prosecuting leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime.

Speaking at a ceremony marking the 29th anniversary of the ouster of the Khmer Rouge, Chea Sim, president of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), said he believed the trials had international backing.

But he also lashed out at "absent-minded elements" and "ill-willed political circles" who oppose efforts by Cambodia to reconcile after years of civil strife, which include trying those behind the Khmer Rouge killing fields.

"We condemn any acts to use the courts with the aim of creating instability or disrupting society," he said.

The five top surviving leaders of the regime, blamed for the deaths of up to two million people through overwork, execution or starvation between 1975 and 1979, were arrested last year by Cambodia's UN-backed genocide tribunal.

The first public trials are expected to be held this year, but the tribunal has been plagued over the last decade by delays amid concerns over political interference.

Rights groups and some opposition politicians have accused the government of trying to derail the trials for fear of exposing atrocities committed by former regime cadres currently serving in Prime Minister Hun Sen's administration.

Hun Sen himself was a former Khmer Rouge military commander who later fled to Vietnam and returned as part of a Hanoi-backed military force that helped overthrow the regime in January 1979.

Sam Rainsy: Hun Sen’s warning of land price tumbling is an election scare tactics

Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

On Monday, Prime Minister Hun Sen told a crowd in Takeo province that if there were to be a new leader who will replace him, the price of lands will tumble from $2 million per hectare to $500 per hectare, this means that if there will not be Hun Sen to lead Cambodia, instability will happen and the price of real estate will tumble. Opposition leader Sam Rainsy called Hun Sen’s declaration as an election scare tactics. Sam Rainsy said economic improvement in Cambodia has more to do with regional development and not from Hun Sen’s leadership. Sam Rainsy told The Cambodia Daily that even if there is a new prime minister, the Cambodian economy will still be good. Mar Sophal, Comfrel monitoring chief, also said that Hun Sen wants to pressure voters by threatening instability. He said that Cambodia has many able figures who can lead the country. However, a foreign business expert said that Hun Sen’s leadership is an important factor in raising the confidence of the business sector.