Power grab in Cambodia

Monday January 16, 2006
Bangkok Post (www.bangkokpost.com)

It is a tough journey over a long distance to go from dictatorship to democracy. No neighbour better illustrates this at the moment than Cambodia. Prime Minister Hun Sen, an early adopter of autocracy in post-Pol Pot Cambodia, is rapidly advancing past the crossroads where leaders must decide between democracy and dictatorship. He is firmly on the road to totalitarian rule, and has been unabashedly unpleasant about it as well. From illegal manipulation of the system to outright intimidation and bloody brutality, he has put Cambodia on a slippery slope to a violent dictatorship. Only international pressure now seems likely to stop him.

Cambodia has become proof that free elections are only a minor part of the democratic process. The last nationwide election in Cambodia in 2003 passed scrutiny by most international observers. And the voting did, indeed, appear generally free. There were troubling signs of intimidation of both candidates and voters, but in general, election day was basically democratic.
It may have been the last day of freedom for Cambodian democracy, though. When voters in their wisdom denied a parliamentary majority to any party, incumbent Premier Hun Sen refused to negotiate, rejected the idea of either a coalition or national accord. For a year, Cambodia had neither a parliament nor a functioning government, as Hun Sen arranged the deals and bullied to get what he wanted.

For the past 18 months, he has been not just prime minister of Cambodia, but has accumulated power in a totally undemocratic manner. Some autocrats gather power through manipulation of the existing system obeying the letter of the law while flouting its spirit. One need not look outside Thailand for an example.

But Hun Sen and supporters have used strong-arming, physical intimidation and violence. There always were doubts the former Khmer Rouge officer and Vietnamese protege was a reformed democrat, as he claimed. Recent events in Cambodia have showed the doubters were right.

Of course Hun Sen's rise to non-democratic leader began with great violence. His coup in 1997 left hundreds dead and ousted his coalition partner Norodom Ranariddh from government, installed and approved by the failed United Nations military mission to Cambodia. So heavy was that violence that the Thai air force was forced to conduct a Saigon-style evacuation under fire, to save hundreds of Thais and grateful foreigners. Since then, despite the 2003 election, Hun Sen has been on a mission to establish a one-party state.

Recent events are well documented. The leading opposition politician, Sam Rainsy, has fled Cambodia in terror. Members of his party, less sensitive to the danger, have been arrested. A totally unapologetic Hun Sen has launched massive lawsuits against eight opposition critics, and police under his orders have jailed many of the targets. Most of those sued are media critics. Last week, authorities released one of three human rights activists who were arrested on defamation charges. Guess how much the released man, Yeng Virak, coordinator of the Cambodia Centre for Education of Law, will be criticising the government from now on.

All of this intimidation, strong-arming and violence is particularly sad in Cambodia for two reasons. The first is that Hun Sen is not a particularly good leader. The economy has not improved by any government efforts, public infrastructure is a disgrace and poverty kills hundreds of Cambodians. All of this happens while international donors have failed to account for huge percentages of the billions of dollars in sympathetic aid poured into Cambodia. We should not forget, either, that Hun Sen played the most important public role in sparking the racist riots against Thais in Cambodia by loudly spreading the lie of a Thai actress who spoke against Angkor Wat.

Just as importantly is the murderous recent past of Cambodia. It should be a country promoting national unity, working towards freedom and democracy precisely the opposite of its sufferings under the Khmer Rouge and then under Vietnamese occupation. Khmers are no less patriotic and loyal than Hun Sen just because they are in the political opposition. The tyrannical actions against them are sad and not supportable. Friends of Cambodia, starting with Thailand, should tell this to the Cambodian leader.