In his most recent coup against democracy, human rights, freedom of the press and freedom of speech, Hun Sen took a page right out of communist
Next, Hun Sen had the publisher of the leading opposition newspaper arrested and the paper shut down for publishing articles critical of Hun Sen. He then had the director of the country’s only independent radio station -- Behive FM -- arrested and charged with defaming him by broadcasting interviews criticizing Hun Sen for allowing
Hun Sen then had several leading human rights advocates arrested and detained including Kem Sokha, the president of the
Hun Sen is a creation of
Ironically, Kem Sokha and the other critics of Hun Sen received worse treatment during their incarceration than did notorious military chief for the Chinese-backed Pol Pot faction of the Khmer Rouge, the “Butcher” Ta Mok. The Butcher has a rather comfortable cell with a desk and bed and special meals, while the human rights activists shared crowded, vermin and mosquito infested cells with criminals and murderers. It is widely rumored in Cambodia that the reason that Ta Mok and the other Khmer Rouge leaders enjoy special privileges and have not been brought to trial is that they have threatened to “rat out” Hun Sen for his real role in the Khmer Rouge.
Hun Sen and another Cambodian communist party leader, Heng Samrin, were the Vietnamese-backed Khmer Rouge military leaders in charge of the Eastern Zone next to
Furthermore, Hun Sen has enlisted several notorious Khmer Rouge military leaders into his present army, and gave amnesty to Pol Pot’s brother-in-law Ieng Sary, known as “Little Brother No. 2,” who was cofounder and co-leader of Pol Pot’s genocidal killing machine. Hun Sen rewarded Ing Sary and his fellow murders a fiefdom rich in gems on the Thai border, an area now filled with lucrative gambling casinos.
The recent arrests were to silence the growing protest over the borderland giveaway, and to intimidate the opposition before the upcoming elections. The border protests were an embarrassment to both
According to many of his followers, Sam Rainsy acquiesced and surrendered his dignity in a pitiful letter to Hun Sen in which Rainsy confessed that all his accusations and criticisms were lies and begged forgiveness. For them, it's a shame that he fell into Hun Sen’s trap and they now equate him to Neville Chamberlin, saying Rainsy has betrayed his country, his followers, and his friends, and has now destroyed the only functioning opposition in
As he did with Prince Ranariddth, the leader of the once viable opposition Royal Party, Hun Sen first emasculated the opposition with false charges, prison sentences, and pardons, and then invited them back to the political trough to share in the wealth of rampant corruption. The release of the jailed political critics and Rainsy's pardon are but a sham to soften next month’s donors meeting. By his actions, Hun Sen is just thumbing his nose at the donors, for he knows they will keep doling out the money to fatten his and his cronies’ bank accounts (e.g., the day Rainsy was sentenced, IMF forgave an 82 million dollar debt that Cambodia owed the fund).
Hun Sen owes all this to
Hun Sen has instilled a climate of fear in all opposition individuals and parties in
As a way of consolidating his power, if an elected official speaks out against him, Hun Sen just strips them of their parliamentary immunity and replaces them with his cronies. He has replaced them with some of
Hun Sen and his cronies have set up a number of dummy companies through which donor funds are skimmed and sent to offshore bank accounts. The Hun Sen regime is the epitome of a Kleptocracy -- a government characterized by rampant greed and corruption. The only way that democracy will begin to flourish in Cambodia is for the U.S. and other donor countries to set up a tracking system for money laundering as that for Al Queda and for drug lords and begin freezing the bank accounts of Hun Sen and his corrupt cabal.
Michael Benge spent 11 years in Viet Nam, over five years as a Prisoner of War—1968-73. While serving as a civilian Foreign Service Officer, he was captured in South Viet Nam by the North Vietnamese and held in numerous camps in South Viet Nam, Cambodia, Laos, and North Viet Nam. Mike is a student of South East Asian politics, is very active in advocating for human rights, religious freedom, and a full and accurate accounting for our POW/MIAs, and has written extensively on these subjects.
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2 comments:
This article is reflecting the real nature of Hun Sen. A friend of mine from Kampuchea Krom said that when Hun Sen visited Vietnam, he can speak Young Trokoun(Hanoi Vietnamese) fluently. They broadcasted it through TV and Radio. I am finding this news is true or not?
However, what is Hun Sen doing is just following Hanoi's commanding.
KounKhmer
strong shit..strong in killing his own people..no on admire, one day his whole families with be sorry...!! a khmer body, with animal head..!!
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