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| The strongman, his wife and their phalanx of cronies |
Phnom Penh's foreign donors are enabling abuses of human rights.
September 20, 2012
The Wall Street Journal
Phnom Penh's international donors might stop to consider that Cambodia's oppressive cronyism is ultimately a manifestation of its disregard for the human right of private property. Absent meaningful pressure to protect property rights, foreign aid and investment will bring limited benefits.
On Sept. 11, the body of Cambodian journalist Hang Serei Oudom was found stuffed into the trunk of his car with his head bashed in. At the time of his death, Mr. Oudom was writing about collusion between local businessmen and officials in the mountainous northwest. There as elsewhere in the country politicians, officials and logging companies have conspired to clear-cut virgin forests that are supposedly protected by the government.
The murder of Mr. Oudom is hardly an aberration in Cambodia. At least 10 journalists have been killed in Cambodia since 1996. Social activists have fared no better: In April, a military policeman shot and killed environmentalist Chhut Vuthy as he investigated illegal logging in southwestern Koh Kong province. Dozens more have been summarily imprisoned for protesting illegal land seizures.
In 2011, Transparency International ranked Cambodia 164th out of 182 countries in its annual Corruption Perception Index. Rampant cronyism also suits Cambodia's one true foreign friend, China, which has poured billions of dollars of aid and soft loans into the country. In the process it has secured economic concessions and diplomatic fealty. At the July 11-12 summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Phnom Penh, Cambodian diplomats scuppered a collective response to Beijing's encroachment in the South China Sea. Coincidentally, Beijing this month announced another $2.5 billion in investment and soft loans.
