Commentary
Cambodia’s Slide Into Repression
On Nov. 13, Cambodia’s dictatorial prime minister Hun Sen ousted
opposition leader Sam Rainsy, stripping him of his seat in parliament
and calling for his arrest. These latest actions against Rainsy are
representative of Cambodia’s long muddle through a sort of unfree
democracy.
Cambodia’s latest actions should remind the international community
of the commitments it made in the Paris Peace Accords, which ended the
1978-1991 war in Cambodia. The agreement did not only formalize the end
of the war begun by Vietnam’s invasion and establish the basis for
elections, but parties to the accords also committed to hold Cambodia to
liberal ideals.
The U.S. must uphold commitments made during the Paris Peace Accord
and ensure that it is taking sufficient action to ensure political
freedom for the people of Cambodia.
Rainsy’s removal was prompted by comments
he made suggesting that repressive regimes in Southeast Asia—especially
dictatorships like Cambodia, where Hun Sen has retained power for
almost 30 years—must feel threatened by the success of recent elections
Burma. Rainsy’s arrest warrant was based on 2011 convictions, which were
never enforced for alleged defamation against Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong. Now Hun Sen is calling for their enforcement.
Rainsy remains abroad visiting with the Cambodian diaspora in Japan and Korea and has been urged by the international community not to immediately return to Cambodia.
Tensions have escalated over the past several months between Hun
Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and the opposition Cambodian
National Rescue Party (CNRP). Just last month, vice president of the
national assembly and opposition leader Kem Sokha was removed from power.
This came on the heels of violence against other opposition
parliamentarians who were beaten up by ruling party members calling for
Kem Sokha’s removal.
Democracy in Cambodia is more a turn of phrase than a reality. July
2013 elections were replete with error and voter fraud. Despite this,
the 2013 elections were closer to an opposition victory than in a great
many years. For months, the CNRP boycotted parliament, alleging
vote-rigging on the part of the CPP and calling for a second, more
credible investigation into election results.
Democracy in Cambodia is more a turn of phrase than a reality.
While the two parties did eventually reach an agreement in July 2014,
and CNRP parliamentarians took their seats in parliament, the agreement was not ideal.
Originally the CNRP had requested reform to the election oversight
body, the National Election Committee (NEC); early elections in February
2016; and a television station for the CNRP. They were also looking for
the release of political prisoners and a clean investigation into 2013
election results. The deal really only resulted in a promise of reform
to the NEC. While the two parties undertook NEC and National Election Law reform, recent violence undermines progress.
These latest actions against Rainsy and Sokha, as well as the
violence against CNRP parliamentarians, represent yet another step away
from the inclusivity required to maintain a democratic framework in
Cambodia. The U.S. Department of State has called upon the Cambodian government to immediately reinstate Rainsy and revoke the warrant for his arrest.
There are other steps that the international community can and should take. In 1991, the Paris Peace Accords,
which were signed in the wake of the Khmer Rouge, obligated signatories
to monitor and assist Cambodia in its adherence to democratic
principles. Due to the significant decline in democratic freedoms in
Cambodia (failure to hold free and fair 2013 elections, continued
detention of political prisoners, violence against CNRP protesters
post-2013 elections, and the targeting of high-level CNRP officials
including Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha), the Paris Peace Accords signatories
should form a contact group to evaluate the state of human rights and
political and economic freedom in Cambodia, as well as provide
assistance to ensure that Cambodia remains on a path to democracy.
The international community should closely watch Cambodia to see
whether democracy continues to disintegrate. It is in the best interest
of Southeast Asia and the international community that Cambodia adhere
to democratic principles, especially as other historically repressive
nations like Burma are turning from their wayward ways toward democracy.
No comments:
Post a Comment