US, ASEAN urged to press Cambodia on ‘crackdown'

US, ASEAN urged to press Cambodia on ‘crackdown'

Turkish Daily | 9 February 2016

Election-monitoring, legal and human rights groups called on U.S. and ASEAN leaders Tuesday to press Cambodia on its human rights record and ability to hold fair elections when they hold multilateral talks next week.

The upcoming meeting, scheduled to take place in California on Feb. 15-16, is being touted as another opportunity for to “strengthen cooperation under the new U.S.-ASEAN strategic partnership” launched in November in Kuala Lumpur, according to a White House statement last year.

The 12 signatories of a letter released Tuesday expressed hope that Cambodia’s democratic ASEAN partners, as well as Washington, will hold it to task for the “abuse of power in cracking down on opposition party members and activists”.

It also drew attention to “excessive and arbitrary charges brought by the government without legitimate grounds, and enforced by a weak and partial judiciary, against political party members and activists”.

Cambodia is headed toward its next round of elections -- the commune elections in 2017, followed by the 2018 national elections.

The signatories expressed concerns that “a disturbing increase in action taken by the government against opposition party members and activists” in 2015 does not bode well for that election season, casting doubts on the likelihood of them being free and fair.

Last year, opposition leader Sam Rainsy went into self-imposed exile again after an arrest warrant was issued against him in a years-old defamation case.

Meanwhile, two of his party’s lawmakers were viciously beaten outside parliament by a pro-government mob that had called for the ouster of the party’s deputy leader.

During a fleeting visit to Phnom Penh last month, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry espoused the virtues of “vigorous and peaceful debate” in the lead-up to elections.

He underlined that he had “made it clear in my meetings today that it’s our hope… that Cambodia will realize the full benefits of a thriving multi-party democracy.”

He added: “We care deeply about respect for human rights, universal freedoms and good governance, and progress in each of these areas is critical in being able to fulfil the potential of bilateral relations, but hopefully also the hopes and aspirations of the Cambodian people.”

However, whether or not these issues will make any ripples during the upcoming summit between the U.S. and 10-member Southeast Asian bloc remains to be seen.

After all, some of Cambodia’s ASEAN bedfellows have been grappling with their own sovereign human rights and corruption issues.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has been rocked by allegations of corruption after it emerged that he received at least $680 million from the Saudi royal family; Thailand’s junta has made repeated delays in its promise to hold elections since seizing power in 2014; and Muslim Rohingya people continue to flee persecution in Myanmar.

Cambodian Council of Ministers spokesperson Phay Siphan could not be reached.