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| PHOTO: Prime Minister Hun Sen has led Cambodia for more than three decades. (Supplied: The Phnom Penh Post) |
Cambodia changes political rules in 'triumph of dictatorship', critics say
ABC (Australia) | 20 February 2017
Cambodia's authoritarian government has changed the law covering political parties, in what some commentators are calling the "final triumph of dictatorship".
Key points:
- The change makes it easy to dissolve a political party if it threatens 'national unity'
- Two senior opposition figures would be barred from politics under the laws
- Prime Minister Hun Sen has led Cambodia since 1985
The amendments make it easy for Cambodia's Ministry of Interior and Supreme Court — both widely seen as controlled by the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) — to dissolve a political party on the basis that it threatens "national unity".
A new ban on people with criminal convictions from holding senior political party roles or standing for office effectively bars opposition figure Sam Rainsy.
He lives in France to avoid defamation charges he says were politically motivated.
"The passage of these amendments marks the final consolidation of absolute power in the hands of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the ruling Cambodian People's Party," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
Hun Sen has served as Prime Minister for more than three decades.
The National Assembly vote was never in doubt after the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) boycotted the vote.
Approval by the Senate and the King is considered a formality.
Laws could have 'chilling effect' ahead of elections
The amendments outlaw foreign donations which will starve the opposition party of money from the diaspora, including Cambodians living in Australia.
Mr Rainsy resigned his position this month ahead of the changes, and President Kem Sokha has also been sentenced by Cambodia's notoriously pliant courts on charges he says are politically motivated.
The opposition gave the ruling party a real scare in the last election and these amendments are widely seen as changing the political environment before local elections in June.
A national election is due in 2018.
"What if the ruling party felt that they can no longer win the hearts and minds of the public, then could the law be used [to dissolve the opposition]"" asked Ou Vireak, an independent political commentator at think tank Future Forum.
Ou Vireak believes the CPP will not immediately use the new powers but will keep them "hanging" over the opposition, with a chilling effect on political participation.
West largely silent on opposition attacks
Australia played a key role in helping Cambodia emerge from the Khmer Rouge years, but Western donors have remained largely silent about attacks against the opposition, civil society and the media in recent years.
Hun Sen has backed China in a regional dispute over the South China Sea and other sensitive issues, receiving generous financial support in return.
"China's investment in Cambodia comes with very few strings attached ... and so the idea of having elections is enough for China, whether they're competitive or not is a moot point," said Lee Morgenbesser, a specialist in authoritarian regimes, at Griffith University.
"Then on the other side you have the United States pulling out, or away from, Cambodia in terms of its traditional policy," Mr Morgenbesser said.
But Ou Vireak believes there is still a place for international influence.
"Any Cambodian Government needs the support of the West, they need legitimacy, so because of that they're not going to go too far yet."
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