Cambodia: Democracy under threat amid mounting 'climate of fear' – report

Hun Sen attends the funeral of Cambodia's late Deputy Prime Minister Sok An in Phnom Penh. Source: Reuters

Cambodia: Democracy under threat amid mounting 'climate of fear' – report

| 21 March 2017

CAMBODIA’s ruling party under Prime Minister Hun Sen’s leadership is cultivating a “climate of fear” as the government continues an ongoing effort to undermine the capacity of the political opposition in the country, Southeast Asian parliamentarians have said.

In a report entitled “Death Knell for Democracy”, the Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) claims democracy in Cambodia is being “systematically dismantled”.

The report warns new amendments to the Law on Political Parties passed in March, grants “unprecedented powers” to the executive and judicial branches to suspend and dissolve political parties.

The new law bars anyone convicted of a crime from holding top offices in a political party. Former opposition leader Sam Rainsy was forced to resign last month to preserve the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP).

Other amendments put the party at risk of being dissolved for fanning “disunity,” which critics say is deliberately vague.

Rainsy had resigned last month to preserve the CNRP. Source: Reuters/Romeo Ranoco

SEE ALSO: Cambodia: Opposition leader Sam Rainsy resigns ‘for the sake of the party’

The report accuses the Cambodia People’s Party (CPP) of nearly two years of persecution of parliamentarians that has included “threats, intimidation, and orchestrated physical violence”, which have contributed to a climate of fear among opposition voices in government and civil society.

“Parliamentarians have been victims of physical attacks – prominently in October 2015 when two CNRP MPs were brutally beaten by a pro-government mob outside the National Assembly – as well as verbal and online threats from CPP leaders, members, and supporters, and other forms of intimidation.”

The report points out while such threats are not a new feature in Cambodian politics, the escalation of the harassment, both in its frequency and severity, has been a particularly concerning development in the past several years.

“CPP’s tactics have increasingly threatened not only the safety of opposition parliamentarians, but the credibility and effectiveness of democratic institutions themselves,” the report said.

The judicial system has repeatedly been used to silence opposition, evidently displaying its lack of independence.

The report noted in the past three years, 15 parliamentarians have found themselves the victims of criminal charges and court proceedings. At least eight have seen their cases put on hold, but not dropped, leaving the charges – which could be revived at any time – as threats hanging over their heads, according to the report.

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The cases reveal deep flaws in the judicial system and demonstrate the body remains heavily influenced by the executive branch.

“Their nature, as well as the manner in which they have been raised, investigated, and prosecuted, leaves little doubt as to their political motivations,” the report states.

The APHR believes CPP’s motivation is to “cripple the opposition” in advance of critical commune-level and national elections in 2017 and 2018 respectively, and their efforts are “undermining the fundamental functions and institutions of democratic governance.”

The CPP “has dispensed with adherence to proper procedures and relied heavily on a politicised judicial system, a pliant legislature, and violent mobs to carry out its goals,” the report said, as well as “threaten the system itself and make reform an ever more distant possibility.”

In response to the concerns, the APHR suggests addressing persecution and threats against lawmakers must be a “priority for all parties interested in stability, prosperity, and accountability in Cambodia,” and recommends the immediate repeal of the amendments to the Law on Political Parties.

The group also calls for the government to decriminalise defamation and insulting public officials, and repeal any other provisions in Cambodian legislation which “fail to adhere…to international law regarding freedom of expression.”