Cambodia becomes a Dictatorship

Cambodians thought that their country would slowly become more democratic. But that hope was buried.  The Cambodian Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP (Cambodia National Rescue Party) ahead of the elections in 2018. Only the CNRP could have competed with the CPP (Cambodian People’s Party), which has been in power for more than three decades. The CPP knows it can’t survive a new popularity test. The CNRP almost won the elections of 2013. It made more progress with the local elections in June. It’s evident to prevent a defeat, it has started the final assault on the opposition. The CNRP is now dissolved and the party’s president Kem Sokha is in prison. Half of the 55 members of parliament have fled the country. Human rights groups condemned the dissolution of the CNRP and asked the West to act. “The international community cannot stand idly, it must send a strong signal that this crackdown is unacceptable,” said James Gomez, Amnesty International’s Director of Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

 Hun Sen is the world’s longest-serving prime minister. “I could easily continue for another 10 years,” the 65-year-old Hun Sen told reporters.

Nobody dares protest since the government stepped up the crackdown on democracy. Kem Ley, a popular journalist and a government critic has been murdered. The gunman is behind bars. “That’s not the real killer,” Phauk Se, his mother, says in a timid voice. “If the government really wanted, they would have found the real culprit.”

No Cambodian believes that the killer acted alone. But nobody dares to express their suspicion. “Who has the real power? There is only one party who can organize such a murder,” says Kem Rithisith, the brother of Kem Ley, without naming it. “There was a second finger on the trigger, and everyone knows whose finger that was.”

at the market of Takeo, Kem Ley's hometown, a woman says “The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. We want change.” 

Mu Sochua the vice-president of the CNRP,  fled Cambodia after she was tipped off about her impending arrest.

“The dissolution of the CNRP is a big miscalculation of Hun Sen. The discontent will only continue to rise. Until now the CNRP has channeled this peacefully. But soon people might take their anger to the streets.” She continued, It needs only one spark to start violent protests, like Tunisia and the Arab Spring. I’m very afraid of violence. Hun Sen will do anything to stay in power. If people would dare to protest, the tanks will be waiting. Blood on the streets is not a victory for democracy. It’s a return to the dark ages. We want people to stay hopeful. The CNRP is more than a party. We don’t care about the political game. We want democracy in Cambodia, that’s our real job.”

 Lawmaker Kimsour says "The CPP is afraid – of losing power. We are witnessing the death of democracy in Cambodia. Hun Sen is showing his true face. He is a dictator now. We are counting on the West. Only economic sanctions can help us.

The Cambodian economy strongly depends on tourism and the garment industry. If the factories stop producing, 700,000 workers will lose their jobs. Hun Sun would have a major crisis on his hands. China has proved in recent years that it has the will and the money to back up Phnom Penh. 

“But that’s not guaranteed,” says Ou Chanrath, who lost his job as a lawmaker because of the courts decree. “The Chinese are still dependent on the West. The garment factories are Chinese, but the exports go to the West. When sanctions hit Cambodia, they will pack their bags.”

http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/11/the-birth-of-a-dictator/