#PM Hun Sen

[southeastasianists]

Undeterred by the pouring rain, a long convoy of motorbikes carrying cheering, flag-waving supporters of Cambodia's ruling party revved their engines in preparation for their triumphant final rally in downtown Phnom Penh.

People dutifully lined the road as far as you could see, party stickers on their cheeks, the sky-blue hats and shirts they had been given to wear getting steadily wetter.

Perched on the back of a truck, Hun Manet, the 45-year-old eldest son of Prime Minister Hun Sen, greeted the crowds proclaiming that only the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) was capable of leading the country.

Indeed, his father had made sure that the CPP was the only party which could possibly win the election.

Hun Sen, 70, has run Cambodia in his trademark pugnacious style for 38 years: first in a Vietnam-installed communist regime, then under a UN-installed multi-party system, and more recently as an increasingly intolerant autocrat.

The only party now capable of challenging his rule, the Candlelight Party, was banned from the election on a technicality in May. The remaining 17 parties allowed to contest it were too small or too little-known to pose a threat.

A few hours after the polls closed, the CPP claimed the expected landslide, with a turnout of more than 80%. There were quite high levels of spoiled ballot papers in some polling stations: that was probably the only safe way voters could show their support for the opposition.

With Hun Manet expected to succeed his father within weeks of the vote, in a long-prepared transfer of power, this felt more like a coronation than an election.

"I don't think we can even call it a sham election," says Mu Sochua, an exiled former minister and member of the CNRP, another opposition party banned by the Cambodian authorities in 2017.

"We should call it a 'selection', for Hun Sen to make sure that his party will select his son as the next prime minister of Cambodia, to continue the dynasty of the Hun family."

Yet there were signs of nervousness in the CPP before the vote. New laws were hurriedly passed criminalising any encouragement of ballot-spoiling or a boycott. Several Candlelight members were arrested.

"Why was the CPP campaigning so hard, against no one in this election with no real opposition?" asks Ou Virak, founder of the Cambodian think tank Future Forum.

"They knew they would win the election - that was an easy outcome for them. But winning legitimacy is much more difficult.

"They need to keep weakening the opposition, but at the same time, they also need to satisfy the people, so there is no repeat of previous setbacks and disruptions, like street protests."

Hun Sen is one of Asia's great survivors, a wily, street-smart politician who has time and again outmanoeuvred his opponents. He has skilfully played off China, by far the biggest foreign investor these days, against the US and Europe, which are trying to claw back lost influence in the region.

But he has come close to losing elections in the past. He is still vulnerable, to rival factions in his own ruling party, and to any sudden downturn in the Cambodian economy which could sour public opinion against him. So as he prepares for a once-in-a-generation leadership change, he is trying to cement his legacy.

A short drive north of the capital, a 33m-high concrete-and-marble monolith was built recently, which he calls the Win-Win memorial.

Its massive base is covered in carved stone reliefs, echoing Cambodia's greatest historic monument, Angkor Wat.

They depict Hun Sen's flight from Khmer Rouge-ruled Cambodia to Vietnam in 1977, his triumphant return with the invading Vietnamese army in 1979, and his eventual deal with the last of the Khmer Rouge leaders in 1998 that ended the long civil war - his win-win for the Cambodian people.

Delivering peace and prosperity has long been Hun Sen's main claim to legitimacy. Since 1998, Cambodia has had one of the world's fastest-growing economies, albeit from a very low base.

But it is a model of growth which has concentrated wealth in the hands of a few families - the number of ultra-luxury cars on the roads of such a low-income country is jarring. It has encouraged rapacious exploitation of Cambodia's natural resources and it has left many ordinary people feeling that they are not winning under Mr Sen.

Prak Sopheap lives with her family at the back of an engine repair shop, squeezed between the main road and one of the many shallow lakes in the low-lying land outside Phnom Penh. They have been there for 25 years, fishing and cultivating vegetables on the lake.

Today, though, much of the lake has been filled with rubble by a property developer and Ms Sopheap's family have been ordered to leave.

She showed me a document from the local council, confirming how long she had lived there, and another document, a summons to court on a charge of illegally occupying state land. She feels powerless and angry - and she is not alone.

Land disputes are among the most incendiary grievances in Cambodia. All property deeds were destroyed in the Khmer Rouge revolution.

Since the end of the civil war, millions of hectares have been allocated for commercial development, a lucrative arrangement which has made many politicians and businesses allied to Hun Sen very rich.

The courts very rarely rule against these powerful interests. Transparency International ranks Cambodia as 150th out of 180 countries for corruption: in the Asia-Pacific region, only Myanmar and North Korea rank lower.

"Hun Sen always talks about his 'win-win policy'", says Ms Sopheap. "But we feel it is he alone who wins. We cannot feel at peace, as we now face eviction. We, the real Cambodian people, who live on this land, are suffering in the name of development."

Those who have tried to campaign against land grabs and evictions have been harassed, beaten and jailed, as have trade unionists and supporters of opposition parties. I asked Ms Sopheap how she would vote in this election. "Who can I choose?" she asked. "Who can protect me?"

Half of those eligible to vote are under 35 years old. The CPP has tried attracting them by having Hun Manet and other younger party leaders run this year's campaign, with a slick social media strategy.

But as most Cambodians have no memory of war or the Khmer Rouge, Ly Chandravuth, a 23-year-old law graduate and environmental activist, says the old CPP campaign points are no longer persuasive.

"Hun Manet's biggest challenge will be that my generation is very different from previous ones, who were traumatised by the Khmer Rouge," he says.

"Since I was a child, I have watched the ruling party reminding us of that tragedy, telling us that as they brought peace, we should support them. But that argument is less and less effective. Every time the ruling party brings it up, the young generation mocks them, because they have been repeating it for 30 years."

Can Hun Manet modify the rough-house, sometimes thuggish leadership style of his father to a softer and more subtle kind of rule? Despite his Western education, his years heading the army and his long apprenticeship, he has never yet held a top political office.

With him, other "princeling" sons of Hun Sen's contemporaries, such as Defence Minister Tea Banh and Interior Minister Sar Keng, are also expected to replace their fathers in the cabinet - a dynastic shift which keeps the levers of power with the same families, but in less experienced hands. The next few years could be a delicate, even dangerous time for Cambodia.

[realitajayasaktigroup]

Menhan Prabowo Temui Hun Manet dan Hun Sen, Perkuat Hubungan Pertahanan Indonesia-Kamboja

ASPIRASINEWS.NET, Kamboja, 6 September 2024 – Menteri Pertahanan Republik Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, melakukan kunjungan kerja ke Kamboja dalam rangka memperkuat hubungan bilateral dengan negara tersebut, khususnya di sektor pertahanan. Dalam kunjungannya, Prabowo bertemu dengan Perdana Menteri Kamboja, H.E. Mr. Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet, serta Presiden Senat, H.E. Mr. Samdech Akka…

[zvaigzdelasas]

7 Jul 23

8 Jul 23

9 Jul 23

10 Jul 23

Laos voices concern over the announcement and the possible use of cluster munitions - Vientiane Times

11 Jul 23

[soldan56]

 “Mi appello ai presidenti Usa e Ucraina, non usate bombe a grappolo nella guerra perché le vere vittime saranno gli ucraini” Dice il premier cambogiano: “È passato oltre 1/2 secolo e non c’è stato modo di distruggerle tutte” (quelle in Cambogia)

[beardedmrbean]

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, one of the world's longest-serving leaders, has announced he will resign and hand over to his son in early August.

The anticipated announcement came three days after his party again won all seats at an uncompetitive election.

Hun Sen, 70, has become increasingly authoritarian after nearly four decades of rule in Cambodia.

He first flagged a transition in 2021, but up to now no one knew exactly when it would take place.

His eldest son, Hun Manet, until recently the commander of the Royal Cambodian Army, has long been groomed for the role.

In his announcement, Hun Sen said his son would be appointed prime minister on 10 August.

"I would like to ask for understanding from the people as I announce that I will not continue as prime minister," he said in a special broadcast on state television.

He said he would be stepping down as staying in office could cause instability. However he will retain leadership of the ruling Cambodian People's Party - a position political analysts say still gives him ultimate control.

Cambodia's election 'was more a coronation'

Asia's longest-serving PM rigs the vote - again

Earlier on Wednesday, state media showed Hun Sen visiting the Cambodian monarch's palace to announce the news of the dynastic succession.

Hun Manet, 45, took a leading role in campaigning for the 23 July election this year - and was often spotted leading rallies next to his father, who has ruled the Southeast Asian nation of 16 million people since 1985.

Sunday's election was widely seen as a done deal, because the only credible opposition party had been disqualified from the vote.

There were 17 other parties on the ballot but they were all too small, new or aligned with the CPP to be considered a real alternative for voters.

The US and the EU both released statements condemning the vote as neither free nor fair.

Hun Sen's elimination of political opponents is part of his wider crackdown on civil space in Cambodia in recent years.

Having consistently crushed his opponents, in 2017 he used the courts to dissolve another popular opposition party, the CNRP, and jail or exile its leaders.

He has also increasingly stifled dissent and free speech - shutting down most independent media in the country. Rights groups, trade unions and NGOs also report facing threats of closure.

Analysts had speculated that his clampdown this year was driven by the need for a smooth transition. It will be Cambodia's first transfer of power in four decades.

Compared to his father, whose iron-fisted rule was forged during and after the days of the Khmer Rouge regime, there is some speculation that Hun Manet, who attended US military academy West Point and the University of Bristol, could lead a less repressive regime and be more receptive to Western calls on human rights.

However analysts say he has shown no evidence that he may be more open. Hun Sen has also made it clear that he will continue to wield enormous influence over the running of the country.

[gooselacom]

Menhan Prabowo Menemui PM dan Presiden Senat Kamboja Membahas Penguatan Kerja Sama

Menhan Prabowo Menemui PM dan Presiden Senat Kamboja Membahas Penguatan Kerja Sama

Kamboja – Menteri Pertahanan RI Prabowo Subianto melakukan pertemuan dengan Perdana Menteri (PM) Kamboja H.E. Mr. Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet dan Presiden Senat Kamboja H.E. Mr. Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen di Kamboja, Jumat (6/9/2024). Dalam pertemuannya, dengan PM Hun Manet, Menhan Prabowo menyatakan yakin bahwa Indonesia dan Kamboja dapat bekerja sama erat untuk…

[kabartangsel]

Bahas Penguatan Kerja Sama, Menhan Prabowo Subianto Temui PM dan Presiden Senat Kamboja

Kamboja – Menteri Pertahanan RI Prabowo Subianto melakukan pertemuan dengan Perdana Menteri (PM) Kamboja H.E. Mr. Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet dan Presiden Senat Kamboja H.E. Mr. Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen di Kamboja, Jumat (6/9). Dalam pertemuannya, dengan PM Hun Manet, Menhan Prabowo menyatakan yakin bahwa Indonesia dan Kamboja dapat bekerja sama erat untuk berupaya…

[tamarovjo4]

Q&A with Meta Oversight Board co-chair Helle-Thorning Schmidt on AI deepfakes, Meta rejecting the board's decision on former Cambodian PM Hun Sen, and more (Murad Ahmed/Financial Times)

http://dlvr.it/T8Whnl

[duckpaddling]

"Cambodia is this year’s ASEAN chair and PM Hun Sen seems indifferent to the Myanmar coup that so distresses Western democracies. ‘He has essentially invited Myanmar’s military leaders to just return to the ASEAN fold, provided they meet laughably easy markers,’ writes Kurlantzick."

[qudachuk]

Major powers will be watching to see if Hun Manet adopts his father’s authoritarian approach to governingCambodia’s newly elected parliament has endorsed military general Hun Manet as prime minister, completing a historic transfer of power in a fast-changing country...

[warningsine]

PHNOM PENH: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, one of the world's longest-serving leaders, said on Wednesday (Jul 26) he will resign and hand power to his eldest son after almost four decades of hardline rule.

The former Khmer Rouge cadre has run the kingdom since 1985, eliminating all opposition to his power, with opposition parties banned, challengers forced to flee and freedom of expression stifled.

His Cambodian People's Party (CPP) won a landslide victory in an election on Sunday with no meaningful opposition, taking 82 per cent of the vote, paving the way for a dynastic succession to his eldest son that some critics have compared to North Korea.

"I would like to ask for understanding from the people as I announce that I will not continue as prime minister," the 70-year-old said in a special broadcast on state television.

Election authorities disqualified the only serious challenger, the Candlelight Party, on a technicality in advance of the election, and the CPP is expected to win all but five lower house seats.

The government hailed the 84.6 per cent turnout as evidence of the country's "democratic maturity" but Western powers including the United States and European Union condemned the poll as neither free nor fair.

The newly elected parliament will convene on Aug 21 and a new cabinet will be sworn in the next day.

[zvaigzdelasas]

Speaking Wednesday, Hun Sen said he would award $200,000 to any military unit able to shoot down a drone, several of which have reportedly been flying into Cambodia in recent days. He warned against inaction, saying several drones had entered the Cambodian province of Mondulkiri on Tuesday night but soldiers were "too soft" and did not fire.[...]

Hun Sen said he didn't believe the drones belonged to the Vietnamese government. "We asked Vietnam and Vietnam doesn't know. Vietnam has no benefit of sending drones to Cambodia without informing Cambodia," he said. Without providing specific details, he suggested they could be linked to a recent attack by a small armed group against local government buildings in Vietnam's central highlands that left nine dead.

Hun Sen said Cambodia and Vietnam were working to strengthen border security amid some signs some of the insurgents may have tried to flee to Cambodia after the attack, according to the Phnom Penh Post. The motivation behind that attack, in Dak Lak province, remains unclear. Vietnamese authorities are prosecuting at least 84 people over what they call an act of "terrorism" they have linked to "organizations and individuals from overseas," including one link to a U.S. group, Radio Free Asia reported. Hun Sen warned whoever was behind the drones and also took aim at an unnamed "traitor," a thinly veiled reference to his longtime political opponent Sam Rainsy, who lives in exile.

28 Jun 23

[businesspr]

Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia Says He Will Resign

Mr. Hun Sen, whose party won stage-managed parliamentary elections on Sunday, has been prime minister of Cambodia since 1985. He said he would hand power to his son. source https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/26/world/asia/cambodia-pm-resigns-hun-sen.html