Cambodian 'democracy' Is On Its Last Legs

[Flashermac]

Just a few years after it appeared to be on the verge of a remarkable political rebirth, Cambodia's opposition -- the Cambodia National Rescue Party -- is fighting for survival.

 

Attacks from the ruling party of Prime Minister Hun Sen began after the CNRP nearly scored an upset victory in the 2013 election and have recently kicked into overdrive.

 

The country's tenuous democracy, which took root under a United Nations-led peacekeeping operation in the early 1990s, has long been derided as a facade. But in the last year, the political environment has darkened markedly, dragging a heavily compromised system into the realm of unbridled authoritarianism.

 

In what may prove to be a definitive blow to opposition efforts, Hun Sen's government has passed laws that effectively enable it to dissolve any political party for reasons as vague as making an undefined "serious mistake." The move came in the form of an amendment to the country's Law on Political Parties, passed in February.

 

The provision also appears to outlaw foreign donations to political parties, which would starve the CNRP of the significant support it receives from the Cambodian diaspora. It allows the government to dissolve parties led by anyone convicted of a crime, an easy proposition in a country where the courts are squarely under the thumb of the ruling party.

 

Veteran opposition leader Sam Rainsy -- who is living in self-imposed exile for the fourth time to avoid a conviction widely seen as political -- abruptly resigned in response to the new laws. Analysts, however, say it would be premature to write off his leadership, given his record as the "comeback king" of Cambodian politics.

 

"I cherish and uphold the CNRP's ideals in my heart, [but] how this would translate in the future, we will see," Rainsy told the Nikkei Asian Review, explaining he was stepping down to prevent the CPP dissolving his party on the pretext of his conviction.

 

Although the door has not firmly shut on his political career, Rainsy's resignation is significant because it is doubtful whether his deputy, Kem Sokha, would surrender the reins of leadership now that he is in the saddle.

 

Whatever follows, it is likely to benefit Hun Sen, who visibly delights in stoking divisions between the pair.

 

 

http://asia.nikkei.c...medium=referral

[Coss]

I'd never understood Cambodian democracy to be on any legs at all, let alone 'last' legs.

[Coss]