BFF-06 Cambodia’s Hun Sen hails ‘elimination’ of opposition at mass rally

276

ZCZC

BFF-06

CAMBODIA-POLITICS-ELECTION

Cambodia’s Hun Sen hails ‘elimination’ of opposition at mass rally

PHNOM PENH, July 27, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Cambodia’s strongman ruler hailed
Friday the success of efforts to “eliminate traitors” at a mass rally ahead
of an election without a credible opposition that will leave the country as a
virtual one-party state.

Tens of thousands of supporters decked in the ruling party’s white and blue
arrived from dawn in the centre of the capital, some on motorbikes and buses,
in an impressive show of support for the Cambodia People’s Party (CPP), which
premier Hun Sen has led for 33 years.

But it will be the only political showing of significant scale ahead of
Sunday’s election after the only serious opposition was dissolved by the
Supreme Court in November.

In typically bombastic comments, Hun Sen vowed victory on Sunday and took a
swipe at his opponents, many of whom have been jailed, prodded into self-
exile or have gone to ground inside the kingdom since the ruling.

“Recently we took legal action to eliminate traitors who attempted to
topple the government,” he said of the court ruling that disbanded the
Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP).

“If we didn’t eliminate them with an iron fist, maybe by now Cambodia would
be in a situation of war.”

A pillar of Hun Sen’s appeal is that he has presided over peace and a level
of prosperity since the early 1990s when Cambodia emerged from decades of war
and the evisceration of the Khmer Rouge years.

“With the CPP we have growth, we have schools, peace… everything,” said
supporter Khun Bopha of a party that now presides over an economy chugging
along at a growth rate of around six to seven percent.

“We will have a big win on July 29.”

– ‘Sham process’ –

The Supreme Court knocked out the opposition after Hun Sen accused CNRP
members of plotting against the government.

Rights groups, NGOs and the media were all swept up in the crackdown last
year as Hun Sen quashed critical voices and challengers in the lead-up to the
vote.

The opposition, many of whose key members live abroad for fear of
prosecution, have urged supporters to boycott the poll in a “clean finger”
campaign to refuse to be inked at polling stations on Sunday.

Election authorities have said calls to boycott are a “crime” and have
already fined five former members of the opposition in northern Cambodia
after accusing them of taking part in the anti-election campaign.

The United States and the European Union have pulled assistance and
monitors after challenging the credibility of the election.

But staunch Cambodia ally China has stepped in to provide equipment.

Cambodia has held six elections — including the first UN-sponsored poll in
1993 — after the country of 15 million emerged from decades of civil war.

Hun Sen has cast himself as the saviour of the country from the ravages of
the Khmer Rouge, even though he was a former member of the ultra-Maoist
group.

Twenty parties are running in the election but many are new or of obscure
origins and have been widely criticised for helping legitimise the ballot by
taking part.

“Cambodia’s election is a sham process that is designed to prolong Hun
Sen’s authoritarian rule and will plunge the country into further misery and
repression,” International Federation for Human Rights Secretary-General
Debbie Stothard said in a statement Thursday.

BSS/AFP/MRI/0835 hrs