Page 2 of 2 To live and die with Hun Sen
By Paul Vrieze
However, human-rights abuses, land evictions, rampant corruption among
government officials, a lack of an independent judiciary and intimidation of
political opponents have also been part of life in Cambodia under Hun Sen,
local and international human-rights groups have said. Last year saw a rise in
court cases against political opponents and other critics of Hun Sen.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, of the eponymous political party, is currently in
France but facing criminal charges in Cambodia over the removal of boundary
posts along the border with Vietnam. Rainsy said Hun Sen had shown during his
long premiership that his objectives were personal and did not serve ordinary
Cambodians. "It is obvious that Hun Sen's only or predominant
goal is to remain in power, to survive politically ... Power is everything for
him. But above all, power means impunity for him and his clan," Rainsy wrote in
an e-mail.
"But when survival is your life goal you cannot have any vision. This is why
Cambodia under Hun Sen is going nowhere, if not down the drain, [through]
corruption, poverty, human-rights abuses, in spite of competent civil servants,
dedicated civil society and abundant natural resources," he wrote. "Hun Sen has
had only two ways in dealing with his political opponents: Buy them or
eliminate them either physically, [through] grenade attack, military coup [...]
or politically, [through] sham lawsuits ... There is no example in the whole
world of any country being a democratic and prosperous one with the same top
leader for decades," Rainsy added.
According to historian Evan Gottesman, author of the 2003 book Cambodia After
the Khmer Rouge, Hun Sen's durability is in itself exceptional. "The
fact that the same man who led Cambodia in 1985 could also run the Cambodia of
2010 is remarkable," Gottesman said via e-mail. "Hun Sen's most impressive
achievement was his ability to lead Cambodia from being an isolated communist
country to economic and political integration with the non-communist countries
of the region," he said.
"Hun Sen's greatest failure is his failure to promote, in fact, his willingness
to undermine democratic institutions such as an independent judiciary,
accountable security forces and a professional civil service," he added.
According to Gottesman, three qualities are central to Hun Sen's hold on power:
The first is ideological flexibility, which he said became apparent when Hun
Sen decided to quickly abandon communist orthodox ideas in the late 1980s when
it suited the situation.
"The second is a willingness to be absolutely ruthless with his opponents when
he feels it necessary. The third is his cultivation of a patronage system that
supports him," Gottesman wrote. "[A] lack of an independent judiciary or
accountability for human-rights abuses persist because these hallmarks of
modern democracies do not serve the interests of leaders who intend to remain
in power indefinitely," he added. Reflecting on how the character of the 1980s
communist PRK regime, many of whose officials are still in the government,
influences Cambodia today, Gottesman said, "Cambodia's government is still
built on patronage systems that support top officials, with Hun Sen at the
top."
Rights and wrongs
International environmental watchdog Global Witness said in a February 2009
report entitled "Country for Sale" that its research indicated revenues from
Cambodia's growing oil and mining industries were being siphoned off by a
network of corrupt officials. "Rather than using these millions to lift its
people out of poverty, Cambodia's government could instead continue to follow
the example of neighboring Burma [Myanmar], where an autocratic elite uses
money generated from the country's natural resource wealth to rule over an
impoverished majority," the report warned.
Janice Beanland from rights group Amnesty International's Southeast Asia Team
said in an e-mail that the protection of human rights in Cambodia under Hun Sen
had come "a very long way" since the 1985 communist regime. However, she added
that his government had often failed to undertake serious attempts to further
improve the country's human-rights record, which remains poor. "[T]he lack of
accountability and the culture of impunity that held sway [in the 1980s]
remains in place to quite a degree. Judicial reform remains a plan, rule of law
is not yet in place and for most Cambodians, there is very limited protection
for human rights," Beanland said.
"[I]f the prime minister had wanted to institutionalize human-rights protection
- through the legal system, the government administrative structures and
independent institutions - he would have had the power to do so," she said.
"The continued lack of integrity and independence within the court system, for
instance, testifies to the limited human-rights commitment of the government."
Chea Vannath, a local independent political analyst, said Hun Sen's most
important accomplishment was restoring peace in Cambodia, while adding that his
premiership had lacked in economic management and improving child and maternal
health. "His achievement is that he was able to bring peace to Cambodia, a very
valuable achievement. His shortcoming is the economy, it moves but it stumbles
... It seems the economy could have done better, maternal and child health
should also be better," she said.
Vannath said Hun Sen's strengths included his ability to cope and navigate a
changing political climate and system, his ability to equitably share political
power with others and his vigilance to not rest on his laurels."So far, another
blessing is [his] good health," she added.
According to historian Henri Locard, who has taught at the Royal University of
Phnom Penh since the early 1990s, one of Hun Sen's primary skills is his
ability to fascinate the Cambodian public. "Hun Sen is a past-master in the
control of rhetoric ... He is sure to hold the majority of the population by
the invisible thread and the fascination of his words," Locard said. After the
dark days of the Khmer Rouge and the communist government, Cambodians now
"relish all their newly-acquired freedoms", he said, adding, "With one major
exception: the freedom to challenge his all-embracing power ... there is a
great deal of self-censorship exerted in this country."
Indeed, many civil society members and researchers consulted for this article,
foreign and local, declined to comment directly on Hun Sen's premiership. CPP
lawmaker Cheam Yeap contested Hun Sen's record of human-rights abuses,
tolerance of corruption and intimidation of political opponents. "Fighting
corruption is not easy. Europe and the US have these problems too," he said.
"Sam Rainsy breaks the law and then he says his rights are violated when he
gets charged."
Yeap contended that Hun Sen and other CPP members had built up the country
after its near-complete destruction by the Khmer Rouge. "I would like to ask
you who could do it? [Opposition leaders] Sam Rainsy, Ranariddh, Kem Sokha
couldn't do it ... They came later on, then they demanded this, they demanded
that. They want freedom to attack everyone, everything. The CPP cannot allow
them to do that."
On December 27, the 25th anniversary of his appointment as acting prime
minister, Hun Sen met with members of his family at a hotel in Phnom Penh and
contemplated a time when he no longer ruled Cambodia. Should that day come,
according to Hun Sen, members of his powerful extended family could find the
tables turned against them if they alienated ordinary Cambodians.
"If Hun Sen loses power, you will become a target for attacks if you do not
follow my advice," he said during his televised remarks, advising his family
that they should show charity and concern for the less fortunate. It was a rare
reflection by the strongman leader on the eventual limits of his rule.
Paul Vrieze is a reporter with the Phnom Penh-based The Cambodia Daily. Phann
Ana, also a reporter at the newspaper, contributed to the reporting.
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