Cambodia crackdown casting ‘dark shadow’, Asian lawmakers warn
An ongoing crackdown against opposition politicians and activists in Cambodia has cast a “dark shadow” ahead of upcoming elections and is part of a wider authoritarian “disease” infecting the region, Southeast Asian politicians warned on Monday.
The damning assessment comes as Cambodia plans to hold nationwide polls next year in what some have warned could be the country’s last chance of seeing genuine democracy take root.
Cambodians are facing grave threats to their fragile democratic institutions
Cambodia has been ruled by strongman premier Hun Sen for more than three decades. His reign has brought stability and growth but been criticised as corrupt and autocratic.
The country’s once fractured opposition took many by surprise in 2013 when it united to win 55 seats in parliament, an unprecedented move that rattled Hun Sen, a man unused to losing at the ballot box.
At a press conference in Bangkok on Monday, regional lawmakers said Hun Sen’s administration has been hitting back ahead of the 2018 polls with measures to cripple the opposition’s ability to contest his party.
