Cambodia ruling party derides US expanded visa sanctions as useless and ineffective
US State Department has expanded its visa bans on Cambodian officials following the ruling party’s one-sided win in last month’s polls
US travel sanctions targeting Cambodian officials are “useless”, a ruling party spokesman said on Thursday, as the kingdom shrugs off international criticism of a one-sided election win.
The Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) led by strongman Hun Sen won all 125 seats in parliament during last month’s polls.
The main opposition did not contest the vote after a court dissolved the party, clearing the way for a landslide victory for the CPP.
Western governments have decried the election and the US State Department on Wednesday announced an expansion of visa restrictions to include Cambodians responsible for a crackdown on dissent in the run-up to the “flawed” vote.
But a spokesman for the CPP called the move “useless”.
“The restrictions or so-called sanctions on Cambodia will not be effective,” Sok Eysan said. “For example, if I don’t want to go to that country, how can they block my visa?”