Thursday, July 31, 2025 - The European Union should sanction officials responsible for human rights abuses in Cambodia, the country’s banned opposition party said Wednesday, citing the bloc’s decision to prepare a list of Belarusian officials to be hit with sanctions following a post-election crackdown on demonstrators.
In a statement, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP)
expressed “great concern” over developments in Belarus, where President
Alexander Lukashenko has violently suppressed protesters and strikers in the
capital Minsk who have rejected what they say was a fraudulent Aug. 9 election
that resulted in an extension of his 26-year rule.
The recent events had prompted an emergency summit Wednesday
in which Charles Michel, the head of the European Council, called the polls in
Belarus “neither free nor fair” and promised sanctions “on a substantial number
of individuals responsible for violence, repression and election fraud.”
“The events in Belarus remind us of the oppressive methods
used by the Cambodian regime, which has captured the state in the hands of
limited circle of people close to the dictator Hun Sen through abuse of
institutions and sham elections without participation of the opposition,” the
CNRP said.
“Both Belarus and Cambodia face orchestrated
unconstitutional oppression of the citizens by dictators who identify the state
with themselves and want to destroy any notion of free thought.”
The CNRP was dissolved in November 2017 for its role in an
alleged plot to topple the government. Along with a broader crackdown on the
political opposition, NGOs, and the independent media—the removal of the
popular party paved the way for Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP)
to win all 125 seats in parliament in the country’s July 2018 general election.
“Just like in Belarus,” the CNRP noted, authorities in
Cambodia have in recent months been arresting those who speak out against Hun
Sen’s nearly three decades of rule and driven much of the opposition into
self-imposed exile to avoid what they say are politically motivated charges and
convictions.
The opposition party pointed to the arrest two weeks ago of
outspoken union leader Rong Chhun, who was charged with “incitement to commit a
felony or create social unrest” after alleging that the government had allowed
Vietnam to encroach on Cambodian territory, as well that of six of his
supporters who had joined near-daily protests in the capital Phnom Penh calling
for his release.
“The situation in Cambodia, just as the situation in
Belarus, requires the immediate attention of the international community,” the
statement said.
“Those who oppress the people cannot enjoy the privileges of
free communication, travel, cooperation and business with the democratic world.
They need to bear the consequences of their actions, being directly and
severely sanctioned by the international community.”
The CNRP said it welcomed a decision by the European Council
to begin the process of sanctions against those in Belarus deemed responsible
for violence, arrests, and fraud in connection with the election, as well as
calls from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to bring
“additional sanctions against those who violated democratic values or abused
human rights” in the country.
On Aug. 12, the EU implemented the withdrawal of duty-free,
quota-free access to its market under the “Everything But Arms” (EBA) scheme
for some 20 percent of Cambodia’s exports—a decision that was announced in
February.
The EU’s move came in response to the Hun Sen government’s
failure to reverse rollbacks on democracy and other freedoms required under the
trade arrangement—demands the prime minister has said are an encroachment on
Cambodia’s sovereignty. Affected exports include goods from Cambodia’s vital
garment and footwear industries.
Following the withdrawal, the CNRP last week condemned the
government for failing to implement reforms required by the EU to avoid trade
sanctions and called on the bloc to sanction Hun Sen and other officials deemed
responsible for rights violations in Cambodia through visa restrictions and the
freezing of their assets, saying that the tariffs would largely only impact the
country’s workers.
However, the recent developments in Belarus and the EU’s
decision to pursue sanctions against officials in Lukashenko’s government for
similar violations, prompted the opposition party to redouble its efforts
Wednesday.
Responding to the CNRP statement, CPP spokesman Sok Ey San
told RFA’s Khmer Service that the situation in the two countries is “completely
different,” adding that the opposition in Cambodia is “jealous” of development
under Hun Sen’s government and will do anything it can to disrupt peace.
“They envy us—when they could not have power, they fled
overseas and urged the EU to withdraw the EBA,” he said. “And now they want the
EU to punish Cambodia just like Belarus.”
But CNRP Deputy President Mu Sochua told RFA that if Hun Sen
does not accede to EU demands, which also include the reinstatement of the
opposition, he and his officials will also face sanctions.
“I believe sanctions can include travel to the EU and the
freezing of their assets,” she said. “These kinds of sanction won’t affect
regular people.”
An investigation by Reuters last October revealed that Hun
Sen’s niece Hun Kimleng and her husband, National Police Commissioner Neth
Savoeun, were among eight politically connected Cambodians to obtain
citizenship in EU member state Cyprus through a controversial scheme that
allows anyone willing to invest U.S. $ 2.2 million in the prosperous island
nation’s business or real estate sectors to obtain it.
The CNRP call for EU sanctions came a day after a group of
80 Cambodian civil society groups issued a joint statement condemning the
Cambodian authorities’ use of violence against peaceful demonstrators and the
recent arrest of more than a dozen activists since the arrest of Rong Chhun.
The groups noted that in addition to six more individuals
who have been sent to pre-trial detention after advocating for the union
leader’s release, authorities have also beaten and arrested relatives—most of
whom are women—of former members of the CNRP who were protesting against their
family members’ arrests.
“It is not a crime to call for your family to be released
from prison. It is not a crime to speak out against your friends' arrest. It is
not a crime to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with people in your community and
demand justice,” the statement read.
“All Cambodians have the right to peacefully protest without
being shoved, beaten or dragged off by police. We call on the government to
immediately release those arrested, drop charges against them and fully respect
the Cambodian people's rights to free expression and assembly.”
Responding to the statement on Wednesday, Ministry of
Justice spokesman Chhin Malin called on the Ministry of Interior to investigate
whether the civil society groups had violated rules of impartiality as defined
by the controversial Law on Association and Nongovernmental Organizations
(LANGO).
Chhin Malin said that some of the group who signed Tuesday’s
statement are “inactive” and sought to criticize the government “without
foundation.” He added that the Cambodia’s courts are “independent” and would
not yield to pressure from civil society.
“The government has implemented the law in general without
targeting any specific group—if someone acts in breach of the law, they will be
punished,” he said.
“The statement from the civil society groups is not the
legal way to protect a defendant in a democratic society. If they want to help
the defendants, they can only do so through due process.”
Koul Panha, the former executive director of and currently
an advisor to local electoral watchdog Comfrel, questioned Chhin Malin’s right
to make such a statement on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
“This institution was not established to defend the
authorities’ actions; it is supposed to uphold justice and human rights,” he
told RFA.
“Our rule of law is very weak. The people can’t rely on the
government and the government doesn’t understand its own role. The people are
weak and powerless, and they don’t know who to ask for help.”
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