" HUN SEN " - THE ELECTED DICTATOR OF CAMBODIA
Cambodia is one of most beautiful and also the most oppressed countries in Asia. Starting from the vietnam war during which cambodian people and their country sadly became a playground for world powers including the united states and vietnam.even in the early 1970's to1975 till the end of notorious Khmer rouge regime the cambodian people had to pay a huge price in the form of lives and individual freedom. but all that now belongs to the history of the kingdom of angkor wat
but to understand today's realities we cannot isolate cambodia's violent past, for it is during this time that various foreign as well as individual powers were trying to gain control of this ancient nation.though their were many historical figures like king Norodom Sihanouk who was loved by the people and Prince Nordom Ranariddh who was the First Prime Minister from 1993-1998.also not to forget the leader of the opposition who is now in exile Sam raisny.but the person who emerged victorious against all odds,who is a seasoned poltician who does not shy away from using force and violence when required is "HUN SEN".
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| PRIME MINISTER "HUN SEN" |
HUN SEN is the longest serving leader in the world till date ,with a track record for using political killings and large scale human rights violations.he is in power for the last 29 years and has vowed to stay in power till he is 90 years of age.he is a former commander under Khmer Rouge who defected and found asylum in Vietnam. and returned to Cambodia when the Vietnam invaded Cambodia and installed a puppet regime(though it was useful as the Khmer rouge was kicked out either for good or bad). what happened next belongs to the history of cambodia.and my reason to write this article is not to adress the history of this wonderful nation but to see to the future and understand its present.
Cambodia today is a highly divided society with rich getting richer and the majority of the poor getting much poorer.according to independent research groups 20 percent of the rich elite in Cambodia control 80 percent of the wealth,while the majority of the 80 percent of the poor have access to 20 percent of the countries wealth.a striking dissimilarity which is worrying as the rural class is suffering day after day due to lack of proper sanitation,transport and electricity and most importantly lack of EDUCATION and LAND RIGHTS which are the most important factors which will decide the future course of the country.Forced land evictions have become a common phenomenon,labor rights and proper working condition are a common problem which people face during their daily lives.
but most countries in asia do have all the above problems but what sets apart Cambodia is alarmingly the corrupt judicial system which completely lacks morality and has become a market where only the rich and powerful can buy justice in their favor .their are many examples that can be given. the first and the most important is the recent arrest of MAM SONANDO a radio owner and a famous critic of hun sen's government who was falsely accused (as claimed by various human rights groups and amnesty international) of sectarian revolt against the state and given 20 years jail sentence.but this week finally due to international pressure and elections coming soon the courts are all set to realese him in a few days..
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| MAM SONANDO |
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the second example would be the case of Chea Vichea a the leader of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC). Vichea was shot in the head and chest early in the morning while reading a newspaper at a kiosk in Daun Penh district, Phnom Penh
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| CHEA VICHEA |
Sok Sam Oeun and Born Samnang were judged guilty after a trial where no witnesses testified against the accused and no forensic evidence was brought to court. Both individuals were sentenced to 20 years in prison and ordered to pay $5,000 compensation each to the family of the victim.
Chea Vichea's family turned down the compensation, stating that they did not believe the two convicted were the real murderers.
i can continue to give countless evidences like the case of chutt wutty an environmental activist who was shot dead at point blank and the courts failed to provide justice for the family.why i have given these examples is that in any democracy 3 in-alienable rights must and should be provided by the constitution of the state and those are
1: FREEDOM OF SPEECH ,
2: FREE AND FAIR JUDICIAL SYSTEM
3: HUMAN RIGHTS .
though their are many more important rights like the RIGHT TO OWN A LAND and RIGHT TO VOTE and ELECT HIS /HER REPRESENTATIVES.
the above mentioned 3 rights r the most important ones which actually makes a state a working democracy.
but in Cambodia all these rights are not implemented by hun sen and his ruling party,the media is heavily censored and any one who criticizes the government end up behind bars under false cases thanks to the corrupt judicial system and while human rights are massively abused by the state police and by military,a 14 year old girl was shot dead during land eviction last year and all the court did was to side with the police and say it was unintentional and close the case while mam sonando who criticized this action was instead arrested on false charges.
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| FACE OFF BETWEEN THE PUBLIC AND THE STATE POLICE DURING LAND EVICTION |
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| A WOMEN DRAGGED DURING A PROTEST |
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| GOVERNMENT MACHINES BRINGING DOWN HOUSES DURING EVICTION |
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| A WOMEN VICTIMIZED DUE TO LAND EVICTION |
Coming july Cambodia goes to polls and it is no secret that hun sen will re-emerge as the prime minister again, as the opposition leader SAM RASINY is living in exile and the electoral commission itself is accused to be pro-government. Cambodia and its people are getting restless and demanding rights from the state which is busy looting the natural resources of the country to foreign monopolies while its people who are the rightful owners are cheated.if Cambodia has to remain in peace then Hun Sen has to act sensibly and give the basic rights to the people otherwise he will risk not only pushing the country into civil anarchy but also into political instability.SAM RASINY in his recent interview has said that Hun Sen is a coward and is committing "political suicide" by not allowing him to compete, Rainsy warned he will "start a strong movement to topple" any government formed by the election.
i would conclude this article with the following extract from the constitution of the UNITED STATES " We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new Government which gives them their rights.
