US Pauses Aid, Imposes Visa Bans After Flawed Cambodian Election

After the governing Cambodian People's Party (CPP) won a landslide win in elections on Sunday (23 July), the United States said it was suspending some foreign assistance programs in Cambodia and imposed visa restrictions on people it claims damaged democracy.

In a statement, Matthew Miller, a spokesman for the State Department, stated that Washington was "troubled" by the fact that Prime Minister Hun Sen's CPP had no real competition in the elections, which were "neither free nor fair."

"Ahead of the elections, Cambodian authorities engaged in a pattern of threats and harassment against the political opposition, media, and civil society that undermined the spirit of the country's constitution and Cambodia's international obligations," Miller said.

"In response, the United States has taken steps to impose visa restrictions on individuals who undermined democracy and implemented a pause of certain foreign assistance programs," he added.

Miller called on Cambodian authorities to restore genuine multi-party democracy, end politically motivated trials and reverse convictions of government critics, and allow independent media to operate without interference in order to "improve the country's international standing."

Self-styled strongman Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for 38 years, had brushed off Western concerns about the election's credibility, determined to prevent any obstacle in his carefully calibrated transition to his anointed successor and eldest son, Hun Manet.

Source: AFP