Cambodia needs no help with elections

We recognise the role of Indonesia in the Cambodian peace process, which led to the Paris Peace Accord in 1991. But there was no full peace in Cambodia because the Khmer Rouge refused to disarm and continued fighting until 1998, when the strategy of Prime Minister Hun Sen brought an end to the Khmer Rouge as a political and military organisation, and brought peace, national reconciliation and unity.

Those who call for Indonesia to engage in “democratising Cambodia” should read the Asean Charter’s section on Asean’s principles. It is an insult to Cambodia to suggest “Hun Sen could become a new headache for the regional grouping because he has been in power too long and has an authoritarian style”. The constitution of Cambodia does not limit terms of office for the prime minister. Moreover, Hun Sen has been democratically elected and it is the absolute right of the Cambodian people to elect their leader without any need of foreign advice.

It is disrespect and a great insult for the newspaper to have called the Cambodian elections “a soap opera”. A total of 40,142 national observers and 291 international monitors/observers registered to observe the recent elections.

It has been a constant policy of the Cambodian People’s Party and Hun Sen to promote national reconciliation and unity. The spirit of national reconciliation goes back to the days when Hun Sen began peace negotiations in 1987 with the late King Norodom Sihanouk, leading to the Paris Peace Accord. He also asked for a royal pardon for Sam Rainsy. Cambodia has political maturity and sufficient experience to conduct its own elections. 

Koy Kuong

Under-Secretary of State Spokesperson