Hun Sen said in his message to mark International Day of Peace on Saturday that the government remained committed to protecting peace and stability ‘at all costs’. HUN SEN’S FACEBOOK PAGE
Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Saturday that the government would always share the people’s joy and suffering even as Cambodia faced the threat of sanctions under the pretext of democracy and human rights.
Hun Sen said in his message to mark International Day of Peace on Saturday that the government remained committed to protecting peace and stability “at all costs”.
The UN in 2001 set September 21 as International Day of Peace as a day to push for peace around the world and an end to violence and war.
He said the global situation was currently complex and unpredictable, particularly with competing superpowers.
“Cambodia’s peace is also fragile because it is under continuous threat, with the Kingdom facing harassment and interference in its affairs from outside, especially from superpowers and some Western countries.
“Even with the threat of sanctions under the pretext of democracy and human rights, the Cambodian government will continue to share the joy and suffering of its people at all times, standing in solidarity and unity to protect the nation’s achievements, and its independence, freedom, democracy and neutrality.
“The government is utterly committed to maintaining peace and stability at all costs,” Hun Sen said.
He said the peace, stability and wellbeing of the people had been the government’s top priorities since the Khmer Rouge regime was toppled in 1979. Full peace was achieved in 1998 under his “Win-Win” policy, he said.
Cambodia respected multi-party democracy, with free and fair elections demonstrating the maturity of democracy in the Kingdom. Cambodians, he said, were the owners of the Kingdom’s destiny.
“The practising of democracy and the respect of human rights under the law and in accordance with tradition and culture are key to contributing to sustainable peace, stability and inclusive development. These are the echoed wishes of Cambodians,” Hun Sen said.
Peace had enabled Cambodia to achieve more than seven per cent economic growth for the past two decades, with the Kingdom developing from low-income to lower-middle-income status in 2016, he said.
The poverty rate had also dropped to around 10 per cent from more than 53 per cent in 2004.
He said Cambodia had contributed to world peacekeeping by sending 6,351 peacekeepers to Sudan, South Sudan, Chad, Central African Republic, Lebanon, Syria and Mali. This was a reversal of the situation in the early 1990s when Cambodia had received UN “blue helmets”.
“I appeal to all compatriots to join hands with the government to promote national and international peace by maintaining and protecting the existing peace, strengthening national unity, implementing a culture of dialogue, respecting the law, solving all problems peacefully and preventing all tricks and all attempts at making Cambodia fall into chaos and instability,” he said.
Sok Touch, the president of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said on Sunday that Hun Sen may have been referring to issues related to the EU’s “Everything But Arms” agreement or vocal criticism from the US regarding human rights and democracy in Cambodia when he spoke of foreign interference.
He said the prime minister may have also been referring to overseas “propaganda” by the leaders of the Supreme Court-dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party.
He said Cambodia had been affected by competing superpowers and by leaning towards China. This was in contrast to neighbouring Vietnam, which was moving closer to the US.
He said being close to China had drawn the suspicion of the US, which had accused the Kingdom of allowing the Asian giant to establish a naval base on its territory.
The large influx of Chinese nationals and investors had also made Western countries unhappy, he added.
“To protect the peace, Cambodia must use its Constitution as a road map. We have to ensure economic security, and we have already done well by maintaining economic growth of seven per cent.
“What we need to do is to maintain national unity – this is because there are people from outside exaggerating problems, and this could hinder economic growth,” Touch said.
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