With caretaker prime minister Hun Sen expected to attend the United Nations (UN) General Assembly next month as Cambodian leader, top ruling party officials have slammed as “politically biased” analysts who have said the international community would not recognise his government at the meeting in New York.
Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) spokesman Sok Eysan dismissed such analysis as “not even being equal to dreaming”.
He said Hun Sen was honoured with an invitation letter by the UN to attend the meeting and this in itself is recognition.
“Having been invited means the UN has recognised [the government]. It’s not [a case of] whether it will recognise us or not after we go.
“It is not like the analysts who [criticise]. [They are] clearly politically biased,” Eysan said.
Paul Chambers, a political analyst and international affairs adviser at Thailand’s Naresuan University, told The Post on Sunday that he believes eventually the international community will recognise Hun Sen’s government.
However, he thinks the process would likely be slower than the CPP expects, as the international community no longer has faith in Hun Sen strengthening Cambodian democracy.
“I think the international community has long been finished with believing anything that Hun Sen says about his commitment to democracy or Cambodia’s democratic legitimacy,” Chambers said.
Moreover, he also said it was likely that Hun Sen’s government would face a cutting off of aid from the US and EU countries.
“This is because Hun Sen has been condemned by many Western countries as having flushed Cambodia’s already frail democracy with the CPP manipulating Cambodian law, its judiciary and party politics to create what since the July national elections amounts to a single-party dictatorship.”
NGO Victory Intelligent Standard Association director Ros Sarom said he considered Hun Sen’s readiness to address Cambodia’s political situation at the UN after the polls a gauge to discover to what extent the international community will recognise his government.
Out ‘to attack’
“I think Prime Minister Hun Sen’s planned address at the UN will not be effective in achieving recognition from the international community,” he claimed.
“[Cambodia] cannot be on an equal footing [with other countries] on the international stage because the national elections [were not universally considered] to reflect the will of the people.”
However, Council of Ministers spokesperson Phay Siphan said that Cambodia is a full member of the UN and so plays a significant role in the organisation.
As such, he said, even the US prepares to send its diplomats to continue to carry out their duties in order to maintain good international ties.
“So Samdech [Hun Sen will go to the UN] as the winner of the elections, as an official prime minister, [representing] a member of the UN, helping to cooperate with this organisation very actively,” Siphan said.
“Therefore, the ones who speak do not speak for the UN. The ones who comment [in such a way], are just [out] to attack Cambodia.”
