At a hotel inauguration, Hun Sen continued to defend his decision to travel to Myanmar next month to find a resolution to the February military takeover of the now-shunned Asean member state.
The United States was not against engagement with Myanmar’s junta, said a senior State Department official Friday evening, though it had to be a “purposeful” engagement.
Prime Minister Hun Sen doubled down on plans to visit Myanmar in January, insisting that he wanted to return the Asean regional block to 10 members and for that he needed to deal with the junta-led government.
Over the past week, increasing pressure on Cambodia coincided with the suddenly approved release of at least a dozen political prisoners.
Despite the cordial tone in his Facebook post, Hun Sen said earlier in the day that there was speculation the Australian foreign minister would pressure Cambodia during the visit but that he would not allow that.
Prime Minister Hun Sen has asked Laos, Thailand and other Southeast Asian governments to assist Cambodia in preventing Sam Rainsy from freely returning to the country, as the exiled opposition leader has vowed to do in November.
Prime Minister Hun Sen has vowed to fight corruption in his message for the coming Khmer New Year, once again calling on his government to “take a bath” and even “conduct surgery” to stamp out rampant graft.
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