Prime Minister Hun Sen said politics and human rights should not get in the way of an Asean-E.U. free trade deal as at least 100 Cambodian protesters demonstrated in Brussels upon his visit and demanded the release of political prisoners and the protection of human rights.
Cambodian activists and opposition politicians made a last-ditch effort to catch the attention of U.S. President Joe Biden before he arrived at the Asean Summit, hopeful that the U.S.’s self-image as a protector of democracy could help elevate their plight.
The sister of disappeared activist Wanchalearm Satsaksit was summoned to a prosecutor’s office on Monday. Though it’s a first for Sitanan, criminal prosecution has become a routine reality for hundreds of Thais taking a stand in the country’s pro-democracy movement.
The Cambodia Democracy Act of 2021 was introduced this week and considered by the committee on Wednesday.
Sweden said it would phase out bilateral development funding to Cambodia by the middle of next year in order to focus aid on promoting human rights, democracy and rule of law in the country following severe rights restrictions in recent years.
A joint statement issued this morning by 85 NGOs, local community groups, trade unions and political observers called on citizens to “join forces” over a recent deterioration in Cambodia’s human rights environment.
Freedom of expression in Cambodia is not, in fact, free. That’s according to Freedom House’s Freedom in the World Report, under which Cambodia’s scores have stagnated — 5.5 for freedoms, 6 for political rights and 5 for civil liberties — for four straight years from 2016 to 2019.
Exiled leaders of the banned opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) have called on all Cambodians to join their efforts to “restore democracy” and for the government to defer to appeals by the international community for change.
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