Cambodia’s Democracy Deteriorates as Kem Sokha’s Trial Continues

Kem Sokha, co-founder of Cambodia’s main opposition party, has been charged with conspiracy. (Wikimedia Commons)

Kem Sokha, Cambodia’s political opposition leader and co-founder of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), has been accused of conspiring with the U.S. to overthrow the current government under Prime Minister Hun Sen. According to Human Rights Watch, the government has fabricated the case against him, and officials are blocking journalists and human rights activists from observing the trial that started on January 15.

Hun was elected in 1985 and is currently the longest-serving prime minister in the world. His leadership has led to improvements in Cambodia’s economy, which had a growth rate of seven and a half percent in 2018. However, human rights groups and countries including the U.S. have accused the former Khmer Rouge commander of corruption and human rights abuses as he has stamped out political opposition.

Since the 2013 elections, when the CNRP won 55 out of 123 parliamentary seats, Hun Sen has targeted opposition leaders, causing CNRP politicians to live in exile abroad. In November 2019, Sam Rainsy, the other co-founder of the CNRP, was not allowed to return to Cambodia. Hun Sen has stationed troops along Cambodian borders and ordered the troops to attack should any opposition leadership attempt to reenter.

Kem Sokha was arrested in 2017 under charges of treason, and he lived under house arrest until November 2019. Cambodia’s Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP in 2017, creating, in effect, a one-party state.

The accusations against Kem Sokha are based on a video from 2013 in which he tells an audience in Australia about receiving political support from the U.S. In the video, Kem Sokha speaks of receiving advice from U.S. pro-democracy groups on how to build grassroots support.

In a statement on Facebook, Kem Sokha has denied the charges, saying, “My political activities were focused on the participation in free, fair, and just elections.”

Since his 2017 arrest, the U.S. has been vocal in condemning the Cambodian government’s corruption. Currently, the EU is revising its preferential trade agreement with Cambodia, which stands on the condition that democratic and human rights standards are met. If he is convicted, Kem Sokha could serve up to 30 years in prison.

Because Cambodia’s economy depends on global support, the international community could put pressure on Cambodia to release Kem Sokha and to reinstate conditions that foster democracy. The EU is expected to make a decision regarding its preferential trade agreement with Cambodia in February. The trial is expected to take three months, meaning that the verdict will be delivered after the EU announces its decision.