Human Rights Watch
Author(s): Brad Adams
Published in: The Washington Post
When I mentioned to a diplomat that Jan. 14 would mark 30 years
since Cambodian strongman Hun Sen became prime minister, his response
summed up the pathology of forgetful international diplomacy: “Is that
monster still around? How did that happen?”
As citizens of places such as Zimbabwe, Syria and North Korea have
experienced, there are complicated reasons for the durability of
despots. In Cambodia, it is a tale of international indifference, missed
opportunities and an intelligent and ruthless leader who has run
circles around internal party rivals, domestic political opponents and
foreign governments.
Hun Sen has remained in power by manipulating elections, controlling
the army and police, imprisoning critics and running a kleptocracy that
has enriched him and his cronies. Ten years ago, a State Department
official told me that the United States estimated his personal fortune
at $500 million, attained largely through the plunder of the country’s
rainforests and other natural resources.
Yet, as with many autocrats the world has tried to airbrush from its
conscience, in recent years Hun Sen’s reign has continued almost
unnoticed. As I visit foreign ministries around the world, I have found
that most officials have become indifferent or even ignorant about the
fate of a country that once was at the epicenter of geopolitics. This is
ironic, as “the Cambodia problem” was once a primary impediment to
untying the Gordian knot of diplomatic relations among the United
States, China, the Soviet Union and Vietnam, all of whom were using
Cambodia as a proxy (fighting “to the last living Cambodian,” as one
observer put it). The solution was the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements, signed by leaders from Cambodia and 18 other countries and hailed as the beginning of a new era of democracy and human rights.
It hasn’t worked out that way. Democracy was virtually stillborn in
1993 when Hun Sen and his Cambodian People’s Party refused to accept
defeat in a costly and bloody U.N.-administered election. He became
“co-prime minister” for the next five years, and his party maintained
control over the army, police and treasury — power it has never
relinquished.
Hun Sen has never shied away from using violence to achieve political
goals. Verifying detailed witness accounts, an FBI probe determined
that his personal bodyguard unit was involved in a deadly 1997 grenade attack
on an opposition political rally, killing 16. The story of the attack,
which the United States officially deemed a terrorist act, led CNN and
was on the front page of The Post. As a U.N. human rights worker, I was
present at the gruesome scene, at which police refused to transport
victims, some of whom bled to death on the street. The government has
never pursued justice for the victims.
Soon after, Hun Sen staged a coup
against his royalist coalition partners, using his security forces to
execute more than 100 political opponents. Killings, torture, illegal
land confiscation and other abuses have been the hallmark of Hun Sen’s
rule to this day. Some 300 people have been killed in
politically motivated attacks since the Paris Agreements. In many
cases, the perpetrators are not only known but also have been promoted
to high government or military posts. Unsurprisingly, not one senior
official has been held to account.
A former Khmer Rouge commander himself, Hun Sen has used his control
over the courts to mire U.N.-assisted trials of Khmer Rouge leaders in
delays and obstruction. He could have been a hero, the man who brought
the Khmer Rouge to justice, but he has stated that he would not allow
further investigations beyond the handful of cases already filed. It
appears that he is covering up for his own actions in the Khmer Rouge or
those of senior colleagues in his party.
Every diplomat I’ve ever spoken to about Cambodia acknowledges that
Hun Sen has blood on his hands and is highly corrupt. No one pretends
that he is a democrat. Yet most governments turn away when he
manipulates elections, arrests opponents and unleashes his security
forces on peaceful protesters. As with many who stay long in power, he
gives long, rambling speeches on national television and has begun
comparing himself to great Cambodian historical figures while claiming
exalted titles. His latest: Samdech Akka Moha Sena Pedei Techo, or
“princely exalted supreme great commander of gloriously victorious
troops.”
Many brave Cambodians risk imprisonment and worse while fighting for
human rights and democracy. But they will fail without sustained and
coordinated pressure from influential governments and donors.
The United States and many other governments talk about the “culture
of impunity” in Cambodia, but it is time for them to also address their
own culture of indifference. Otherwise, Hun Sen, who is only 62 and has
said he wants to rule until he is 90, will continue to devastate his country for many years to come.
Brad Adams is Asia director at Human Rights Watch.