Hun Xen (M) and his commander in chief generalsOPINION ASIA
DECEMBER 4, 2009
By CARLYLE A. THAYER
The Wall Street Journal
It's been more than a decade since armed militia and security forces loyal to Cambodian strongman Hun Sen violently suppressed the democratic opposition to consolidate the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) in power, and the country is once again on the brink of another political upheaval. This time, the battle lines are being drawn in courts rather than in the streets, but the effect will be the same—the slow but sure consolidation of authoritarian rule.
The immediate issue is the political future of opposition leader Sam Rainsy. Late last month, he tried to score political points against the Hun Sen administration by claiming Vietnam had "stolen" Khmer land by placing demarcation markers inside Cambodian territory. Border politics are a potent tool in Cambodia. Mr. Rainsy proceeded to uproot six wooden poles marking the border area and took them to Phnom Penh to press for an investigation. Vietnam officially voiced its concern.
Rather than let the issue rest, deputies from Mr. Hun Sen's ruling CPP unanimously voted on November 16 to strip Mr. Rainsy of his parliamentary immunity for the second time this year. They can do that because the CPP holds 90 seats in the 123-seat lower house of the National Assembly.
This is no ordinary censure. The legislature's action clears all legal impediments for a provincial court to charge Mr. Rainsy with willfully destroying property. If charged and found guilty by the provincial court, the opposition leader could be subject to impeachment in the National Assembly. And Cambodia would lose one of its most effective—and internationally known—opposition political voices against Mr. Hun Sen's regime.
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