A sense of unease pervades the memorial stupa lined with 5,000 skulls at the Choeung Ek genocide centre in Phnom Penh. Over 20,000 Cambodian men, women and children were killed here during the Khmer Rouge’s dictatorial regime. “For your sake, remember us – and remember our past as you look to your future,” says the narrator, a genocide survivor, during the chilling audio tour. The message may well apply to Cambodia today as it stumbles towards an uncertain future.
Apprehension and surrender best capture the mood as the 16-million-strong country goes to polls on July 29. Of the 20 parties registered, only one is near-omnipresent: the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), whose head, Hun Sen, is the longest currently-serving Prime Minister in the world. His 33-year-old rule, peppered with accusations of human rights violations, is expected to be extended as the field has been bulldozed clear.
Five years ago, amid a low turnout and accusations of electoral irregularities, the CPP held on to power with a 4% vote share lead over its rival, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). Political stalemate, violence, international condemnation and a year-long, oft-violent protest followed.
This time around, Mr. Sen is leaving nothing to chance. Leaders of the CNRP have been convicted, variously, for criminal defamation, accusing the ruling party of corruption, or treason, while the party itself was dissolved through a 2017 Supreme Court order. The head of the third-largest party, Prince N. Ranariddh, was injured and his wife killed in a traffic accident in June. Both were candidates.
Mr. Sen was a Commander of the Khmer Rouge regime and defected two years before it imploded. He returned as a key leader in the Vietnam-installed government, and has been heading the country since 1985. In 1993, when his party lost the UN-monitored elections, he threatened secession of his strongholds. Eventually, he was appointed Second Prime Minister and by 1997, a military-backed coup saw him becoming the sole head of Cambodia.
On the back of large investments from China and booming tourism revenues, Cambodia’s GDP has grown, yet its human rights record has plummeted. In a recent report, Human Rights Watch detailed abuses by 12 military generals, all of whom are also CPP members. The president of the Supreme Court, which has aided in the crackdown on activists and political opponents, is also a party member. The media has been effectively gagged.
India, which carries a special place in Cambodia’s history, has chosen to limit bilateral engagements to economic and cultural cooperation. Meanwhile, the U.S. and Europe have reprimanded, warned and even imposed sanctions against some in the Hun Sen government.
The writer is a Principal Correspondent with The Hindu’s Bengaluru bureau