ASIA / PACIFIC
Page 16 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
April 16, 2018
Cambodia opposition leader seeks Japan role in fair election
FAIR ELECTION. Cambodia’s self-exiled oppo-
sition leader, Sam Rainsy, speaks during a press con-
ference in Tokyo. Rainsy, whose Cambodia National
Rescue Party has been banned, said he’s hopeful
Japan and its business community can send a mes-
sage to Prime Minister Hun Sen that he needs to
restore democracy or face isolation. (AP Photo/
Koji Sasahara)
By Mari Yamaguchi
The Associated Press
OKYO — Cambodia’s self-exiled
opposition leader has urged Japan,
his nation’s biggest donor, to use its
leverage to convince his nation’s autocratic
government to ensure that July elections
are democratic.
Sam Rainsy, whose Cambodia National
Rescue Party has been banned, said he’s
hopeful Japan and its business community
can send a message to Prime Minister Hun
Sen that he needs to restore democracy or
face isolation.
Sam Rainsy was in Tokyo to meet with
Japanese business and political officials to
seek support for his return amid growing
democratic setbacks ahead of the July 29
polls.
“Japan has strong leverage to help
restore the democratic process,” he told
reporters in Tokyo. The U.S. and
European nations have suspended
financial support for the upcoming
elections and Japan is the only western
bloc nation that maintains a good
relationship with the Hun Sen regime, he
said. “If Japan withdraws, Hun Sen will be
totally isolated and Cambodia will be
really in trouble.”
Hun Sen has held power for more than
three decades and declared his intention to
remain for at least two more five-year
T
terms.
Japan, which has contributed to Cam-
bodia’s peace-building and reconstruction,
is seen as having responded somewhat
mildly to the government’s crackdown on
the media and persecution of opposition
politicians.
Japanese foreign minister Taro Kono
urged Cambodia to hold free and fair
elections but didn’t comment on the
government’s actions against its political
opponents during talks with Hun Sen in
Phnom Penh.
But Sam Rainsy says he believes
Japan’s quieter response is because it is
mindful of Asian culture, in which people
try to avoid causing others to lose face, and
therefore is taking a more discreet, softer
approach.
He said Japanese companies doing
business with Cambodia are concerned
about its volatile situation.
“So it is detrimental to the economic
situation. We need sustainable develop-
ment and we need Japanese investors. But
Japanese investors are reluctant now that
they cannot invest in such an environ-
ment.”
Tu Phan
Call for:
Refinances
Purchases
Offering:
FHA/VA/Conventional
Mortgages
NMLS # 2289
MLO # 7916
12817 S.E. 93rd Avenue
Clackamas, OR 97015
(503) 780-6872
<tu.phan@fairwaymc.com>
<www.LoansNow.com>
We’ll help you get there by listening, learning and
finding the home loan that lets you achieve your dreams.
Apply online at bannerbank .com/ home- loans
Conventional
Refinance
Construction
Sam Rainsy has urged a boycott of the
vote under current conditions.
He has been in self-exile since late 2015
to avoid imprisonment in a defamation
case, and was convicted again in December
in connection with a Facebook comment
about Hun Sen.
Sam Rainsy’s party was dissolved in
November by a court order after the
government filed a complaint alleging it
was involved in treasonous activities. All
of its lawmakers were tossed out of
parliament and party leaders have been
subject to legal harassment.
Sam Rainsy said he is still “hopeful” of a
democratic election. “(If) the opposition
will not be able to participate, then what
can be predicted? It can be an eruption of
violence,” he cautioned.
Tokyo in February announced an 800
million yen ($7.6 million) grant to
Cambodia that includes Japanese-made
ballot boxes and other election-related
equipment for the July polls, adding to the
12,000 ballot boxes that Japan donated for
the 1998 elections.