A Post-Mortem:
Hun Sen’s Dishonour
“The summit will be used for
the [Australian] prime minister and ministers actually to engage their
counterparts or aspects of our relationship, including the matter [Hun Sen’s
threat of violence] that you [Australian senator Penny Wong] have raised
today.”
Australian
Foreign Affairs Secretary Frances Adamson, 5 March 2018, The Phnom Penh Post
«…
រឿងអីដែល [យើង]
ត្រូវហោះពីកម្ពុជាទៅឲ្យគេស្ដីឲ្យនៅប្រទេសអូស្ត្រាលី?… អូស្ត្រាលីគួរតែអរគុណកម្ពុជា មិនមែនហៅកម្ពុជាទៅស្ដីឲ្យនោះទេ
កុំច្រឡំ។»
According to Hun Sen, his trip
to Australia is a resounding success. Among other claimed achievements, he boasts
an Australian official development assistance (ODA) of A$87.40 million; he brags
about travelling with a motorcade escort and a small Cambodian flag flying on an
official car. He flatters himself that his visit is an honour for Australia.
Yet, the success seems far from
being resounding. Hun Sen may not realise Australia has pulled a fast one on
him. The ODA amount is already in the Australian May budget last year for
2017-18 handout to Cambodia. This means, whether he turns up or not, Cambodia
has already secured it. Moreover, if he must know, the amount is few million
dollars less than that of the previous year. This is not something Hun Sen
should brag about unless he intends to mislead his supporters.
The ODA stunt allows PM Malcom
Turnbull, who insists on “frank engagement” with all ASEAN countries, to rein
in Hun Sen and take him to task behind closed door on his violence threat to
Australian citizens, democracy, human rights, and the July elections. Hun Sen
must be satisfied with the Australian trick as he does not carry out his threat
to use his ASEAN veto to block the Sydney Declaration at the end of the
ASEAN-Australia Special Summit. He has been prepared to be the Summit spoiler. Incidentally,
it does not seem a great begging year for Hun Sen. The US announces cut to an
aid they have already cut; now Australia approves the aid that they have
already committed.
Furthermore, at the Sydney
Summit Hun Sen is treated as if he is an ASEAN leader of no significant
consequence. While those leaders are courteous to each other with polished and
respectable manners, they appear to marginalise his presence. First, at a group
photo of the leaders with an Opera House background, they choose to ignore Hun
Sen; he says he has been busy in the toilet. Some would quip he must be suffering
the effect of the dummy burnings – more severely than he has anticipated.
Second, on a Sydney Harbour
ferry trip, the ASEAN leaders congregate leaving Hun Sen alone on front row
seats. As there is no published reason for the isolation, public speculations
abound. Perhaps they do not wish to be associated with him when they see protest
photos and negative headlines in local newspapers about him annihilating his
political oppositions. They may think the Cambodian premier needs to do some
serious thinking and leave him to it. They may be right as Hun Sen does not
look lonely, but being in deep thought, perhaps working out how to pursue those
dummy burners home to beat them up.
While Hun Sen may be right that
he is not flying all the way to Sydney to be lectured on sensitive issues, he
may not learn from Australia that his absolute power is limited to Cambodia. Outside
his comfort zone, he can be dishonourable and humiliated, can’t he?
Ung Bun Ang
30iii18
By the Way
The crack within CPP is becoming
clearer with a leak from senior CPP figures. Stay tuned – more leaks will come
out unless there is a CPP implosion.
“<Hun Sen was told by the Vietnamese very bluntly that
he’d been in power too long and it was time to go,> the insider with close
ties to senior figures in the premier’s ruling Cambodia People’s Party (CPP),
which is believed to be divided over his tactics to sideline the main
opposition party, told Asia Times.”
Reporter Alan Parkhouse, Hun Sen
Willing to Risk Losing his Oldest Ally, 27 March, 2018, Asia Times
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