Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen
casts his ballot at a polling station in Takhmau town, south of Phnom
Penh, in the general election on July 28. (Manabu Sasaki)
August 05, 2013
In Cambodia, a country once bedeviled by gruesome
wars, there is a nascent but growing movement for democracy among young
people who have grown up in a new era of relative stability and economic
development.
For Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has been in power
for more than two decades, the results of the country's recent general
election were close to a defeat. The first general election in five
years, held on July 28, underscored the fact that there are many
Cambodians today who would choose change over stability.
The ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) managed to maintain
a majority in the national assembly but by a far smaller margin. The
opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), led by Sam Rainsy,
sharply increased its presence in the 123-seat assembly.
The powerful wave of change was generated by young
Cambodians. They enthusiastically supported Rainsy, who recently
returned to Cambodia from exile after receiving a royal pardon during
the election campaign period.
The younger generation in Cambodia has not had to experience
the genocide or famine under the Pol Pot regime or the civil war that
raged for years before a peace agreement was reached in 1991.
Their parents, who endured a long period of suffering and
hardships, longed for peace and stability above all else. This time
around, however, the younger generation's call for an open society
without corruption evoked a sympathetic response from a wide range of Cambodian voters.
Hun Sen became prime minister in 1985 when he was still a
young man in his 30s. After the peace deal was struck, he directed the
efforts to promote the war-battered country's economic development with
the help of the international community. At the same time, he expanded
his control over key sectors of society, from the government, the
military and police to media and the judiciary. In recent years, he has
shown a growing penchant for iron-fisted rule, exemplified by his harsh
crackdown on human rights movements.
Hun Sen should accept the change in what people want from
politics and embark on serious reform to eliminate corruption. He should
stop oppressing opposition parties and promote constructive debate in
the parliament and other forums.
Japan has been deeply involved in the development of democracy in Cambodia.
Japanese election volunteers, along with Self-Defense Forces
personnel and police officers, took part in the United Nations
peacekeeping operations in the country, which began in 1992. Atsuhito
Nakata, one of the volunteers, fell to an assassin's bullet. But many
fellow volunteers carried on his wishes and worked with great devotion
for the success of the country's landmark election in 1993.
In ensuing years, many people from around the world have been
working in Cambodia on efforts to reduce poverty and to eliminate land
mines. Many Japanese took part in the international monitoring of the
country's latest election.
As for the territorial disputes in the South China Sea
between China and some Southeast Asian nations, the Hun Sen government
is siding with Beijing, which supplies twice as much development aid to
Cambodia as Japan.
But Japanese economic aid to Cambodia has a long history
dating back to the era before the civil war. Starting in the 1990s,
Japan has been supporting the construction of roads and bridges on
routes connecting Vietnam and Thailand through Cambodia. In addition,
Japanese companies have been ramping up their investments in Cambodia.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has vowed to base his diplomacy in
Asia on such values as freedom, democracy and respect for human rights.
Japan's public and private sectors should work together to
support the Cambodian people's efforts for democratic reform and further
development of their nation.
--The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 4
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