Agence France-Presse
May 6, 2013
Cambodia's strongman leader Hun Sen offered a glimmer of hope to the
country's opposition on Monday -- by saying he would stay in power for
at least another decade.
The 60-year-old, who has ruled Cambodia since 1985, responded to
criticism over his tenacious hold on power by promising to step down
when he is 74, a reduction from his previous vow to lead until he is 90.
"I became prime minister when I was 32. So I started the post when I
was young and I am not yet old. It is a long time, but there is nothing
wrong with a long time," Hun Sen said in a speech broadcast on national
radio.
"I will leave power when I am 74," he added.
Cambodia has held general elections every five years since 1993, but
Hun Sen has retained power amid a cloud of accusations that his regime
suppresses political freedoms and mistreats rights campaigners.
The country goes to the polls in July, but the main opposition leader
Sam Rainsy is barred from standing because of a string of convictions
against him and has lived in self-imposed exile in France since 2009.
Rainsy, who heads the recently-formed Cambodia National Rescue Party,
has branded Hun Sen a "coward" for stopping him from running.
Hun Sen's comments suggest the country has three more elections with
him at the helm, but calculating the exact year of his departure will
not be straightforward.
The idiosyncratic leader, who turns 61 in August, is 62 on his
official paperwork, which he continues to use even though he says a
typing error recorded his date of birth a year early and in April.
suy/klm/sm
1 comment:
No way Jose, Yuon/Vietnamese puppet Hun Sen. You are too old and blind to operate and lead the country of Cambodia under your murderous and master-minded Yuon/Vietnamese bosses in Hanoi.
Mr. Yuon/Vietnamese puppet, you are really a power hunger and wealth seeker by using your murderous Yuon/Vietnamese bosses to protect you. Your evil Yuon/Vietnamese bosses expected you to give them (Yuon/Vietnamese bossese) land, resources and everything over 50% of wealth and resources. What kind of a man are you, Mr. Dumb Yuon/Vietnamese puppet Hun Sen?
The world is watching so you, your family members and your Vietnamese bosses in Hanoi are going to be so embarrassed and criticized as the evil people and thieves on the planet.
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