Senate President and former Premier Hun Sen last week proclaimed that the act of propaganda used by the overseas opposition by anticipating him to suffer from the same fate as fallen country leaders, more recently Rodrigo Duterte, is irrelevant and senseless, considering what he has done for Cambodia for half of his life.
The Acting Head of State also made it clear that Cambodia will not extradite its citizens to other countries under any circumstances.
Mr Hun Sen’s strong reaction came after the overseas opposition, especially former opposition leader Sam Rainsy, took it to social media, comparing the future of Mr Hun Sen to former Philippine President Duterte, who was arrested on Wednesday last week under a warrant of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Duterte now stands accused of a crime against humanity over a years-long campaign during his presidency against drug users and dealers that rights groups said killed as many as 30,000 people.
Addressing the Cambodian Tycoon Association dinner on Friday, Mr Hun Sen highlighted that linking him to former country leaders who were arrested or ousted from power has always been a propagandic tactic used by Rainsy and his goup of overseas opposition politicians.
“When [Muammar] Gaddafi was killed, you compared me to Gaddafi, but when Aung San Suu Kyi won the election in Myanmar, you compared yourself with her and compared me to the junta leader, but that made you unable to return to your home country until now,” Mr Hun Sen said, indirectly addressing Rainsy.
He added that similarly, the overseas opposition has also compared the CPP-led Cambodian government to Sheikh Hasina’s Bangladesh government and Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian government, both of which were overthrown by their people.
“Now, when Duterte was arrested, you compared me to Duterte,” he said. “However, the Duterte story is the Duterte story, but Hun Sen is not Duterte.”
The Senate President stated that he is not guilty of any charge after years of fighting the Khmer Rouge to save millions of Cambodian lives. On the other hand, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) has persecuted top Khmer Rouge leaders for their crimes against humanity.
“Please do not compare the successes of others to your own and place the failures on Hun Sen,” he added. “Hun Sen is Hun Sen, Hun Sen of Cambodia. Please remember, after 55 years of my service, we are only four days away from the 55th anniversary of the coup that ousted King Father Norodom Sihanouk from the position of Head of State.”
“Despite being less than 18 years old, Hun Sen followed the call made by the King Father and went into the ‘maquis (jungle)’ to fight for the nation. I’ve been wounded five times. Why was I wrong to fight the enemies that destroy our nation?
Why was I wrong to continue fighting later to prevent the return of the genocidal regime?” he asked.
Hoping for his arrest is hopeless, Mr Hun Sen added.
In addition, he stated that early on Friday he had ordered the arrest of a man in Battambang for insulting him by comparing him to the former Philippine President.
Mr Hun Sen said that the man in a Facebook post boasted he would ‘party for three more nights and three more days’ after he insulted me by comparing him to Duterte.
“He will now enjoy a party in prison,” Mr Hun Sen added.
The police report on Saturday confirmed that arrest. The suspect was identified as Luock Oriday, 35, living in Chamkar Samrong village 1, Chamkar Samrong commune, Battambang City, Battambang province. After the arrest, the suspect was taken to the Phnom Penh Police Station and then to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday for further proceedings.
Also speaking at Friday’s dinner, the Senate President firmly declared that Cambodia will not extradite its citizens to other countries under any circumstances, despite Cambodia currently being the only ICC member in ASEAN.
“I do not interfere in the internal affairs of the Philippines. However, for Cambodia, I categorically state that we will not extradite our citizens to other countries,” he explained.
“This is a clear principle, and our constitution explicitly prohibits the revocation of citizenship and the extradition of Cambodian nationals abroad. The situation in the Philippines is a separate matter, and I will not comment on it.”
Cambodia is a State Party to the International Criminal Court, having ratified the Rome Statute on April 11, 2002, and has been involved in ICC proceedings, including a preliminary examination opened in 2013 and closed in 2014.
Yet, according to its rule of procedure, the International Criminal Court (ICC) can arrest individuals accused of serious crimes like genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. However, the ICC does not have its own police force, so it relies on member states and international cooperation to carry out arrests.
Since its creation, ICC has heard 31 cases and issued 10 convictions, with 4 acquittals.
Meanwhile, Youk Chhang, Executive of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, described the arrest of Duterte as “the robbery of sovereignty.”
“I am forever grateful to the Philippines, where I used to live in Morong, Bataan, as a refugee during the 1980s,” he said. “The Filipinos are kind, compassionate, and full of empathy in life, but yet they are today divided over the crimes that took place in their country, which I can understand, but why must it be at The Hague? The act of the arrest by the ICC of former Filipino President Duterte is disrespectful to the Philippines.”
Youk also reflects on the limited role of ICC in Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge history.
“Cambodia has lost two million people, including my family members, at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, and I have never, in a minute, supported the arrest of Pol Pot and sending him to The Hague,” he said.
“Just like the Philippines, what happened in our country, despite such an unspeakable crime, still belongs to us and should not be taken away from our history.”
From:www.khmertimeskh.com
