Hun Sen | GlobalPost

As vote nears, Cambodia opposition urges sanction threat

Agence France-PresseMay 10, 2013 15:09

Cambodia's opposition leader is calling on the United States to impose sanctions against strongman Hun Sen if upcoming elections are unfair, saying that Myanmar showed how foreign pressure can work. Cambodia holds elections on July 28, but Hun Sen has led the country since 1985 and his main challenger, Sam Rainsy, is barred from running due to a string of convictions that the opposition says are politically motivated.

Cambodian PM vows to leave power 'when I am 74'

Agence France-PresseMay 6, 2013 10:46

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.

Cambodian PM warns of 'war' if opposition wins poll

Agence France-PresseApril 19, 2013 08:17

Cambodia's strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday said the country risks civil war if the opposition wins polls later this year and tries to prosecute ex-Khmer Rouge members in his government. His comments were issued as a rebuke to opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who has pledged to convict unnamed members of the government over their alleged roles under the murderous Khmer Rouge regime if his party takes July's election. "For sure, (civil) war will erupt if they (the opposition party) win the election," Hun Sen, 62, said in a speech broadcast on national radio.

Hun Sen a 'coward' says Cambodia opposition chief

Agence France-PresseMarch 11, 2013 08:46

Cambodia's opposition leader Sam Rainsy on Monday branded strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen a "coward" for barring him from running in a key general election later this year. Rainsy, Hun Sen's main rival, lives in self-imposed exile in France to avoid prison for a string of convictions that critics contend are politically motivated. In November the 63-year-old Rainsy was told he could not stand in the polls because of his convictions by the National Election Committee (NEC), a body he says is a tool of the premier.

Cambodian PM's son eyes parliamentary seat

Agence France-PresseFebruary 20, 2013 09:01

The youngest son of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen plans to run for parliament, his party said Wednesday, fuelling speculation that the strongman's children are being groomed to succeed him. Hun Many -- whose eldest brother is a two-star general -- will join several sons of senior officials from the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) standing in a general election in July, said CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap. "These are the bamboo shoots to replace the bamboo trees," he told AFP, adding that many CPP lawmakers were too old.

Cambodia's king is dead, long live the PM

Agence France-PresseFebruary 6, 2013 04:00

He towered over his kingdom through tumultuous decades. Yet when Cambodia's "king father" Norodom Sihanouk finally ceded power, experts say, it was not to his heir but to strongman premier Hun Sen. Since his death in October in Beijing, Cambodia has paid homage to the man who was king, prime minister, head of state, then king once more, before stepping down in favour of his son Sihamoni in 2004.