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Cambodia PM repeats warning of war if opposition wins vote

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Parrothead
 
WORLD NEWS | Thu May 25, 2017 | 5:13am EDT
 
 
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday reiterated a warning that war could break out in the Southeast Asian country if his ruling party loses local elections next month and a general election next year.
 
Local elections set for June 4 could be a springboard for the general election, which is seen as the biggest challenge Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) has faced in nearly four decades.
 
In a three-hour speech to Cambodia's Christian community in Phnom Penh, Hun Sen, who has vowed to stay on after more than three decades in power, said an opposition win would lead to bloodshed if his family members were targeted by critics.
 
"War will happen if the CPP loses control," the strongman said, adding that he had ordered troops to crack down on any protests against election results.
 
Referring to his opponents, he said, "They said they would destroy the Hun family first. If the Hun family is destroyed, Hun Sen's supporters will not stay still."
 
Hun Sen's rival, opposition leader Kem Sokha, has repeatedly said there will be no upheaval if his opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party wins.
 
"A CNRP win will bring security to all of us, including for the winners and losers," Kem Sokha told a campaign rally in Siem Reap, 320 km (199 miles) north of Phnom Penh, the capital.
 
"When the CNRP wins, there will real justice, peace and developments for all, the CNRP won't regard anyone as an enemy."
 
Hun Sen, however, took a more ominous view.
 
"No guns are needed to cause war ... words can cause war if the CPP loses patience and go to your homes and burn down your homes," Hun Sen said.
 
He warned critics not to test him through the use of force, pointing out that a royalist party was destroyed following a bloody coup in the 1990s.
 
"The only solution is that the CPP must win elections at all stages," he said, telling the opposition party to accept future election results.
 
Hun Sen on Thursday refused to meet foreign ambassadors who had planned to ask him about Cambodia's political situation.
 
(Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; Editing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Clarence Fernandez)
 

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Parrothead

 

"No guns are needed to cause war ... words can cause war if the CPP loses patience and go to your homes and burn down your homes," Hun Sen said.

 

Wow!

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Blackeye

Why hold elections? Remind me, I seem to be confused. 

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Bill H

I don't know what they are worried about.  They've passed so many laws that make it almost impossible for the opposition party to win they have already made elections redundant.  Maybe they just want an excuse to kill off the opposition now.

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andy

Official results confirm Cambodian opposition gains

 

 

Cambodian election authorities on Sunday released final results from this month's local polls, confirming that the opposition to the country's strongman leader made significant gains.

More than seven million people voted on June 4, testing the political temperature of a country rife with tension between Prime Minister Hun Sen and an embattled opposition determined to end his more than three-decade rule.

Hun Sen faces a national election next year and has vowed "civil war" if he is toppled.

The official results released by the National Election Committee on Sunday showed his ruling party won 1,156 out of the country's 1,646 communes.

But the opposition party won 489 communes, a more than tenfold increase on the 40 they won five years ago. A third party won one seat.

The popular vote was closer. Hun Sen's Cambodian People Party (CPP) received 51 percent while the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) got 44 percent.

During a ceremony on Sunday morning, CNRP leader Kem Sokha hailed the gains and told his supporters the opposition would win next year.

"We have moved each step to this point, but we will move forward for happiness and progress," Kem Sokha said, adding "there will be no war".

Hun Sen's ruling party said they remained confident.

Sok Eysan, a spokesman for CPP, told AFP that from the results of the local polls, he would expect the party to win 71 of the 123 National Assembly seats next year.

In recent months Hun Sen has issued a series of increasingly shrill warnings of violence if his three-decade rule is ended.

On Wednesday he told his critics to "prepare coffins" and said he would be happy to "eliminate 100 or 200 people" if that ensured the country's stability.

Rights groups and the opposition have accused Hun Sen of using the courts to pursue CNRP figures as well as dissidents and rights workers.

Amnesty International said some 27 political prisoners had been placed behind bars since 2013, with dozens of ongoing prosecutions against others.

Supporters see the 64-year-old Hun Sen as a beacon of stability while detractors accuse him and a coterie of allies of huge self-enrichment, corruption and autocracy.

The opposition has proven particularly popular among young voters, who often complain about a culture of corruption that only seems to benefit a wealthy elite or those with the right connections.

 

AFP

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Parrothead

 

 

Supporters see the 64-year-old Hun Sen as a beacon of stability while detractors accuse him and a coterie of allies of huge self-enrichment, corruption and autocracy.

 

As the younger generation grow and become eligible voters, they may gain ground fairly quickly. The younger generation won't know, first hand anyway, about the atrocities that cause older Khmers to support Hun Sen and his party.

 

I forget how often they have elections here. Anyone know, right off? 

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andy

I think it is the big one next year.

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Parrothead

I think it is the big one next year.

 

Will be interesting to see the results. But, I imagine it will be a sure win, still, for the current party. 

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