PHNOM PENH: The Cambodian foreign ministry announced on Monday (Jul 23) it was “utterly dismayed” by a comment made by United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia Rhona Smith, who had raised concerns over alleged voter intimidation and commended the legality of abstention ahead of national polls.

“The timing and motivation of her remarks merit several questions due to their substantive bias and prejudice in the context of electoral sensitivity,” a spokesperson said in a letter on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.



On Jul 20, Smith expressed her concern about government representatives allegedly stating voter abstention is illegal and that those who sent messages about election boycott would be fined.

Her comment - posted on the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Cambodia’s Facebook page - came amid the ongoing campaign by defunct main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which urges eligible voters to boycott the national polls on Sunday.

It claimed local authorities have threatened to withhold public services to those who do not vote for the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).​​​​​​​

"This only creates a climate of fear and confusion,” the message said. "I welcome recent government calls to local authorities to avoid discrimination during the campaign and encourage the government to condemn in very clear terms voter intimidation and to clarify that calling for a boycott in a non-compulsory vote is permitted.”





According to the foreign ministry, Smith’s remarks are supportive of CNRP’s former leader Sam Rainsy, who has been living in self-imposed exile in France, and former opposition members.

In the statement, the ministry spokesperson accused the UN human rights expert of losing sight of Rainsy’s “dangerous populism” that, he said, has provoked military rebellion against the government, anti-China sentiment, racial hatred, xenophobia and ultra-nationalism.

“However, the Ministry notes with deep regret that the Special Rapporteur has never ever publicly deplored the above-said undemocratic conducts,” he added.

“Fair and objective observation of the electoral process should underline the nature of an unhealthy opposition which aims to disrupt the hard-earned peace, political stability and development in Cambodia.”

"Utterly dismayed": Cambodian govt criticises UN human rights expert Rhona Smith for expressing concern about reported voter intimidation ahead of election on Jul 29, says her remarks are biased, prejudiced and supportive of ex-opposition leader Rainsy's call for election boycott pic.twitter.com/9muncKn6t8 — Pichayada P. (@PichayadaCNA) July 24, 2018





CAMBODIAN ELECTION "UNFREE AND UNFAIR"

Without the main opposition contesting, the election on Sunday (Jul 29) has been labelled by several observers as unfree and unfair.

The landmark prosecution of opposition leader Kem Sokha has decimated much of Cambodia's opposition. He is currently in jail for allegedly conspiring with a foreign power to destroy national security by overthrowing Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government.

On Sep 3 last year, Sokha was charged with treason following his arrest by more than 100 police officers in a midnight raid at his Phnom Penh residence. He was handcuffed and taken away in a police car to the Correctional Centre No 3 in the border province of Tbong Khmum, almost 200km from the capital.

His prosecution has drawn international criticism against Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for 33 years. It has also driven Sokha’s family members and several opposition MPs into self-exile abroad for fear of a similar fate.



In November, the CNRP was disbanded by the supreme court, which also banned 118 party members from politics for five years.

At the same time, freedom of expression is facing more restrictions in Cambodia. A number of radio stations went off the air. Independent newspapers and non-governmental organisations were shut while human rights activists and journalists were jailed.

A Cambodian man reads the English-laguage newspaper Cambodia Daily at the information board in front of its office in Phnom Penh on Sep 4, 2017. (Photo: AFP/Tang Chhin Sothy)

“The fragile legal framework that supported Cambodia’s slow progression from an authoritarian state to a flawed democracy is now in the process of being dismantled by its government,” said the International Federation of Journalists and the South East Asia Journalist Unions in its report Cambodia’s Media on Edge.

“In doing so the government has politicised the country’s courts, restricted freedom of speech, assembly and association, and uses violence and imprisonment to suppress its political opposition, civil society and media.”

In June, PM Hun Sen’s administration announced it will monitor and control online news ahead of the Sunday election to prevent dissemination of information “that can cause social chaos and threaten national security”. According to the Information Ministry, the law targets text, audio, pictures, videos or other forms of communication that spread “fake news”.

During the election coverage, the media is forbidden from broadcasting news that would cause confusion and loss of confidence in the national polls, the National Election Committee warned in May.

It also advised journalists not to broadcast news based on rumour or lack of evidence, use provocative language that may cause disorder or violence, or publish reports that affect national security and socio-political stability.

On Tuesday, the US Embassy in Phnom Penh issued a warning to American citizens residing in or travelling to Cambodia.

“The upcoming national parliamentary elections on July 29 may spark political gatherings, demonstrations, or movements of security personnel. Although recent political gatherings in Cambodia have been largely non-violent, demonstrations or gatherings could turn confrontational without warning.”