Democracy was on trial this week in Cambodia, and it lost. Demonstrating its complete subservience to Prime Minister Hun Sen, the Cambodian supreme court ruled to dissolve my political party, the Cambodia National Rescue party (CNRP). It also banned me and more than 100 of my colleagues from politics for the next five years.



As the only opposition party capable of mounting a serious challenge to the ruling party in national elections – scheduled for July – the CNRP posed a threat to the continuance of more than three decades of Hun Sen’s brutal, strongman rule.

'Death of democracy' in Cambodia as court dissolves opposition Read more

The mounting fear of losing in a genuine vote motivated this decision and spurred an unprecedented crackdown that has seen my party’s president, Kem Sokha, imprisoned; prominent NGOs and media outlets shuttered; and over half of CNRP lawmakers – including myself – forced to flee the country. In pursuing this course, Hun Sen has proved himself nothing more than a dictator bent on remaining in power, no matter what the costs.

And make no mistake: the costs are great. Elections next year will be a farce, and the system is devolving into de facto one-party rule. In acceding to the CNRP’s dissolution, the supreme court has served as a handmaiden to democracy’s destruction, robbing it of any remaining public confidence and further undermining Cambodia’s already weak institutions overall. Under continued conditions of severe repression, we can expect to see further corruption and human rights abuses, such as rampant land grabbing, with no justice for victims. The mounting anger of the Cambodian people and rising feeling that there is no recourse will feed social instability and imperil Cambodia’s prospects for continued economic growth.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Police officers stand guard at the supreme court in Phnom Penh as the main opposition party is dissolved. Photograph: Samrang Pring/Reuters

This is a tragedy not only for Cambodia, but for all those nations who have worked for decades to help rebuild the country, after many years of genocide and civil war. We were finally getting to a stage where there was a real political opposition, where the voice of the people could be heard, and where – we hoped – a change of government could come through the ballot box. That all ended on Thursday, and with it the belief of millions of Cambodians that they had the power to decide their future.

The international community’s response to previous attacks on democracy has been part of the problem. Despite years of mounting warning signs, Hun Sen’s behaviour has been repeatedly rewarded with more aid and few, if any, serious red lines. This fed a feeling on the part of the regime that it could act without consequence.

The response now must be unequivocal. The international community should withdraw any support for elections and refuse to observe or sanction the vote unless the CNRP and all political parties are allowed to compete on a fair playing field. Governments should also suspend technical assistance to the ruling government, which has consistently demonstrated that it has no intention of addressing corruption or strengthening institutions. They must also impose targeted sanctions aimed at top-level individuals in Cambodia who are ordering, perpetrating and facilitating this systematic dismantling of Cambodia’s democracy.

I had been hesitant to call for these measures in the past. I maintained a belief that the government would eventually reverse course and gradually open up to greater democracy. I held out hope that the ruling party could be persuaded to embrace a genuine culture of dialogue.

But my hopes have been repeatedly dashed, and the time has come for more substantive action. The dreams enshrined in the 1991 Paris peace accords, which ended many years of civil war, are being crushed. The international community was instrumental in securing that agreement, and if Cambodia is to succeed, the international community needs to step up again now. This is an opportunity to show that democratic values and human rights still matter, in Cambodia and across the globe.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Mu Sochua of the Cambodia National Rescue party. Photograph: Frank Augstein/AP

Democracy may have lost this week, but it was not a knockout blow. Democracy will not die in the hearts of the Cambodian people. The government may have officially dissolved the opposition party, but it cannot do the same with the 3 million Cambodians who voted for change in the last elections. It cannot erase the 1.5 million Cambodian migrant workers abroad, who long to return to a country that is democratic, prosperous and free. It cannot abolish the hopes and expectations of Cambodia’s 10 million young people, who dream of a promising future, free from corruption and oppression. The people of Cambodia deserve a chance for their voices to be heard.