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Main Cambodian opposition leader arrested, paper shuts as crackdown grows
Reuters ^ | September 2, 2017 / 11:05 AM / | Prak Chan Thul, Matthew Tostevin

Posted on 09/03/2017 10:33:56 AM PDT by BenLurkin

Cambodia’s main opposition leader Kem Sokha was arrested and accused of treason on Sunday and a leading independent paper said it was being forced to shut down as Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government intensified a crackdown on his critics.

Hun Sen said Kem Sokha had been plotting with the United States, increasing his anti-American rhetoric as Cambodia heads towards elections next year in which the authoritarian leader’s grip of more than three decades is at stake.

The U.S. State Department expressed concern at the arrest of Ken Sokha and action against the media. It raised doubt over whether the Southeast Asian country can hold a fair election.

Hun Sen, 65, a former Khmer Rouge cadre, who is now one of China’s closest regional allies, said Kem Sokha had been arrested for treason in which the United States was implicated.

“It’s an act of treason with conspiracy with a foreign country, betraying his own nation. This requires arrest,” Hun Sen told a group of garment workers, according to the pro-government Fresh News website.

Kem Sokha, 64, has led the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) since his predecessor resigned in February, saying he feared a government plan to shut it down. Kem Sokha was taken from his home in handcuffs after a night-time police raid.

The opposition party lost to Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party in local elections in June, but it did well enough to increase expectations of a close contest in the 2018 vote.

The government released a video on its Facebook page in which Kem Sokha appeared to tell a group of supporters about a strategy to win power which he said had the support of “the Americans” rather than an immediate plot to topple Hun Sen.

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: cambodia; cambodian

1 posted on 09/03/2017 10:33:56 AM PDT by BenLurkin
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To: BenLurkin

What happens in Cambodia......stays in Cambodia


2 posted on 09/03/2017 10:36:52 AM PDT by EnglishOnly (Fight all out to win OR get out now.)
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To: BenLurkin

Hun Sen was a former Khmer Rouge cadre. They’ve mellowed. Shutting down a newspaper is nothing compared to a mountain of skulls.


3 posted on 09/03/2017 10:38:38 AM PDT by Pearls Before Swine
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To: Pearls Before Swine

Yes, back when people in the United States and Canada were watching TV shows like “The Gong Show” and “Charlie’s Angels”, being too smart, being too lazy, being too happy, playing non Communist music, and knowledge of a foreign language were among the offences for which a person could be beaten or shot to death in Cambodia under Pol Pot.


4 posted on 09/03/2017 10:44:03 AM PDT by OttawaFreeper ("If I had to go to war again, I'd bring lacrosse players" Conn Smythe)
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To: Pearls Before Swine

First Pol Pot and now this clown.


5 posted on 09/03/2017 10:46:40 AM PDT by Fungi (90 percent of all soil biomass is a fungus. Fungi rule the world.)
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To: BenLurkin
Ken Sokha

arrested

6 posted on 09/03/2017 10:46:46 AM PDT by gaijin
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To: BenLurkin

The Killing Fields....again.


7 posted on 09/03/2017 10:49:21 AM PDT by CodeToad (Victorious warriors WIN first, then go to war! Go TRUMP!!!)
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To: BenLurkin
Who were the dopes who said "communism is dead"? This even after we've had them take over the reigns of our own country from 2008-2016.

Meanwhile, Russia still to this day continues to arm and stand firm behind just about every communist regime on the planet, despite their claims to now reject communism.

How Russia arms America's southern neighbors

Ioan Grillo
May 9, 2014

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Russia's push into Ukraine has put many on edge. But less known is that Russia is also strengthening its military links south of the Rio Grande and re-establishing itself as a power in the region.

Vladimir Putin has been strengthening military links here, and Russia is now the largest arms dealer to governments in Latin America, surpassing the United States.

Russia has even floated the possibility of building new military bases in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, and putting its warships permanently in the Caribbean.

In the midst of the Ukraine crisis, Russia's top diplomat Sergei Lavrov recently visited Cuba, Peru, Chile, and Nicaragua, where he announced that Russia would also pour money into the new Central American canal project. ..."

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/140508/russian-arms-military-trade-latin-america
___________________________________________________

Russia Boosts Arms, Training for Leftist Latin Militaries

Moscow defense minister inks deals with Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua for joint exercises

BY: Bill Gertz
February 20, 2015

Russia agreed to provide military training for three leftist regimes in Latin America and increase military visits and exercises following a visit last week to the region by Moscow's Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu, Pentagon officials said.

Shoygu met with defense and military leaders in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua and signed several agreements on warship visits and military training during the visit, which ran from Feb. 11 to 14. It is not clear whether any new arms deals were completed during the visit.

Defense officials said the Russian leader is seeking bases in the region for strategic bomber flights that Shoygu recently promised would include flights over the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean.

http://freebeacon.com/national-security/russia-boosts-arms-training-for-leftist-latin-militaries/

________________________________________________________________________________

Russia and North Korea declare 2015 a ‘year of friendship’

“The biggest cause for concern is the growing military alliance between Russia and North Korea, with the two regimes recently announcing plans to conduct a series of joint army, navy and air force exercises this year.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/11463265/Russia-and-North-Korea-declare-2015-a-year-of-friendship.html

________________________________________________________________________________

Russia steps up North Korea support to constrain US

May 17, 2017

“Despite efforts by the United Nations to impose isolating sanctions on North Korea in response to the country’s continued development of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles, trade between Russia and North Korea soared more than 85 percent in the first four months of the year.”

http://www.dw.com/en/russia-steps-up-north-korea-support-to-constrain-us/a-38867861

_____________________________________________________

From the Sino-Russian Joint Statement of April 23, 1997:
"The two sides [China and Russia] shall, in the spirit of partnership, strive to promote the multipolarization of the world and the establishment of a new international order."

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/HI29Ag01.html
_____________________________________________________

"Joint war games are a logical outcome of the Sino-Russian Friendship and Cooperation Treaty signed in 2001, and reflect the shared worldview and growing economic ties between the two Eastern Hemisphere giants."

http://www.heritage.org/research/commentary/2005/09/war-games-russia-china-grow-alliance

8 posted on 09/03/2017 10:52:12 AM PDT by ETL (See my FR Home page for a closer look at today's Communist/Anarchist protest groups)
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