US lawmakers raise plight of gov’t critics in Cambodia

WASHINGTON – U.S. lawmakers called Thursday for Cambodian leader Hun Sen to cease harassment and intimidation of the political opposition, days after a prominent government critic was gunned down in the capital.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee approved a resolution supporting human rights and democracy in the Southeast Asian nation, where Hun Sen has been prime minister for three decades.

Democratic Rep. Alan Lowenthal called for a defamation charge to be dropped against opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who is in self-imposed exile. Lowenthal said Rainsy’s deputy, Kem Sokha, is under effective house arrest in Cambodia and fears for his life. He said he spoke to Kem Sokha on Wednesday.

A political analyst and prominent government critic, Kem Lay, was shot dead Sunday in Phnom Penh, raising accusations of a political conspiracy. Hun Sen has promised a thorough investigation.

A former Cambodian soldier was charged Wednesday with Kem Lay’s murder, purportedly motivated by a money dispute. In an interview with The Associated Press, the accused’s wife cast doubt over that explanation.

Lowenthal said the resolution would send a message to the Cambodian government “that political violence of any kind will not be tolerated.”

Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher declared that “it’s time for Hun Sen to go.”

He said some have argued that Hun Sen helped get rid of former Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, but “whatever happened in the past does not justify Hun Sen’s continuing iron-fisted grip.”

The resolution was among a raft of measures swiftly approved by the House committee Thursday, paving the way for them to be taken up by the full House. The resolution does not compel any action or sanction by the executive branch of the U.S. government, which ultimately sets and carries out foreign policy.

Political tensions have been rising in Cambodia with legal and other pressures by the government on Rainsy’s Cambodia National Rescue Party ahead of national elections due in 2018.