This is Cambodian democracy?

The following is from the Thursday 13 August, Phnom Penh Post article, "PM Warns Opponents Away from Lawsuits."

This is NOT fictional! It is the real situation of Cambodia's so-called democracy.

PRIME Minister Hun Sen has spoken out for the first time about his recent legal victory over opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua, which he said should serve as a warning to anyone else who might consider suing him.


"If you want to play legal games, I will also play legal games," he said during a graduation ceremony at the Royal University of Law and Economics on Wednesday.


"If you play political games, I will also play political games. And if you play military games, I will also play military games."


Hun Sen said he would be able to silence all opposition voices "in only two hours" if he decided to use force rather than file complaints in court.


"You wouldn't be able to run," he said. "All of you would be arrested."


"External groups, please listen closely," Hun Sen said during Wednesday's address.


"If you do not sue me, then I will not file a countersuit."


Hun Sen went on to criticise civil society groups as "servants" and "spokespeople" for opposition political parties.


Commenting on the current Cambodian People's Party majority in the National Assembly, which was further cemented during last year's elections, Hun Sen said he could continue serving as prime minister even if the CPP lost 10 seats in both the 2012 and 2017 elections. "So, all of you opposition groups, check your age," he said.


"However long you can live, I can accompany you to the end."

If you are not shaking in your boots like I was after reading this, then something is wrong. Never before have I been more thankful to be a citizen of another country than right now. This is downright scary.

Reading this kind of language makes me so sad for all Cambodians. They have no chance of true freedom with this kind of dominance and threats.

For the leader of the country to clearly threaten military action or force for anyone who dares to oppose him is no less than a dictator.

Wake up world! Have you not read your history?

However, what can the international community do? They don't care as long as the country is stable. Who cares what is happening to the Cambodian people as long as it is "open" for business.