Why are abuse claims in Cambodia’s war on drugs being ignored?
Hun Sen’s campaign may not feature the violence of Rodrigo Duterte’s crackdown in the Philippines, but advocates still warn of ‘gradual but deadly’ rights abuses
South China Morning Post (Hongkong)
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
On New Year’s Day, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen launched a six-month crackdown on the drug scourge that he said had become an increasing grievance for the country’s people. His announcement came shortly after a state visit by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who in 2016 launched a violent anti-drugs campaign in his own country that went on to kill 7,000 people in seven months. Given that Duterte’s crackdown was suspended after rogue police officers kidnapped and killed a South Korean businessman, it is perhaps not surprising that Hun Sen, after the first spike in detentions in February, rushed to assure Cambodians that his campaign would not be bloody.
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