The US and EU must not commit the same mistakes in Cambodia that they made in Thailand. Efforts to pressure strongman Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to follow their suggested paths will not work. Worse still, they could have serious adverse effects, as the country's domestic and external conditions are very different and unique.
If and when Cambodia's long-standing peace and prosperity has been shattered, the well-being of Southeast Asia will be jeopardised, allowing external forces to intervene. In engaging Cambodia, a long-haul perspective and strategic patience are required.
Since the recent election, Hun Sen has fully consolidated his power with total control of the National Assembly. Western democracies have repeatedly condemned the electoral outcome and the way he treated opposition parties, limited the political space and gagged the media. Foreign and local human rights campaigners have released a long list of rights violations and media restrictions, not to mention other limits on freedom of expression.
