Prime Minister Hun Sen, on Sunday, said that he welcomed the US Government's decision to cut financial aid to the National Election Committee (NEC). He also wanted to encourage the US Government to stop all fundings for Cambodia.
In his speech to around 4,656 workers and employers from 69 factories on Sunday at Koh Pech Island in Phnom Penh, the premier said that if the US Government cut financial aid to the NEC, it means that the US Government wanted to kill the very young liberal democracy system in Cambodia, not Prime Minister Hun Sen himself.
According to Fresh News, Prime Minister Hun Sen also said that the US aid cut could not «kill» his government, but, it would rather «kill» a number of people whose work was to serve the US government's foreign policy.
However, Mr. Aun Porn Moniroth, Minister of Economy and Finance, previously explained to lawmakers at the National Assembly that 20 percent of the cost to run the Cambodian government came from foreign donors.
Minster Moniroth added that a possible economic crisis could happen if foreign donors decide to halt all their financial aids to the Kingdom of Cambodia. Nevertheless, Mr. Moniroth hoped that foreign donors would not put political issue and trade issue in the same package.
The US Government, on Thursday, issued a statement asking the Cambodian government to «UNDO» the dissolution of the CNRP, to release Mr. Kem Sokha, CNRP's president, and to restore the situation in which civil society and media could freely function.
"We call on the Royal Government of Cambodia to undo its recent actions against the CNRP, release imprisoned CNRP leader Kem Sokha, and allow opposition parties, civil society, and the media to maintain their legitimate activities," read the US statement.
The statement added that the US Government would take concrete measures to respond to the Cambodian government's "regrettable" actions. As the first step, the US Government would stop all their support to the Cambodian National Election Committee (NEC). As a result, the upcoming general election in July 2018 would not considered by the US Government as legitimate if the current situation in Cambodia would not be changed.
The White House's statement also said that the dissolution of the CNRP and the ban of its 118 official from politics have set back Cambodia's democratic development, and placed economic growth and international support at risk.
In the same way, the European Union (EU), on Thursday, also issued a statement declaring that the dissolution of the opposition party CNRP by the Supreme Court was unconstitutional. And the EU asked the Cambodian government to restore the situation in which the CNRP and its supporters could freely carry out their activities.
"A situation in which all parties, including the CNRP, their leaders and their supporters are able to carry out freely their legitimate functions, must be swiftly restored," read the EU's statement issued on Thursday.
The statement also repeated what the US Government previously said that the dissolution of the CNRP disenfranchised the Cambodian people who chose to vote for the CNRP in 2013 and 2017.
"The enforced dissolution of the CNRP effectively disenfranchises all those who gave the party their support in the elections in 2013 and 2017," the statement added.
To the EU, the upcoming general election in Cambodia in July 2018 would not be legitimate if the CNRP, the biggest opposition party in the country, could not participate in this election.
Furthermore, the EU repeated once more its message that the Kingdom of Cambodia could export its products to the EU's market with low tax or nontax only if human rights are respected in the country. If not, the cooperation between the two governments could be suspended anytime.
"The European Union has repeatedly passed these messages to the Cambodian authorities, including today. Respect of fundamental human rights is a prerequisite for Cambodia to continue to benefit from the EU's preferential Everything But Arms scheme," read the statement.
According to Prime Minister Hun Sen's Facebook page, as of today, 1,107 garment factories were built in the country. This figure made the total number of private companies in Cambodia increase to 11,168. These companies have provided job to around one million Cambodians.
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