Cambodia PM thanks Thailand for thwarting 'interference' after arrest of activists

Days after a number of protestors were jailed, Cambodia’s prime minister, Hun Manet, thanked his Thai counterpart on Wednesday for preventing his opponents from using Thailand to “interfere” with his country’s affairs. The comments come after three Cambodian activists and their families were detained in Thailand last week; according to human rights organisations, the UN had designated the activists as refugees. Hun Manet has been under increasing pressure from abroad to put a stop to the years-long campaign that his father and predecessor, Hun Sen, started. This crackdown essentially eliminated internal opposition to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party. Hun Manet, who was educated in Britain and the United States, assumed power in Cambodia last year in a historic succession from his strongman father, whose almost four-decade rule was marked by fast economic growth and progress as well as restricting free expression and harsh persecution of his opponents. “Thanks for reaffirming your support and not allowing Thai territory to be used for any activities for interference in Cambodian internal politics,” Hun Manet told a joint press conference. “This forms mutual respect and benefit between our two countries.” Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin gave his commitment to Hun Manet that his country would not allow people to perpetrate “harmful activities” against neighbours. “We will strictly enforce our laws and policies in this respect,” he added. The New York-based Human Rights Watch last week urged Thailand not deport the detainees or bow to Cambodian pressure to go after refugees or its detractors. “Hun Manet is proving to be the same kind of human rights abusing dictator that his father was, and Thailand should not cooperate with his expanding transnational repression efforts,” its Asia deputy director Phil Robertson said in a statement.