In a move aimed at countering European criticism of his rule, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen arrived in Brussels on Wednesday for top-level meetings hoping to persuade European leaders to forgo threatened sanctions against his government following national elections widely regarded as rigged.
Meanwhile, Cambodians living abroad have planned protests against Hun Sen in Brussels on Oct. 18, the first day of a two-day Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM), a gathering of heads of state and government and business leaders from the two continents held to provide a forum for political discussions among the 53-member group.
Speaking to RFA’s Khmer Service on Oct. 17, protester Ouk Sam Oeurn said he hopes that pressure from the European Union, which threatened Cambodia earlier this month with a loss of preferential trade policies, will now force Hun Sen to restore democracy in the authoritarian Southeast Asian country.
Read the full story: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/brussels-10172018171536.html
