Cambodian strongman Hun Sen’s crackdown on his political opponents continued apace last week, when he called on fellow Southeast Asian nations to arrest senior opposition figures Sam Rainsy and Mu Sochua, accusing them of planning a coup.
They and other officials of the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which was dissolved ahead of elections in 2017 that poll watchers from Western nations described as farcical, had pledged to return to Cambodia by November 9, the day of its independence from France.
In recent months, Cambodian security forces have arrested close to 50 people accused of fomenting dissent and the military said it would fortify its borders to prevent Rainsy and other figures from entering the country by land.
