Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy’s on-again, off-again return to Phnom Penh – to lead a democratic uprising against Prime Minister Hun Sen – has turned into a circus, and a major headache for ASEAN countries.
Rainsy, a former Finance Minister, has been living in self-imposed exile in Paris since 2015 as a result of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s years-long crackdown on and jailing of members of the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP).
Ahead of the country’s November 9 Independence Day anniversary, Rainsy and his supporters announced a plan to return to Cambodia overland from Bangkok.
