Cambodia’s PM Hun Sen confirms controversial agreement to resettle refugees from Australia
Cambodia’s strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen has confirmed his impoverished country will accept refugees from Australia in a controversial agreement condemned by human rights and refugee advocates. In his first public comments on the agreement, Mr Hun Sen said Cambodia will be “heart-felt and generous towards the refugees who need rights to asylum.” He said the refugees who re-settle in Cambodia “will have opportunities for education and earning of livelihoods like other Cambodian citizens without discrimination.” ... While details of the agreement have not been made public, Cambodia has insisted that refugees not be sent against their will, raising doubts about the effectiveness of the agreement. Refugee advocates predict many refugees slated for Cambodia on the tiny Pacific island of Nauru will refuse to resettle in Cambodia, opting to hold out in the hope there is a policy change and they will eventually be able to get to Australia. ... But Mr Hun Sen’s revelation that Australia has already interviewed some of the refugees indicates arrangements are well advanced for the transportation of up to 1000 people to his country. His comments came after a committee in Phnom Penh set-up to consider a draft proposal from Australia completed its work. Further details are to be worked out with Australia before the agreement is signed, maybe within days, officials in Phnom Penh say. Cambodia also wants its officials to travel to Nauru to be involved in the refugee assessment process. Australia is expected to give Cambodia tens of millions of dollars for accepting the refugees who will be expected to assimilate into a society where 40 per cent of people live in poverty. ... The prospect of Australia sending refugees to Cambodia provoked a storm of criticism in Phnom Penh when an in-principle agreement was revealed last month, including from opposition MPs and non-government-organisations. Virak Ou, chairman of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, accused Australia of irresponsibly exporting its own problem. ... Cambodia’s opposition leader Sam Rainsy described the deal as a “disgrace,” saying Australian money will be diverted into the pockets of Cambodia’s corrupt leaders. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has condemned the agreement, saying Cambodia is a vulnerable nation still recovering for years of civil war and is still unable to provide for its own people. ...
