Japan’s Premier Criticized After Visiting Cambodia

Japan’s prime minister failed to address major issues, by leaving aside Cambodia’s political deadlock and its poor human rights record on a visit last week, rights activists say. “It was a missed opportunity for the government of Japan, which has a great deal of leverage with the Cambodian government because of its large aid budget,” said Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia division. … Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Cambodia last weekend, vowing financial support to Prime Minister Hun Sen to help promote human rights and democracy. But he did not discuss the results of July’s election, which the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party has rejected. Government spokesman Phay Siphan said politics should be “placed away from people’s social welfare,” and that Japan’s stance in supporting Cambodia was “clear.” “We all should understand that we have just walked out of war, and we need support from every corner,” he said. Peter Tan Keo, an independent analyst in the US, told VOA Khmer that Japan’s stance appeared to be support for reform of Cambodia’s electoral system for future elections, rather than to address problems with the past election. …

 Sok Khemara
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/japan-premier-criticized-after-visiting-cambodia/1795737.html