Australia asks Cambodia to take asylum seekers amid violent crackdown
The Abbott government wants to send some asylum seekers to Cambodia, at a time when the country’s strongman prime minister, Hun Sen, is overseeing a brutal crackdown on dissent in one of south-east Asia’s poorest nations. Facing growing opposition after decades of authoritarian rule, Hun Sen last month authorised a violent crackdown on anti-government protesters and striking garment workers that left five people dead and dozens injured. A request on Saturday by Australia’s foreign minister, Julie Bishop, for Australia to initially send a small group of asylum seekers to live in Cambodia comes amid the strongest challenge to Hun Sen’s rule since he took power in 1985, becoming one of the world’s longest-serving leaders, with a reputation as a wily operator who destroys his political opponents. Before the visit, Human Rights Watch urged Ms Bishop to put rights abuses at the top of her agenda in meetings with Cambodian leaders, saying under Hun Sen’s rule, ”basic rights, such as freedom of expression, assembly and association, are under regular attack, while corruption is rampant, severely affecting the enjoyment of basic economic and social rights by a very poor citizenry”. …
Lindsay Murdoch
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/australia-asks-cambodia-to-take-asylum-seekers-amid-violent-crackdown-20140223-33amf.html
