PM Hun Sen is a tyrant and serial abuser of rights in Cambodia….rsk
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – Cambodia’s prime minister on Saturday accused the U.S. government of being dishonest in its announced suspension of aid to the Southeast Asian nation, saying Cambodia had already stopped receiving aid from Washington in 2016.
The White House said on Tuesday it was suspending or curtailing several Treasury, USAID and military assistance programs that support Cambodia’s military, taxation department and local authorities – all of which, it said, shared blame for recent political instability.
In his first public comments since the announced aid suspension, Prime Minister Hun Sen accused U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia William Heidt of lying, saying aid cuts to Cambodia’s tax department were made in 2016.
“We, the 16 million people, didn’t receive American aid in the tax sector. This aid was already finished in 2016,” Hun Sen said in a speech to thousands of garment workers in the southern province of Preah Sihanouk.
“Please, U.S Ambassador, answer this one question: why did you announce cutting aid while there is no aid? Do you intend to distort the reputation of Cambodia?”
The U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh declined to comment.
The White House decision comes amid an ongoing crackdown by the government and its allies against critics of Hun Sen ahead of a July general election.
