Are Funcinpec a Chance?
Published on Jul 17, 2023 by Luke Hunt
Can Funcinpec win any seats at the Cambodian election this Sunday. Luke Hunt write for the Diplomat that just maybe the party of the royalists might win "two or thee seats" and end this country's status as a one-party-state. Click and read more here..
Cambodians Braced for Poll
Cambodians head to the polls this month in an election that has been widely criticized by Western countries, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and pro-democracy activists, but authorities in Phnom Penh insist the ballot on July 23 will be free and fair. Read more about this election from VOA..
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Prepped for the Inevitable
About 9.7 million Cambodians go to the polls on July 23 for a one-sided election, which will secure Prime Minister Hun Sen’s absolute authority and an endorsement for a widely-anticipated transfer of power to his eldest son Hun Manet.Only his Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) — which has ruled since a Vietnamese invasion ousted the Khmer Rouge from power in 1979 — is capable of winning a contest bereft of competition since the disqualification of the main opposition party in May, amid a six-year crackdown on dissent.Click here to read more from UCA News..
Three Asian Summits
Published on Jan 6, 2023 by Luke Hunt
A podcast with Brad Murg. Southeast Asia recently played host to an unprecedented group of summits that firmly put the West and its U.S.-led foreign policy in the Indo-Pacific on the front foot.Bradley Murg, distinguished senior research fellow at the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, speaks with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about the key takeaways and questions that arose after world leaders converged on Phnom Penh, Bali, and Bangkok.Listen here.
Timor-Leste in ASEAN
A podcast with Kupa Lopez. Timor-Leste initially applied for membership to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 11 years ago, but since then Dili has been frustrated and disappointed, finding entry into the club of 10 nations a difficult ask.This prompted Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta to remark earlier this year that: “It seems as if to reach ASEAN, you have to fulfill all the criteria to enter heaven. And then the next step is ASEAN.”Membership seemed assured this year after Cambodia assumed the role of ASEAN’s rotating chair, with Prime Minister Hun Sen promising to do all he could to ensure Timor-Leste’s admittance as the bloc’s eleventh member state. That was not to be.Luke Hunt spoke with Kupa Lopes,....