Three decades after a landmark agreement ended years of bloody violence in Cambodia, its strongman ruler has crushed all opposition and is eyeing dynastic succession, shattering hopes for a democratic future.The Paris Peace Agreements, signed on 23 October, 1991, brought an end to nearly two decades of savage slaughter that began with the Khmer Rouge's ascent to power in 1975.The genocidal regime wiped out up to two million Cambodians through murder, starvation and overwork, before a Vie

There will be no Cambodian Spring anytime soon. This is the sobering reality to a question so tempting to ask – particularly in the shadow of what’s happening in Thailand and now in Lao PDR. So, why won’t a civil society uprising happen in Cambodia soon?

The treason trial of Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha opened Wednesday, more than two years after his arrest in a case decried by his family as a "farce" and widely pilloried as politically motivated.The 66-year-old co-founded the now-banned Cambodia National Rescue Party, once considered the sole viable opponent to the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) led by strongman premier Hun Sen - who has ruled the country with an iron fist for 35 years.Sokha was arrested in 201

Cambodia’s self-exiled opposition figurehead Sam Rainsy said Tuesday he had not given up on getting home after an initial bid to return was thwarted, and external pressure on strongman Hun Sen would force him to change course.Rainsy spoke to media in Malaysia after flying in at the weekend from France, where he has lived since 2015, as he sought to fulfil a vow to return home by Independence Day on Saturday.Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia since 1985, had denounced efforts by arch-rival Rainsy

Cambodia has freed a prominent opposition figure from house arrest more than two years after he was charged with treason, a court spokesperson told media on Sunday, after attempts by his colleagues to return to the country were thwarted.Kem Sokha was arrested in 2017 and accused of plotting to overthrow the government of strongman Hun Sen, who has ruled since 1985.He was sent to a remote prison, then confined to his house and the surrounding block and prohibited from talking to the m

Exiled Cambodian opposition party leader Sam Rainsy was blocked in Paris on Thursday and his deputy detained in Malaysia as they tried to fly home despite arrest threats from Cambodia’s  leader Hun Sen.Both Rainsy and Mu Sochua had planned to meet up with other opposition supporters to mark Cambodia’s Independence Day on Saturday.“I am extremely shocked because the people need me in Cambodia,” Rainsy, archrival of Prime Minister Hun Sen, told journalists at Charles de Gaulle airport

Thailand will not allow Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy to transit through the kingdom in a bid to return to Phnom Penh, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Wednesday.Rainsy, who has lived in France since 2015 to avoid jail for convictions he says are politically motivated, has promised a dramatic homecoming on 9 November, Cambodia's Independence Day.But Cambodia's strongman premier Hun Sen has said repeatedly that arrest warrants for his arch-rival have been sent to nei

Nearly seven decades after Cambodia gained independence from France, its people are still struggling for the right to determine their future. But today, it is not an outside power that is stealing Cambodians’ autonomy, but their own authoritarian government, led by Hun Sen, the world’s longest-serving prime minister.

Cambodia's premier Hun Sen on Wednesday threatened to arrest supporters of his nemesis Sam Rainsy if they mobilise for the opposition figurehead's much-trumpeted return from self-exile next month. Rainsy, who has lived in France since 2015 to avoid jail for convictions he insists are politically motivated, has promised a dramatic return on 9 November, Cambodia's Independence Day.Seeking to maintain his support base after years outside the country, Rainsy has urged supp