Phnom Penh - A UN human-rights envoy who visited last week
was unnecessary, unwelcome and bent on destroying Cambodia's
international reputation in the interests of collecting his own
salary, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Monday.
In a speech broadcast on national media, Hun Sen reiterated
earlier promises that he would never agree to work with Yash Ghai,
the UN human-rights envoy to Cambodia, telling the Kenyan he should
get his own country's human-rights record in order before daring to
criticize Cambodia.
'You said the Cambodian government violates human rights
systematically. This seems to me a very strong term,' Hun Sen said at
a series of bridge inaugurations in Kandal province just outside the
capital.
'This guy comes from a country which completely violates human
rights,' the premier added. 'You can come here, but I do not need
you. If I live to be more than 1,000 years old, I will still never
meet with you, so please do not come to see me. The prime minister is
not obliged to meet you.'
Ghai's visit was meant to gather additional background before he
presents his report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva later
this month.
In it, he accuses the Cambodian government of systematic
human-rights abuses, derides the country's notoriously inept judicial
system as a tool of oppression wielded by the government and laments
wide-scale land grabs by the rich and powerful.
He was snubbed by all members of the government during his visit
except for Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sar Kheng.
Hun Sen said Ghai's report could be compared to a Cambodian
proverb that says the dog barks, but the ox cart still rolls forward.
'However, I will not compare you to a dog,' he said, referring to
Yash Ghai. 'They try to destroy us from Geneva, but we strengthen
human rights ourselves.'
The Interior Ministry on Friday issued a press release that did
not deny human-rights abuses existed in the country but claimed
Ghai's report was unfair, biased and failed to acknowledge any
progress the government had made, focusing instead only on negatives.
Ghai has been consistently critical of the Cambodian government's
human rights record during three visits to the country since he took
over the position from Peter Leuprecht in 2005, and Hun Sen's speech
Monday indicated that his relationship with the government would not
improve in the foreseeable future.
Hun Sen said Monday that he had told former UN secretary general
Kofi Annan personally that he never expected to hear a good report on
Cambodia's human-rights record while the human-rights envoy worked
for a salary.
'If you say good things about the government's human-rights
efforts, you will lose your salary,' he said, adding that he viewed
UN human-rights officials as tourists.
'But do not worry. I will not close your office because you rent
out the homes of Cambodian people and they pay the government
10-per-cent tax. Bring 500, 1,000 more to work here,' he said.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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