Cambodian PM now full fledged military dictator: Report
Phnom Penh, June 28 : Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has become a "fully fledged military dictator", according to a new Human Rights Watch report released on Thursday.
The report titled "Cambodia's Dirty Dozen", names the 12 military personnel who have been the "backbone" of Hun Sen's "abusive and authoritarian political regime", which he has led since 1985, reports The Guardian.
Many of this group of 12 have served in the Khmer Rouge military -- the Communist regime which saw the execution, starvation, and disease of an estimated 1.2 to 2.8 million Cambodians (between 13 and 30% of the population) between 1975 and 1979.
According to the report, Hun Sen has "remained in power by creating a cadre of ruthless members of the security forces to implement his vision and orders".
While Hun Sen has always been notorious for his autocratic rule and his use of force against anyone who defied him, his crackdown on the opposition, the media and civil society has escalated in the past year.
Hun Sen has dissolved the opposition party, the CNRP, shut down the Cambodia Daily newspaper, Radio Free Asia and dozens of local radio stations.
Journalists, opposition politicians and civil society leaders are now in jail and an atmosphere of fear and self-censorship has gripped the country, the report said.
"Hun Sen really has become a fully-fledged military dictator, a fact that he hopes to hide behind the fig-leaf of a national election in July that will be neither free nor fair," said Phil Roberton, deputy director of Human Rights Asia.
"At each step of the way in his years in power, Hun Sen has sought to centralise control over the military and police under his direct command, aided by this group of dangerous men," the Guardian quoted Robertson as saying.
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K’taka HC judge whose controversial remarks triggered controversy expresses regret before open court
Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court judge, Justice V Srishananda, on Saturday expressed regret in open court after facing backlash over his controversial remarks in his recent court hearings, reported Bar and Bench.
Two purported video clips from Justice V Srishananda’s court hearing that show him making inappropriate comments went viral across social media platforms.
On Saturday, Justice Srishananda invited members of the Advocates Association, Bengaluru, and senior lawyers to his courtroom at 2:30 PM, where he read out a note expressing regret for inappropriate comments.
Quoting Advocates Association President Vivek Subba Reddy, Bar and Bench wrote, “He expressed regret for the comments and clarified that it was not his intention to offend any community or members of the Bar. He also requested the association to relay this message to all members of the Bar.”
Reddy further stated, “We also advised him to encourage young lawyers in the courtroom and refrain from making any irrelevant remarks during hearings.”
Another senior lawyer present during the session confirmed to the legal news portal that Justice Srishananda also addressed comments directed at a woman lawyer, who was seen in one of the videos being reprimanded by the judge. The judge Justice Srishananda clarified that his remarks were not intended to target her (woman lawyer) specifically, but rather pertained to the appellant she was representing. “He explained that his comment was meant to imply that the appellant seemed to know a lot about the other party,” said the lawyer.
In addition, Justice Srishananda assured those present that he would avoid making such comments in the future.
The controversy came to light on September 19, when a video clip from an August 28 Court hearing surfaced on social media, showing Justice Srishananda referring to a Muslim-majority sub-locality in Bengaluru’s Goripalya as "Pakistan." Hours later, another video from the same courtroom emerged, in which the judge was seen making a gender-insensitive remark.
Following outrage over the viral videos, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy, on September 20 took a suo motu cognizance and sought a report from the Karnataka High Court Registrar General in connection with the viral video.
