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Diplomats pointed out Hun Manet is being groomed to become a political leader to fill his father's shoes

Hun Xen's legacy: one of the 4 ASEAN dictatorships (Photo: Reuters)
Hun Xen's legacy: The Hun dynasty of dictators?

What is the political legacy of Cambodia's PM Hun Sen?

Monday, September 13, 2010

By Kavi Chongkittavor The Nation (Thailand) /Asia News Network
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen can be very passionate and nostalgic. During the opening speech last week in Phnom Penh during the two-day Asialink Conversation on Cambodia conference (hosted by University of Melbourne and Cambodia's Development and Research Institute), the region's longest reigning leader gave some rare and impromptu comments on his role during the peace process in Cambodia nearly two decades ago. Sitting just behind him at the podium was former Australian foreign minister Gareth Evans, who worked closely with him during the 1990s to secure peace in his country.

Hun Sen recalled those days with candor much to the delight of Evans, the diplomatic corps and younger audience. During the visit to Svay Rieng, he recounted, one of the Australian delegates, Michael Costello, was too tall for a Cambodian bed size so a special bed was prepared for him. The prime minister mentioned and praised Evans four times off the cuff, staying away from the prepared speech, for his tireless efforts in bringing all protagonists in forging the difficult peace agreement As never before seen, Hun Sen was very reflective, wanting to leave a lasting legacy of his governance and contribution to Cambodia.

The once war-torn country has become one of the region's most dynamic economies with gross domestic annual product rising since 1993 from US$2.4 billion to US$10.3 billion in 2008. These are amazing figures for a country that used to struggle for daily survival. He pointed out that the poverty rate has decreased by 50 percent in 1993 to 30 percent in 2007 then to 27.4 percent last year. Other impressive statistics in the same period also include the three-fold increase income per capita from US$229 to US$739. Again, Cambodia is the only least developed country that is a member of the World Trade Organization (October 2004).

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