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Why Protests Will Not Lead to a ‘Cambodian Spring’

Categories: East Asia, Cambodia, Governance, Politics, Protest

Faine Greenwood writes about the Stanford lecture given by Cambodian human rights activist Ou Virak. Asked about the anti-government protests taking place in Cambodia, Ou Virak explained [1] why it would not lead to a ‘political spring':

I don’t think a spring in Cambodia will happen, nor do I think it’s desirable…We don’t even have a word for spring in Khmer. The closest word is revolution, which reminds people of Khmer Rouge.

He also criticized the opposition party for failing to provide a clear political agenda:

I haven’t seen an agenda…The only thing I’ve seen is how much we hate Hun Sen, and how much we hate Vietnam…That’s a formula for disaster, going in with so much hate. We have no idea what we are fighting for.