PHNOM PENH: Cam­bodia’s Supreme Court dissolved the main opposition party on Thursday, leaving authoritarian Prime Min­ister Hun Sen clear to extend over three decades in power in a general election next year.

The government had asked the court to dissolve the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), whi­ch was accused of plotting to take power with help from the United States after the arrest of party leader Kem Sokha on Sept 3.

The court ruling also ordered a five-year ban on political activity for 118 members of the opposition party, which had threatened a major challenge to Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge commander, at next year’s election. The party rejected the accusations as politically motivated. It did not send lawyers for the court ruling.

“It shows that Hun Sen will never stop if no one is stopping him,” said Kem Monovithya, the daughter of Kem Sokha and also a party official. “The verdict is expected. Its time for sanctions from the international com­munity.” Western don­ors, who sponsored elections overseen by the United Nations in 1993 in the hope of founding an enduring democracy, had called for Kem Sokha’s release.

But they have so far shown no appetite for sanctions against Cambodia’s government, which is now closely allied to China. The United States and European Union missions in Cambodia declined immediate comment on the court ruling.

Dozens of police manned barriers outside the court in the centre of Phnom Penh, a yellow-painted building orna­mented with gold in trad­itional Cambodian style. There was no sign of protests.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2017