Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has appointed his son-in-law as deputy police chief in an apparent move to consolidate his power ahead of this 12 months’s elections.
Dy Vichea, the wife of Hun Sen’s eldest daughter Hun Man, was promoted to the position on Tuesday in accordance with a government decree.
The appointment comes amid political tensions within the Southeast Asian country, including the federal government’s heavy use of attacks on critics, civil rights groups and independent media.
“Prime Minister Hun Sen seeks to cement total control over Cambodia’s government and business, and the appointment of his son-in-law as deputy police chief is part of that ongoing effort,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director on the group Human Rights Watch.
Hun Sen celebrated his thirty third anniversary in power on Sunday and pronounces that he’ll remain in power for a few years to return.
Prime Minister Hun Sen seeks to cement total control over Cambodia’s government and business
The essential opposition Cambodian National Salvation Party, which has won the support of a brand new generation of voters dissatisfied with what they see as corruption and nepotism that plague Cambodian politics, was dissolved in November on the request of Hun Sen’s government.
Exiled Hun Sen critics recently said they’d launched a brand new movement after the ban, but there have been signs of division over the brand new group.
Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak defended Dy Vichea’s appointment and compared it to US President Donald Trump making his daughter, Ivanka Trump, his informal adviser.
“There is no law that says we can’t appoint him,” Khieu Sopheak said.
In Cambodia, business and government are intertwined, and leaders and their relations control lots of Cambodia’s largest enterprises.
National police chief Neth Savoeun is married to Hun Sen’s niece. Hun Sen’s daughter, Hun Mana, is the president of Kampuchea Thmey Daily and Bayon TV and Radio and at the least a dozen other corporations.
Hun Sen’s eldest son, Lieutenant General Hun Manet, is the deputy commander of the armed forces and has for years been seen as a one that has a great probability of following in his father’s footsteps and becoming the country’s leader.
This article appeared within the print edition of the South China Morning Post as: Hun Sen tightens his grip by appointing his son-in-law to a senior police position
