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Cambodia Dismayed Over US Sanctions For Corruption, Logging

Associated Press

   PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA - The Cambodian government expressed "strong
   dismay" Tuesday over a U.S. Treasury decision to sanction two
   businessmen suspected of corruption and illegal logging.
   A Foreign Ministry statement said the sanctions were based on
   groundless accusations.
   "The Executive Order is an ambush against the ongoing efforts to
   restore trust and confidence between Cambodia and the United States,"
   the statement said.
   It defended both of the influential businessmen and former officials
   targeted by the sanctions, which freeze their U.S.-based assets and ban
   doing business with them.
   The ministry "expressed strong dismay over the arbitrary designation"
   of the Cambodian citizens. It said Kim had made a "great contribution"
   to the country's peace, stability and social order. Pheap has "played
   an active role in supporting Cambodia's socio-economic development," it
   said.
   The U.S. Treasury Department said it had designated Try Pheap and 11
   companies owned or by controlled by him for sanctions for alleged graft
   and illegal logging. The companies engage in various businesses
   including tourism, real estate development and energy.
   It said Pheap, who has been an advisor to Prime Minister Hun Sen, has
   built up a vast illegal logging network that purchases protection from
   government officials and the military and export lumber to Vietnam,
   China, Russia and European countries.
   Pheap has responded to past corruption allegations in Facebook postings
   saying his businesses are all legal and abide by the law.
   The Treasury Department also designated former Gen. Kun Kim, three of
   his relatives and their family businesses for sanctions for allegedly
   engaging in corruption and illegal extraction of natural resources.
   Kim is a longtime associate and supporter of Hun Sen and now is the
   senior minister for veterans' affairs. The businesses and people cited
   in the announcement also are involved in rubber plantations and
   financial and security services.
   Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin said the sanctions, announced Monday
   on International Corruption Day, targeted people and entities based in
   Latvia, Serbia, Venezuela, Hong Kong and Cambodia suspected of illicit
   activities that "undermine the foundations of stable, secure and
   functioning societies."
   The human rights group Global Witness welcomed the Treasury
   Department's announcement, saying both Pheap and Kim are suspected of
   serious human rights and environmental abuses.
   "As Hun Sen's supporters have accumulated more and more wealth and
   impunity, their incentive to help him cling to power has increased,"
   Patrick Alley, director of Global Witness, said in a statement.
   "Accountability for those sustaining the corrupt dictatorship that is
   oppressing Cambodians on a daily basis is long overdue," he said.
   Hun Sen has been prime minister since 1985. Critics say he has kept his
   hold on power by rewarding cronies and family members and allowing them
   to plunder the country's forests and farmlands.
   The Treasury statement cites a Chinese resort development project in
   Koh Kong, on the scenic southern coast, that involved land seizures
   carried out by armed soldiers.
   In late 2017, Cambodia's Supreme Court ordered the main opposition
   party dissolved on the unsupported pretext that it conspired with the
   United States to overthrow Prime Minister Hun Sen's government. That
   move was seen as a government effort to ensure his ruling Cambodian
   People's Party won a July 2018 general election. It ended up sweeping
   all 125 National Assembly seats.
   Because they considered the elections neither free nor fair, some
   Western nations applied diplomatic sanctions against Hun Sen's
   government.
   The European Union is considering withdrawing preferential tariff
   privileges from Cambodia. That would be a blow to its economy, which is
   powered by garment exports.