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Cambodia's new Hun clan heir
In recent years, Cambodia has grappled with significant concerns surrounding its political landscape, particularly in the areas of press freedom, civil society, and human rights. Independent media outlets faced challenges, and there were allegations of harassment and intimidation of journalists, activists, and opposition figures. Human rights organizations and the United Nations expressed concerns about the state of human rights in Cambodia, including issues related to political repression, freedom of expression, and the treatment of activists and political prisoners.
Cambodia's political situation also had international implications. The European Union and the United States took actions such as imposing sanctions and trade restrictions in response to the crackdown on democracy and human rights.
The Cambodian People's Party
The Cambodian People's Party (CPP), until recently led by Hun Sen, has maintained a firm grip on power, having won multiple elections over the years. The 2018 general election saw the CPP win all 125 seats in the National Assembly after the main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was dissolved by the government in 2017. The dissolution of the CNRP and the arrest of its leader, Kem Sokha, the same year were significant events that further consolidated the CPP's power. This move was widely criticized by the international community as a setback for democracy in Cambodia.
Hun Sen is known for his authoritarian style of governance and has been criticized for cracking down on political opposition and limiting political freedoms in Cambodia. Born on August 5, 1952, in Kampong Cham Province, he joined the Khmer Rouge insurgency in the 1970s and later defected to the Vietnamese-backed forces, which eventually led to the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge regime. Hun Sen is married to Bun Rany who is the President of the Cambodian Red Cross and is involved in various charitable and humanitarian activities, which are however said to be aligned with CPP’s political positions.
Controversies and accusations follow Cambodia's new prime minister, Hun Manet.
The Hun family
Hun Manet is Hun Sen's eldest son and was considered the natural heir to his father’s position. He assumed office as the prime minister of Cambodia on August 22, 2023, after his father decided to step down after a victorious general election. Hun Manet was born on October 20, 1977. His educational background includes attending Preah Sisovath High School, a renowned institution historically associated with the country's elite. In 1995, he pursued his higher education in the United States, enrolling at the United States Military Academy at West Point and successfully graduating on May 29, 1999.
In 2002, Hun Manet furthered his studies by completing a Master of Arts in Economics at New York University, USA. In 2008, he earned his PhD in Economics from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom. Following his academic pursuits, he returned to Cambodia and continued to serve in the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces until 2018 when he was promoted to the rank of General, assuming the role of Commander of the Army within the RCAF. Hun Manet began his political career in 2000 when the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of CPP promoted him from the post of Vice President of the Central Youth Wing of the CPP.
Hun Manet is married to Pich Chanmony, the daughter of Pich Sophoan, a former Secretary of State at the Ministry of Labour. She reportedly has links to eight companies, including the chairmanship of Legend Cinema and G Gear, which has the exclusive licence to sell LG products. They share three children. Hun Manet has four siblings – two sisters, Hun Mana and Hun Maly, and two brothers, Hun Manith and Hun Many – all involved in influential business, political and military positions and high-profile marriages to individuals holding power. His paternal aunt, cousins and other in-laws boast similarly impressive business portfolios, including law firms and casinos.
The Hun family has been reported to have vast holdings across 18 sectors. More specifically, 27 relatives of Hun Manet are linked to companies whose official share capital value is more than $200 million. The family is involved in 17 trading companies, 10 financial institutions, 10 enterprises in the hospitality and entertainment sectors, eight interests in tourism and retail, and seven in construction and real estate. Furthermore, their holdings extend to energy, mining, agriculture, and forestry, with six companies in each sector. However, it remains uncertain how much of this wealth is specifically attributed to Hun Manet. Remarkably, at the age of 23, Hun Manet was already a co-owner of a four-bedroom house in Long Island, New York, valued at USD 500,000, which he shared with his siblings.
In the media industry, particularly led by the new premier's sister Hun Mana, who oversees Bayon Radio and TV, there are connections to five companies. The extensive influence of the Hun family across both Cambodia's public and private sectors effectively granted the now-former prime minister Hun Sen nearly absolute control over the nation. Multinational giants Apple, Canon, LG Electronics, Lenovo-IBM Nokia, Electrolux and Pioneer distribute via companies linked to the family. It would be difficult to imagine Hun Manet will not leverage, continue and expand if possible the power tradition of the Hun clan
Controversy and accusations
The new prime minister of Cambodia has already some controversy under his belt, raising questions about how different his leadership style will be from that of his father. Namely, in 2017, Hun Manet, his father, and other prominent CPP members were accused, after a hacker leaked confidential emails, of carrying out a “cyber war” on CNRP by spreading propaganda on social media against its leaders.
His experience in clashing with political opponents does not end there. Meach Sovannara, spokesperson of the CNPR – a Cambodian and US citizenship holder - and 10 other opposition figures from his party were imprisoned on insurrection charges after a demonstration in July 2014 that resulted in violent clashes between protesters and security forces. In 2016, Sovannara’s attorney, Morton Sklar filed a lawsuit in the US District Court in Los Angeles against Hun Manet and other members of the Hun clan for emotional and financial damage to his client’s family. Hun Manet was said to have hired an attorney to fight the lawsuit. The Cambodian government said that US law does not affect Cambodia which is a sovereign state.
The new prime minister of Cambodia was accused in August 2022 of being allegedly involved in a controversial land deal with a real estate company, Leng Navatra, for the deforestation of the Phnom Tamao forest. Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson and other environmental activists, mainly members of the NGO “Mother Nature Cambodia”, claimed that the real estate company had acted on behalf of Hun Manet. The government agreed in April 2022 to sell more than 500 hectares of the protected forest to Leng Navatra and two other companies close to the Hun family. The real estate company cleared 400 hectares of trees within one week despite widespread protests. Hun Manet denied he was involved in the project, although he admitted he knew the owner of Leng Navatra from his CPP youth network days. Hun Sen, in a rare move, ended the project after multiple appeals from environmental groups and citizens.
In August 2023, one day after officially assuming office, a female garment worker named Phi Ouk was arrested in Phnom Penh for allegedly insulting Hun Manet on TikTok. The woman published a video stating that the new premier of Cambodia was her “son” and that he was responsible for many wrongdoings for which he should be killed unless he changed his behaviour. Authorities claimed that the woman’s sayings insulted the reputation and dignity of Hun Manet and undermined social security. If found guilty, Phi Ouk could face up to three years in prison. Earlier this year, Hun Manet had also ordered the arrest of two individuals who allegedly took photos with him and used his name to illegally acquire land by posing as his assistants.
The ascension of Hun Manet to the position of Prime Minister brings with it questions about the future direction of the country, given his family's extensive influence and the controversies that have surrounded him in the past. The international community will closely monitor whether Cambodia can move towards a different direction.
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