Namhong lays into US ambassador on NGOs

Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Namhong has called out the US ambassador to Cambodia for the latter’s criticism of the Kingdom’s controversial draft law on NGOs.

Namhong wrote in a statement yesterday that his ministry was “dismayed” over an article written by Ambassador William Todd that criticised the proposed legislation.

“The words expressed by the foreign Ambassador to Cambodia are extremely insolent, even if he is a representative of a big country,” Namhong wrote.

He went on to cite the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, of which Cambodia and the US are signatories. “All members of the United Nations, big or small, shall respect each other in an equal manner, and abide by the above Convention and the international practice of courtesy in interstate relations,” the statement reads.

Todd’s piece, published on Sunday, took aim at the country’s draft law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organisations. The ambassador wrote that the Kingdom’s “image is affected by the draft law” and warned that the “world is watching” its next moves.

Contact author: Ethan Harfenist

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