Some 200 officials participated at the conference, presided over by Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn. Heng Chivoan
A senior government official on Tuesday said the superpowers’ interference in the internal affairs of foreign nations, under the banner of democracy and human rights, has pushed some countries close to war, causing their citizens to suffer, and is currently threatening peace and security in Venezuela.
The topic was discussed as part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation’s annual review of the previous year’s achievements and goal setting for this year.
Some 200 officials participated at the conference, presided over by Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn.
Ouch Borith, a secretary of state at the ministry, said that over the past year the global situation has continued to change rapidly. It is complicated and unpredictable, he said, and has caused a breakdown of cooperation between superpowers in political, diplomatic, economic and military fields.
Borith said this competition had intensified pressure on regional and global political, security and economic issues, with powerful nations pushing for change in their own interests.
Currently, it is threatening Venezuela, he said, and there are conflicts in many other regions, especially Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Borith noted that the tension between India and Pakistan in ongoing, while Palestine and Israel continue their endless religious and territorial conflict.
Cambodia, he said, which is of strategic importance to the superpowers, cannot avoid their influence in the geopolitical conflict.
Some superpowers and their allies still use tactics and tricks to interfere with the Kingdom’s internal affairs, he said, using double standards on democracy and human rights to try and force Cambodia into their desired political path.
“We ignore the activities of some negative minded groups who provoke and incite racial discrimination, violate the principles of democracy and try to break up society and the nation and carry out a colour revolution aimed at toppling the legitimate government,” Borith said.
US Embassy spokesman Arend Zwartjes declined to comment. “I don’t have an opinion on the matter,” he said. The Post could not reach any source at the Chinese embassy either on Tuesday.
Social analyst and political commentator Lao Mong Hay said that regarding democracy and human rights, there was no interference in the Kingdom’s internal affairs by other countries as Cambodia is bound by the 1991 Paris Peace Accords.
“Signatories to those agreements, as well as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, are also monitoring the situation to ensure respect for human rights in Cambodia,” Mong Hay said.
