By Luke Hunt
Could a privately funded army break down into militias and turn on itself?
Cambodia has struggled in the aftermath of three decades of war, with 17 years of troubled peace marred by political killings, dubious elections, and a litany of human rights violations that have cast doubts over the political process.
A population bubble and high crime rates have also reshaped the urban landscape, where residents live behind high fences laced with razor wire, windows are barred, and three padlocks on the front gate is not unusual.
It’s a recipe of constant pressures.
Despite this unflattering backdrop, Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Defense Minister Tea Banh have offered each other a pat on the back for ensuring national security and the undeniable economic growth that came with Cambodia’s very flawed peace train.
Importantly, the pair insisted it was the rebuilding and restoration of pride in the country’s military by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) that made their boast possible.
The occasion was the fifth anniversary of an unprecedented sponsorship deal, which formalized a relationship between the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) and the country’s powerful business tycoons, known by their official title as “oknha.”
“We needed hardware, so lots of private companies gave us money to buy weapons. I don’t want to reveal their names,” Tea Banh told hundreds of RCAF officials who gathered in the capital’s Peace Palace to toast the five-year-old deal.
Read the full story at The Diplomat