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Cambodian PM deplores UN official's "disrespect"
PHNOM PENH June 21 (Reuters) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen called a United Nations rights official disrespectful on Monday and said in future they would meet just once a year rather than three times.
Surya Subedi, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for human rights in Cambodia, criticised the country's judiciary last week for its lack of independence and regretted being unable to meet Hun Sen during a 10-day visit as the prime minister had been unwell.
Talking to hundreds of disabled former soldiers in Phnom Penh, the outspoken prime minister said Subedi had shown disrespect by saying he was "disappointed" about his illness.
"Every time he's come here, I've met him," Hun Sen said. "From now on, I'll see him just once a year."
"I hope he will hear this: I'm ill, I don't need to report to you," Hun Sen added, accusing Subedi of wanting to "colonise" his country.
The prime minister is prone to outbursts, especially at diplomats or international organisations expressing views at odds with his own.
Recently, he expressed irritation at the World Bank and others for saying the economy contracted in 2009 -- the Finance Ministry says it grew 0.1 percent -- and for giving lower growth forecasts for this year than the government.
He pulled the plugs on a World Bank land registry project last September after the multilateral body and other aid donors asked the government to stop evictions.
At a news conference on June 17, Subedi had said he was troubled by such land disputes and the apparent inability of the poor to get a fair hearing in court.
Also, in a reference to the government's tough stand on dissent, he expressed concern about what he called a narrowing of the political space for debate.
Hun Sen also criticised Cambodian rights groups on Monday, calling them "shadowy organisations" for organising a march of about 200 people to his house on June 15 to petition him to solve land disputes.
Police halted the march. No one was hurt.
(Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; Editing by Alan Raybould)
Surya Subedi, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for human rights in Cambodia, criticised the country's judiciary last week for its lack of independence and regretted being unable to meet Hun Sen during a 10-day visit as the prime minister had been unwell.
Talking to hundreds of disabled former soldiers in Phnom Penh, the outspoken prime minister said Subedi had shown disrespect by saying he was "disappointed" about his illness.
"Every time he's come here, I've met him," Hun Sen said. "From now on, I'll see him just once a year."
"I hope he will hear this: I'm ill, I don't need to report to you," Hun Sen added, accusing Subedi of wanting to "colonise" his country.
The prime minister is prone to outbursts, especially at diplomats or international organisations expressing views at odds with his own.
Recently, he expressed irritation at the World Bank and others for saying the economy contracted in 2009 -- the Finance Ministry says it grew 0.1 percent -- and for giving lower growth forecasts for this year than the government.
He pulled the plugs on a World Bank land registry project last September after the multilateral body and other aid donors asked the government to stop evictions.
At a news conference on June 17, Subedi had said he was troubled by such land disputes and the apparent inability of the poor to get a fair hearing in court.
Also, in a reference to the government's tough stand on dissent, he expressed concern about what he called a narrowing of the political space for debate.
Hun Sen also criticised Cambodian rights groups on Monday, calling them "shadowy organisations" for organising a march of about 200 people to his house on June 15 to petition him to solve land disputes.
Police halted the march. No one was hurt.
(Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; Editing by Alan Raybould)
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