Hun Sen says audits will ensure funding is not for terrorism, NGOs complain of excessive demands by tax department
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has warned non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to submit to financial audits or risk closure. (Photo: AFP/ UCAN files)
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has warned all non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to submit to financial audits or risk closure, adding a review of funding sources would ensure money was not being used “to carry out terrorism in Cambodia.”
The official Agence Kampuchea Presse said Cambodia’s 6,109 NGOs and associations would face legal action if they failed to submit their annual reports, which are subjected to the Interior Ministry for approval, to reinforce Cambodian stability.
“If any NGOs or associations fail to do so, they have to close under our law,” Hun Sen said. “We are afraid that some NGOs or associations are receiving funds from terrorist networks. It can make Cambodia in trouble as now the geopolitical situation requires us to be more careful.”
He also warned NGOs not to take money from foreigners or use that money to attack Cambodia saying Cambodian leaders of NGOs must “not bow their head” to foreign money and “kill their own people” or “badmouth the kingdom.”
NGOs have complained privately of excessive demands being made by the tax department, which has sought to bolster government coffers amid attempts to rebuild the national economy in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
They also say threats of excessive financial demands have been used to silence government critics ahead of the July 23 general election, which only the long-ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) can win following the disqualification of the main opposition Candlelight Party.
"What we want you to report is the truth"
UN experts, including Vitit Muntarbhorn — the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia — have issued a statement saying they are alarmed by the restrictions imposed on the rights of political parties to participate in elections.
While warning NGOs of their obligation to submit to audits, Hun Sen also told Muntarbhorn, a Thai national, “not to talk bad about Cambodia,” saying, “what we want you to report is the truth.”
He said that Cambodia had to build its financial resilience with the country expected to graduate from the ranks of a least developed country (LDC) by 2027 into the middle-income bracket, which will result in a loss of trade preferences and favorable interest rates on loans.
“We have negotiated with our friends China, Japan, South Korea, and the Asian Development Bank to continue to provide development loans with low-interest rates when we leave the LDC status,” he told 17,000 workers at an industrial park.
Cambodia’s status as an LDC is under review by the United Nations Committee for Development Policy amid a revision of its GDP figures with Phnom Penh intending to become an upper-middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income country by 2050.
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