Cambodian opposition protests US Embassy's Facebook post

Washington: Cambodia's main opposition party is protesting to the US Embassy for posting praise of the son of the nation's long-ruling prime minister, just ahead of local elections this weekend. The embassy isn't taking the Facebook post down.

The Tuesday post celebrated the first Cambodian student to graduate from the prestigious US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

It quoted the new graduate, 23-year-old Vithyea Phann, as describing Prime Minister Hun Sen's powerful, eldest son as "one of my biggest idols."

That raised hackles in the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, which is contesting Hun Sen's party for local government seats nationwide on Sunday. The vote is a bellwether of national politics ahead of general elections in 2018 as Hun Sen seeks to sustain his three decades of dominance.

"Example of US failings here. The US promotes the Cambodian ruling elites who do not share US values or interests," the opposition party's spokeswoman, Monovithya Kem, tweeted alongside a link to the Facebook post.

It pictured Vithyea Phann in his white military uniform. Alicia Edwards, State Department spokeswoman for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said the US is "strictly nonpartisan and does not endorse candidates in any country's elections." She added that the embassy's social media content reflects the strong ties between the US and Cambodian people.

Hun Sen has been prime minister since 1985. He has used a combination of guile and brute force to crush his political rivals during a long career that included a violent 1997 coup that ousted his co-premier, destroying a power-sharing arrangement.

His iron grip on power showed cracks in the last national elections four years ago when the opposition made substantial gains, despite accusations of voting irregularities benefiting his ruling party.

Hun Sen has stepped up threatening rhetoric ahead of Sunday's vote, repeatedly warning of civil war if his Cambodian People's Party loses.

At a campaign rally in the capital Phnom Penh on Friday, he said opposition parties face being disbanded if they challenge the election result. Last month, Cambodia's defense minister threatened to "smash the teeth" of anyone protesting a ruling party win.

Western governments and US lawmakers are criticizing the threats. When campaigning began two weeks ago, the State Department urged Cambodia's government to "guarantee a political space free from threats or intimidation" and respect freedom of expression for all its citizens.

Hun Sen has an ambivalent attitude toward Washington. His eldest son, Hun Manet, widely tipped to succeed his father, was the first Cambodian to graduate from the elite military academy at West Point.

Although a serving three-star general, Hun Manet is active in politics. He campaigned for his father's party Thursday in Kampong Cham province, near Phnom Penh.