Cambodia, War Criminals, The UN, and the US Election

Inspired by these: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012110659595/National-news/what-the-us-vote-means-for-cambodia/Page-2.html
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/06/21/where_autocrats_dont_fear_to_tread
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/17/opinion/cambodias-brazen-un-bid.html?ref=cambodia
Prime Minister to Cambodia and Notorious War Criminal Hun Sen is making a bid for a seat in the UN. On Thursday he will find out that corrupt dictator's aren't always allowed in the UN (looking at you Mr. Mugabe). There really is no reason to expect Cambodia to earn the seat, especially not against inspirational South Korea, the problem is that the idea was ever considered in the first place. Cambodia is known to have an excessively corrupt, Sen-Dominated government that has recently been involved in some heavily criticized land-grabbing and economic concessions. He is a man who appears to be dividing up his country between the highest bidders, a man with no respect for human life or liberty, a man seeking a voice in the UN.

That's f@&*ing stupid. His request should have been laughed at. If Hitler sought a seat in the UN, would he get it? Would they even give him the courtesy of considering it a valid claim? I should hope not but who knows. What we need is to ensure clean elections, which basically means the removal of Hun Sen from power. With the good King Sihanouk dead, this issue becomes all the more pressing.

So, in the interest of staying topical, which US presidential candidate bodes better for the future of Cambodia? My concern in this regard is not necessarily the extent of financial aid, but more literally what form our foreign relations will take under different administrations. While aid has increased substantially under Obama, this is not what I feel makes him the best prospect here; his ability and desire to foster and maintain a productive relationship with Cambodia appears to outweigh that of Romney, who has made references in the past to his interest in cutting foreign aid.

But cutting foreign aid isn't what would hurt, because the slack would be picked up by China in a heartbeat. The danger is the impact of having more Chinese hands in the Cambodian pie. Several dam projects across the country, led by none other than Chinese companies, are set for execution over the next two decades. The projects have come under international criticism for the tremendous environmental damage it is expected to wreak and for the human rights injustices being perpetrated in their interest. (Illegal/uncompensated forced relocation, home seizures, illegal arrests, etc)

China being more involved with Cambodia can only lead to a less wealthy, less socially progressive Cambodia, and an increasingly wealthy China. I feel that under Obama's regime, embassy activities will be more locally integrated and culturally aware than they might be under Romney. Having had the chance to involve myself extensively with many embassy activities and projects, I can say with confidence that in the last four years, the relationship between the US Embassy and Cambodians themselves has been quite wonderful for the most part, and I feel like our increasing involvement in social improvement programs will only continue under Obama.