Fearless in Cambodia
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“Stop saying that, 'Oh, China is in Cambodia. Vietnam is in Cambodia. We will never be able to win the war and to go back to Cambodia. Stop putting that into your mind. Stop living in fear! One thing I learned from Aung San Suu Kyi is [not] living in fear. I refuse to live in fear. Live beyond that.”
Mu Sochua, an exiled politician and resolute opponent of the Hun Sen regime, offers a compelling narrative that intricately weaves her personal journey with the broader history of Cambodia’s struggles. Born and raised in Cambodia until the age of eighteen, Sochua’s life took a dramatic turn with the onset of the Cambodia conflict, triggered by the Vietnam War’s spillover effects in the 1970s. By 1975, Cambodia had succumbed to the fanatic Khmer Rouge. Ahead of their takeover, her parents sent Sochua to France for safety. This marked the beginning of an eighteen-year exile. Meanwhile, Cambodia became entirely isolated, much like present-day North Korea.
The Khmer Rouge’s genocidal reign from 1975 to 1979 turned Cambodia into a land of mass graves and starvation. They methodically slaughtered and starved over two million people—one-third of the population. Their ‘Year Zero’ policy obliterated education, religion, and social structures. Then the Khmer Rouge fractured politically, and one faction sought aid from Vietnam, leading to a Vietnamese invasion in 1979 and a 10-year occupation, enabled by the Soviet Union. During this period, various resistance groups, including factions led by former Cambodian royalty and democrats, formed along the Thai border. Refugee camps in Thailand swelled to accommodate the displaced.
Sochua returned in 1989 after completing her education in social work and spending six years helping Cambodians in Thai refugee camps. Her homecoming revealed a society ravaged by Khmer Rouge genocide and their Year Zero policies, as well as decade of Vietnamese occupation. Then in 1991, the Paris Peace Accord was signed by eighteen countries, formally ended Cambodia’s armed conflicts, ushering in a United Nations-supervised election. Refugees began returning home, and Cambodia embarked on a fragile journey towards reconstruction.
Sochua’s response to this devastation was to mobilize for change, seeking to help rebuild Cambodia’s social fabric. In the early 1990s, she spearheaded peace and reconciliation efforts, involving monks and women in nationwide peace walks. The 1993 election, facilitated by the United Nations, brought a glimmer of hope, with a 99% voter turnout signaling the people’s desire for change. However, the coalition government that emerged was heavily dominated by Hun Sen’s ruling party, limiting the scope for genuine transformation.
In 1998, she decided to enter politics herself, becoming Cambodia’s Minister for Women’s and Veterans’ Affairs, the first woman ever to hold that position. Leveraging her background in social work and refugee assistance, she transformed the ministry into a platform for combating domestic violence and gender-based discrimination. She spearheaded a campaign that redefined a Cambodian proverb that compared women to disposable cloth, to, in her words, "precious gems." This challenged deeply ingrained cultural norms and fostered a new sense of dignity and self-worth among Cambodian women. By equating women with precious gems, the campaign not only helped women reimagine their societal value but also laid the groundwork for broader legislative changes, including protections against domestic violence and gender discrimination. Sochua’s advocacy extended to empowering women economically through microcredit initiatives and providing shelter for victims of domestic violence.
Despite these achievements, Cambodia’s political landscape remained mired in authoritarian control. In 1993, elections had been held, and won by the Royalist Party, led by the son of the pre-Khmer Rouge ruler. Although Hun Sen refused to accept the results, his party, the CPP, agreed to a power sharing arrangement: a Royalist was First Prime Minister, and Hun Sen was Second Prime Minister. But the power sharing arrangement had left the CPP in charge of the army, police and judiciary, and so in reality, Hun Sen was the dominant figure. Frustrated by the Royalist party’s inability to reign him in, Sochua left the party and joined the opposition, aligning with labor movements and other marginalized groups. In 2017, the opposition party was dissolved by the ruling regime, forcing Sochua back into exile. She now leads the Khmer Movement for Democracy (KMD), uniting the Cambodian diaspora—a community of three million—to advocate for justice, democracy, and human rights.
While Sochua’s current exile limits her direct involvement in Cambodian affairs, she remains engaged in advocacy and strategic planning. The KMD focuses on galvanizing the Cambodian diaspora to act as a cohesive force. This includes lobbying international governments, particularly the U.S. Congress and the European Union, to impose sanctions on the Hun Sen regime and its cronies. Sochua underscores the importance of presenting a unified agenda, warning against the divisiveness that weakens the diaspora’s influence. She has observed that historical disunity among movements has often led to fragmentation, reduced international support, and weakened the push for meaningful change. For example, the splintering of pro-democracy groups in Cambodia's recent past provided the Hun Sen regime with opportunities to exploit divisions and maintain control. Similarly, she notes how Myanmar’s current struggle demonstrate the risks of fragmentation when competing agendas overshadow collective goals.
Economic exploitation and environmental degradation are central to Sochua’s critique of the current Hun Sen regime. Cambodia’s reliance on cybercrime, which generates 40% of the national budget, highlights the scale of corruption and illegal activity sanctioned by those in power. Additionally, deforestation has devastated vast stretches of the country, with over 60% of forest cover lost since 1970 due to illegal logging and land grabs often tied to powerful officials. Such practices not only harm the environment, but also displace indigenous communities and exacerbate social inequality, underscoring the regime’s prioritization of short-term gains over sustainable development.
The parallels between Cambodia and Myanmar are striking. Both nations endure the grip of authoritarian regimes that suppress dissent and manipulate elections. However, Cambodia’s path is uniquely shaped by the scars of genocide and prolonged trauma, which have instilled a pervasive fear among its people. This fear contrasts with the bold defiance exhibited by Myanmar’s youth, students, and civil servants, who continue to resist military rule despite severe repression. Sochua admires this tenacity, likening it to Ukraine’s fight for sovereignty and drawing attention to the global need for courageous leadership to address human suffering.
“We admire so much, the students of Myanmar, the Buddhist monks, the ethnic groups, the women, the entire people of Myanmar,” Sochua notes, emphasizing their shared resilience in the face of overwhelming challenges. Highlighting the creative defiance and unity exhibited during Myanmar’s uprising, she emphasizes their shared challenge of combating authoritarianism. She appreciates the National Unity Government (NUG) for maintaining essential services like healthcare and education amid the turmoil, viewing it as a model of governance that combines resistance with pragmatism. Interestingly, she notes how the NUG's innovative use of digital platforms to ensure the continuity of children’s education during the crisis has inspired Cambodian activists to do the same. Additionally, Sochua feels that the NUG's focus on creating parallel governmental structures that prioritize the well-being of citizens serves as a blueprint for the Cambodian diaspora’s aspirations for administrative reform and international advocacy.
Sochua recalls meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi, describing her as a figure of immense grace and resolve. She recounted how Suu Kyi personally served her tea at her residence, a gesture that reflected humility and hospitality. Their conversations delved into the shared challenges of leading pro-democracy movements as women against authoritarian regimes, and she was struck by Suu Kyi's ability to balance gentleness with unyielding firmness. These meetings reinforced Sochua’s belief in the importance of compassion-driven leadership and the power of resilience in the face of adversity. “What we lead need right now are leaders, the international leaders who have the courage,” she says, describing the kind of engagement she would like to see today from the international community towards Myanmar. “The problem is … we have leaders who have very little courage.”
Her vision for Cambodia is rooted in lessons from her experiences and observations of other pro-democracy movements besides Myanmar’s. She also draws inspiration from the Tibetan government-in-exile, emphasizing its unity, structured administration, and robust advocacy. She envisions a diaspora-led movement that collaborates with international bodies like the United Nations and leverages Cambodia’s 1991 Paris Peace Accord to demand free and fair elections.
“We are very determined. We are certain that Cambodia will have peace and so we will be able to go back home,” she says. “I don't think Cambodia will be like Myanmar, where there will be another war, or armed conflicts that will tear the people apart or the country apart. Not that I wish that to happen in Cambodia or in Myanmar or anywhere else! But it's this taking up more arms [in Myanmar], it's a necessity. When we heard that there is a part of NLD, there is a group that will go for arms conflict, at first we were shocked! We were not in favor. And then, the question is, 'So, what's the what's the solution? Do we wait for ASEAN? Does Myanmar continue to wait for ASEAN, for the international community?' No, and lowering the tenacity, the resilience, the pride or the history of the people of Myanmar that have suffered so much, have fought so much. This is the last fight.”
If you would like to listen to past episodes from our archive that touch upon similar themes, we suggest the following:
· Anrike Visser talks about how sanctions, as a form of economic statecraft, are essential in targeting kleptocratic regimes like Myanmar’s military junta. She draws on her experience with international financial institutions and policy strategies. She highlights the balance that must be found between effectiveness and enforcement, in order to dismantle oppressive regimes without exacerbating harm to civilian populations.
· Kasit Piromya speaks of his advocacy for democratic reforms in ASEAN, which have been informed by his long-standing work in Thai politics and diplomacy, and reflects his critique of Thailand's passive stance toward Myanmar's democratic struggle. He also underscores the structural and ideological challenges inherent in building regional solidarity.
· Kitti Prasirtsuk reflects on ASEAN’s role in mediating the Myanmar crisis, emphasizing Thailand’s pragmatic, reluctant approach shaped by economic and political interests. He explores the complexities inherent in the tensions that exists between hope for democratic progress and the entrenched realities of authoritarian power.
· Davin Hartanto highlights the systemic challenges Myanmar nationals face in obtaining student visas to Australia. His insights echo themes of exclusion and systemic barriers, and describes how beaurocracies and foreign policies in countries refugees flee to often inadvertently perpetuate the suffering of those seeking safe haven.
· Calvin Khoe shares his perspectives on ASEAN’s fragmented approaches to regional crises. Informed by his Indonesian background and professional insights into international cooperation, he discusses the critical need for cohesive policies in addressing shared issues, drawing parallels to the struggle for democracy and justice.