Cambodian ex-PM Hun Sen rails against ‘immoral’ Thai target shooting video
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
Mr Hun Sen (centre) lambasted a video he said showed a “Thai national (who) displayed my photo to shoot at in order to win prizes”.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Phnom Penh - Cambodia’s powerful former leader Hun Sen on Oct 6 blasted a social media video of a man shooting at his image during a carnival in Thailand, amid simmering tensions over the nations’ disputed border.
Territorial tensions spiralled in July
The two countries agreed to a ceasefire
On Oct 6, Mr Hun Sen, who led Cambodia for nearly four decades until his son took over as prime minister in 2023, lambasted a video he said showed a “Thai national (who) displayed my photo to shoot at in order to win prizes”.
In the video, which Mr Hun Sen posted on social media alongside his statement, a man in a khaki uniform is seen raising an air rifle and firing at a paper target with the politician’s portrait, inside a carnival booth with hanging plushie prizes.
The former premier urged Cambodians not to respond in kind, calling the carnival game, with “WANTED” written above his picture, “disgraceful” and “immoral behaviour”.
“Please do not take any actions that would affect Thai companies or Thai citizens who are living and working in Cambodia,” Mr Hun Sen added.
“I still believe that the majority of Thai people do not want to be enemies of the Cambodian people.”
But he also called on Cambodians who are “hurt by or unhappy with Thailand” to stop purchasing goods from the country and using Thai currency.
Cambodia banned imports of Thai fruit, vegetables and fuel earlier this year, while its neighbour restricted border crossings
Thai media reported in August on a fair in Thailand’s southern Krabi province where patrons could shoot air guns at paper targets with Mr Hun Sen’s portrait, similar to the ones in the video shared by him on Oct 6. AFP
