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Cambodians Abroad Record Videos of Support for PM’s Upcoming Visit

  • Posted Sep 11, 2023 15:27 by Kristen Winters
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PHNOM PENH: As Prime Minister Hun Manet prepares to make his American debut as Cambodia’s new leader, some Cambodians living in America are expressing their support, while others remain reluctant to endorse the new prime minister.

Supporters have posted videos expressing their pride and encouragement for the prime minister’s visit to the UN General Assembly later this month, which he confirmed at a meeting with factory workers on September 9.

Lowell, Massachusetts is home to the second largest number of Cambodian immigrants in the US after Long Beach, California. Cambodian diaspora members who sit on the city’s council came out against Cambodia’s July elections as illegitimate, while the town’s Cambodian-American mayor has remained silent on the issue. With the city’s Cambodian population estimated to be over 30,000, there are some who are excited for the prime minister’s upcoming visit and plan to travel to New York to greet him.

Prum Sovann intends to represent Cambodians and show support for Prime Minister Hun Manet at the conference on September 23. He wished the new PM great success in his duty to lead the nation towards a greater prosperity.

Another Lowell resident, Dina Art, congratulated Hun Manet in English and said that Cambodians and Americans are proud and happy to be under his leadership. She hopes that the PM will lead Cambodia more effectively and convince the Cambodian people in the United States to be proud of a leader who she says cares for his people, even abroad.

Prime Minister Hun Manet has many outspoken critics in the US and Canada who continue to push for a democratic Cambodia, according to an article posted on the website of Massachusetts Congresswoman Lori Trahan, who joined a coalition to reintroduce The Cambodia Democracy and Human Rights Act after it failed to pass in 2019.

However, some of the Cambodian diaspora remain loyal to the son of former Prime Minister Hun Sen and many well wishes came from Vancouver, Canada. Kim Sotheara and her family, who live in Vancouver, congratulated President Hun Manet on his new appointment. "I am very happy that you will bring a delegation to New York at the end of September and ask all the people of Vancouver to come together,” she said. Meanwhile, Vancouver resident Prum Ben Phally called on Cambodians living in Canada to support Prime Minister Hun Manet’s arrival to New York.

An unnamed Cambodian resident of Vancouver said, "I am very happy to be able to express my love, satisfaction and trust in Prime Minister Hun Manet as the new Prime Minister of the seventh mandate in Cambodia,” he said. “I believe that Prime Minister Hun Manet will continue to maintain and expand the peace, stability, security and sustainability of the past 40 years." The man said he will be standing outside the 78th UN Summit to show support for the new prime minister and asked others to join him.

Later this month, Prime Minister Hun Manet will meet with UN Secretary-General, senior US officials, US businessmen and officials from other countries to solidify his position and the relationship between Cambodia and the United States.


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