Cambodian leader cancels attendance at Long Beach parade after protests

A Cambodian military leader has cancelled his attendance in a Long Beach parade amid fiery backlash from the local Cambodian community in recent weeks.

Hun Manet, a lieutenant general in the Cambodian military and the eldest son of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who was a former Khmer Rouge commander, will not attend the April 10 Cambodian New Year Parade.

Manet aounced his cancellation on a social media site, and his decision was reported in the Phnom Penh Post online.

Local leaders in the Cambodian community urged the Long Beach City Council to denounce Manet’s visit. They led more than 200 protesters who descended on a City Hall meeting last week.

Mayor Robert Garcia said he already had a schedule conflict and would not attend the parade. Members of the City Council said they would not attend if Manet was in the parade.

Long Beach is home to the largest Cambodian population outside of the Southeast Asian nation. Thousands immigrated here in the mid-1970s during the reign of the Khmer Rouge, a Communist regime that killed nearly 2 million people.

Manet’s father has ruled as prime minister of Cambodia for 31 years. The organization Human Rights Watch says Hun Sen rules through “politically motivated violence.”

Many in the Cambodian community — who speculate Manet wants to rule next — feared he was using them for photo opportunities to gain political favor in their homeland.

More to come.

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