"Vietnam helped to demolish the Khmer Rouge regime, but they were not honest with their help and sought to turn Cambodia into a colony."

An old political player speaks out about communism, justice and the country's current political trajectory.

PEN Sovan played a prominent part of the Cambodian resistance against the Pol Pot regime during the late 1970s. After rising through the political ranks, he was appointed prime minister in May 1981, but was arrested in December and imprisoned in Hanoi for his criticisms of the Vietnamese military occupation. Now a member of the Human Rights Party, Pen Sovan spoke with the Post about his experiences in power and the current political situation.

When you became prime minister in 1981, the country was still ravaged by the rule of the Khmer Rouge. What were your main priorities as leader?
The main goal was to set up a system of law and make sure that the first people who respected the law were the leaders, so that the people had something to follow. The second issue was to create a court system that was recognised by the people as a court that handed down fair justice.

Thirdly, leaders must have a clear idea what their goals are. In my time it was very clear.