CAMBODIAN PRIME MINISTER HUN SEN SAID ON WEDNESDAY THE UNITED NATIONS SHOULD SACK A HUMAN RIGHTS ENVOY WHO SUGGESTED HE RAN THE COUNTRY WITH AN IRON FIST, REUTERS REPORTED. HUN SEN, THE FORMER KHMER ROUGE SOLDIER WHO HAS BEEN IN CHARGE OF CAMBODIA FOR THE PAST TWO DECADES, ALSO DESCRIBED THE U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS BODY AND ITS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE, YASH GHAI, AS 'LONG-TERM TOURISTS'. 'MR. GHAI HAS ACCUSED ME OF USING AN IRON FIST TO VIOLATE THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE COURTS. WHAT HE SAID IS WRONG. HE SHOULD NOT GIVE ME ADVICE,' HE TOLD A MEETING IN THE CAPITAL, PHNOM PENH. U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL 'KOFI ANNAN SHOULD FIRE HIM', HE SAID. IN NEW YORK, ASKED ABOUT HUN SEN'S REMARKS, U.N. SPOKESWOMAN MARIE OKABE TOLD REPORTERS: 'THE SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTED HIS ENVOY FOR CAMBODIA AND HE STANDS BY THE WORK OF HIS ENVOY.' ANNAN HAD 'REPEATEDLY EXPRESSED THE HOPE THAT PRIME MINISTER HUN SEN WILL ENSURE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND RESPECT BY CAMBODIA FOR ITS HUMAN RIGHTS OBLIGATIONS AND THE RULE OF LAW,' OKABE SAID. KENYAN-BORN GHAI, WHO IS ON A REGULAR HUMAN RIGHTS FACT-FINDING TRIP, SAID ON TUESDAY ONE PERSON CONTINUED TO CONTROL ALL THE LEVERS OF POWER IN CAMBODIA DESPITE ITS GRADUAL RECOVERY FROM THE KHMER ROUGE GENOCIDE OF THE 1970S. 'I HAVE BEEN QUITE STRUCK BY THE ENORMOUS CENTRALISATION OF POWER, NOT IN THE GOVERNMENT BUT IN ONE INDIVIDUAL,' GHAI TOLD REPORTERS. --MORE 21 21 LOCAL TIME 18 21 GMT
