America
Cambodian PM accuses Michelle Obama of making 'false promises'
Bangkok, March 26
Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun
Sen has accused US first lady Michelle Obama of making "false promises"
during her recent visit to the country to promote girls' education,
media reported Thursday.
Obama launched the Cambodian component
of the US government's “Let Girls Learn†initiative during a visit to
Siem Reap last weekend.
The global initiative promotes quality education for adolescent girls.
At the launch, Obama encouraged 10 female students to continue studying.
Hun
Sen said that Obama's visit was more about "hopeful rhetoric" than
concrete improvements to the country's education system, Efe news agency
reported citing the Phnom Penh Post daily.
"I thought the United
States would give scholarships to those students until they complete
university, but that's not (the case). I had strongly hoped (that was
the situation), but she just came here to choose people and then (left)
it to the ministry of education," said Hun Sen.
The prime
minister spoke a day after Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron requested
state university scholarships for the 10 girls, whose education through
to the end of secondary school is being funded by the NGO, Room to
Read.
A US embassy spokesperson told the Phnom Penh Post that
Obama had not promised any financial support and that the Let Girls
Learn initiative seeks to break down barriers to education by raising
awareness of access inequalities.
Cambodia is among 11 nations
included in the first phase of the initiative launched this month by US
President Barack Obama and his wife and overseen by the US Peace Corps.