CNRP-CPP talks are cancelled
the parliamentary standing of the “minority” group, with a leader in the assembly who is tasked with negotiating with the prime minister.
Kem Sokha is the current “minority” leader, having assumed the title from exiled opposition president Sam Rainsy in December.
Hun Sen said the arrangement had created trouble, because the CNRP had tried to use the mechanism to push for the release of prisoners.
Sopheak yesterday echoed the premier.
“If the meeting is to release the prisoners, then it’s cancelled,” he said.
Sopheak said the CPP would wait for parliament to hold a session to amend the internal regulation’s Article 48, which was agreed to by the parties in negotiations following the disputed 2013 election.
National Assembly SecretaryGeneral Leng Peng Long said no proposal to rewrite the regulations had yet been submitted.
Sokha – who was recently pardoned from a five-month conviction related to a “prostitution” case at the behest of the prime minister – has vowed to lobby for the release of four Adhoc workers and an election official imprisoned in a case related to his own.
Following a December 7 meeting between Sokha, Hun Sen and Sar Kheng, the latter announced the case – widely considered politically motivated – could soon be resolved.
But the hoped-for resolution never materialised, and the inmates’ fate has now become unclear.
Last week, CNRP president Sam Rainsy blamed the stalled proceedings on the premier, saying he was attempting to use the group as bargaining chips in a bid to split the opposition.
According to the proposed agenda for Sokha’s meeting with Kheng, the CNRP wanted to discuss the political situation, though did not mention the prisoners explicitly.
Up until the premier’s comments, the now-postponed meeting appeared on track, with the Interior Ministry issuing a letter nominating Interior Ministry Secretary of State Sak Setha and Justice Ministry Secretary of State Koeut Rith as part of a team that would meet with the opposition.
Though CNRP spokespeople could not be reached yesterday, senior lawmaker Eng Chhay Eang took to Facebook to condemn the delay, calling it “a play”.