Rainsy warns of ‘betrayal’ if 118 play ‘Hun Sen’s game’
OPPOSITION leader Sam Rainsy on Tuesday warned that those in his court-dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) who “play [Prime Minister] Hun Sen’s game” and resume their political careers when a proposed law change comes into effect will “betray” the party.
Rainsy was recently nominated “acting president” of the CNRP while the incumbent Kem Sokha is on bail awaiting trial on treason charges.
The party’s pro-Sokha faction on Wednesday slammed Rainsy’s “unethical and vile action”.
The National Assembly, which is made up entirely of ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) lawmakers, is to hold a plenary session on Thursday to debate a proposed amendment to Article 45 of the Law on Political Parties.
The amendment could pave the way for former senior leaders of the CNRP who have been banned for five years by the Supreme Court to return to the political stage.
However, Hun Sen on Wednesday warned that only barred politicians who had respected the court’s decision to remain out of politics would be able to request a return of their rights, while those who violated it would face a prison term of two and a half years.
Rainsy took to Facebook on Tuesday to warn the other 117 former CNRP politicians who were barred from political activity by the Su- preme Court in November last year.
He said if any of them took advantage of the law change to have their political rights returned, they would ultimately “betray” the party.
“We wait and see who among the 118 [barred] former CNRP officials will want to get their political rights back, but we see Kem Sokha detained by Hun Sen because our president is charged with treason,” Rainsy wrote.
“People want to be free without thinking about the fate of Kem Sokha and our party – those people [who take advantage of the law change] will walk on the path designed by Hun Sen, and they also agree to play the game designed by Hun Sen. Those people are not stupid, but they will start to betray the CNRP.”
“I would like to ask the 118 banned CNRP: Why do you want political rights at this time? Hun Sen has
my husband in Thailand. When arresting him, the Thai authorities told me that they received a letter from the Cambodian government saying my husband was guilty of producing a false documentary on sex trafficking. This is not true,” she said.
Kimheang insisted that the Cambodian government are wrong in their accusations, and urged it to tackle human trafficking rather than arrest those who probed the issue.
“The Thai government arrested my husband and this is wrong because he is someone who fights human trafficking. They should be using their energy trying to prevent this from happening and helping the victims,” she said.
HRW issued a statement on Tuesday requesting that Thai authorities release Rott Mony immediately and allow him to pursue political asylum through the UN.
HRW expressed concerns that Rott Mony would face “politically motivatedprosecution, wrongful detention and ill-treatment” in Cambodia upon his repatriation.
“Thailand should not do Cambodia’s bidding by forcibly returning an outspoken activist who exposed police failures to stop abuses and child sex trafficking,” said Brad Adams, Asia director for HRW.
“Thai authorities should immediately release Rath Rott Mony and allow him to seek protection from the UN refugee agency.”