US URGES GOVT TO FREE OPPOSITION LEADER
>> PHNOM PENH: The US State Department has called on Cambodia to undo its decision to ban the main opposition party and release its imprisoned leader.
“We are greatly concerned by the Cambodian government’s decision to dissolve the Cambodia National Rescue Party, the CNRP,” department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters in Washington.
For next year’s general election to be internationally legitimate, Phnom Penh should retract its dissolution of the CNRP, release the imprisoned leader and allow opposition parties, civil society and media to maintain their legitimate activities, she said.
Cambodia’s Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the dissolution of the CNRP in a ruling made ahead of the general election slated for next July in which the party had been expected to do well.
The CNRP’s current leader Kem Sokha is already in jail after being arrested in September and charged with treason, while other opposition leaders have also been detained or are in self-exile abroad.
The ruling further solidified Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ironclad grip on power. Hun Sen has been premier since 1985, making him the world’s longest-serving head of government.
Following the decision, the CNRP issued a statement condemning the ruling, saying that it ignored the will of more than three million Cambodians who voted for the CNRP.
The CNRP also said it will never recognise the ruling and that the CNRP remains legal as its members of the national parliament and those holding positions in local authorities were elected by the people.
During the last general election in 2013, the opposition party won 55 seats in the 123-seat National Assembly against 68 seats captured by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, meaning all seats were won by these two parties.