Thursday, January 19, 2006

President of the National Assembly: The US Should Respect Khmer Sovereignty

Prince Ranariddh speaking to the press after his arrival from the Philippines on 18 January.
Photo by Kim Poeuv Sotan (RFA).


Kim Poeuv Sotan (RFA)
2006-01-18
Unofficial Translation by M. Preuk

Prince Norodom Ranariddh, the President of the National Assembly, asked the US to respect Khmer sovereignty following the visit of US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill which led to the recent release of four human rights activists.

The Prince made this request in front of journalists at Pochentong airport on Wednesday morning after his return from a meeting in Manila, the Philippines.

The Prince declared: “… my stance remains unchanged, i.e. the US supports only their people, as for me who is a victim, they cursed me, however, the US claimed that their people are human rights activist …”

On Tuesday, following the meeting between the Assistant Secretary of State with Samdech Hun Sen, the Cambodian court released four activists including Mr. Kem Sokha, the President of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), Mr. Pa Nguon Teang, CCHR Vice President, Mr. Rong Chhun, the President of the Cambodian Independent Teachers’ Association, and Mr. Mam Sonando, the Manager of Beehive Radio.

Related to the release of the human rights activists, Prince Ranariddh welcomed the fact that Cambodia still has a good application of the law when it comes to the respect of the right and freedom of expression.

The Prince denied that US pressures forced the release, he added: “I welcome it because it is connected to freedom. However, the application of the law still remains the same because these people are not free from the accusation yet.”

It is noted that the four human rights activists were released on bail by the court following their incarceration stemming from defamation of the government on issues of border and leadership of Samdech Hun Sen.

Last week, Prince Ranariddh strongly scolded the US, Mr. Kem Sokha, and Mr. Sam Rainsy by accusing them of being too much pro-US.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

you radirit idiot..respect your ass..go to the mirror and look at youself?..you can even respect khmers, ever you are under khmer welfare..beside going to khmer ..can you find million dollars every month like that>> idiot low life uneducated scum!!