Should Sam Rainsy come back to be sent to jail by Hun Xen or not?

(Photo: AFP)

22 September 2010
By Pech Bandol
Free Press Magazine Online
Translated from Khmer by Soch
Click here to read the article in Khmer

A myriad of lawsuits against the opposition party are currently being brought up and this raises the question on the future of democracy in Cambodia: will Cambodia limp toward democracy as it is doing now, i.e. a democracy that only serves as a shield to protect a dictatorship or will it return back to an 80s style communist regime?

Kul Panha, the executive director of the Comfrel NGO, indicated that the number of accusation cases against opposition officials are on the rise and this is intentional from the part of the ruling CPP party in order to smash democracy and to prevent free and fair elections.

Kul Panha commented: “We look at other countries in Europe, Japan, in America, nobody brings up lawsuits because of diverging political opinions such as we have here.”

It should be noted that since 2009 until now, opposition officials have faced an array of lawsuits against them brought up by government officials and by the powerful CPP party. Mrs. Mu Sochua, an opposition MP from Kampot province, was sued for defamation by Hun Xen and the Supreme Court decided on 02 June 2010 that she lost this case and it forced her to pay a compensation to Hun Xen, as well as a fine, both totaling 16.5 million riels. Opposition leader Sam Rainsy was sentenced in absentia by the Svay Rieng provincial court on 27 January 2010 to 2-year of jail term in regards to his uprooting of border stakes, he is also facing another lawsuit where he is accused of falsification of public documents and disinformation. The latter case was heard on 08 September, but the sentencing will not be known until 23 September.

Furthermore, what is laughable is the lawsuit brought up by Hor 5 Hong against Sam Rainsy two years ago. The case is also coming up now. Chea Poch, another opposition MP, also saw his defamation lawsuit case, which was brought up by Prince Ranariddh 6 years ago, being dug up. In summary, with this array of theatrical shows, one can see clearly that the ruling party has a clear aim in mind: using the judicial system as a tool to break up the opposition, and in particular, to exclude from the Cambodian political scene the cumbersome opposition leader who is skilled at attracting supporters.

The poisonous strategy used by the CPP can be clearly seen during Hun Xen’s inauguration of the Prek Phnov bridge on 20 September 2010 in which he issued the following warning: “If the opposition leader does not come back to face jail on his own, then the jail will be brought over to him.” Regarding this problem, the public is wondering whether Mr. Sam Rainsy will return to be sent to jail by Hun Xen or will he continue to live in exile?

On this issue, Ou Virak, President of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), is of the opinion that Sam Rainsy should return back to Cambodia and let Hun Xen send him to jail. At that time, the national and international community will clearly see the dictatorship regime in Cambodia, and they will then help Sam Rainsy.

Nevertheless, Sam Rainsy knows clearly whether he should allow himself to become a pawn in Hun Xen’s hand or not. To Sam Rainsy, the current Cambodian courts are merely puppets, they are courts that serve only the interest of the CPP, i.e. a KR-style tribunal, therefore why should Sam Rainsy allow himself to become the pawn of such of judicial system?

This means that Sam Rainsy will not show up to face the sentencing handed down by the Cambodian court controlled by Hun Xen. Therefore, Cambodia’s fledgling democracy will face a major problem: a democracy without the presence of an opposition leader.

Nevertheless, regarding this issue, numerous analysts are of the opinion that the international community will do its utmost to pull Cambodia back to the right path to democracy, and it will not allow Hun Xen to pursue his misdeeds anyway he pleases.