Cambodia's Prince Ranariddh returns

December 13, 2010
ABC Radio Australia

"I think that they have done a lot of damage because when FUNCINPEC arrived on the Cambodian scene, after the Paris agreement, people were expecting a lot from them. They were expecting clean government and transparency and so on. And then there were a number of scandals in which the party was involved and that, I think, destroyed the fundamental foundation of the party with the people because the people could not trust them any more." - Julio Jeldres

Cambodia's former prime minister, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, has returned to the country and says he wants to reunite all royalist parties and contest the next election in 2012. Prince Ranariddh left Cambodia two years ago after his party split and he was convicted in absentia of embezzlement. His return has prompted the current prime minister, Hun Sen, to warn any possible defectors they will be immediately sacked from their government posts.

Presenter: Liam Cochrane

Speakers: Prince Norodom Ranariddh, former Cambodian prime minister; Julio Jeldres, official biographer of Prince Ranariddh's father Norodom Sihanouk, and research fellow, Monash University; Son Chhay, Cambodian opposition MP, Sam Rainsy Party

Click here to listen to the audio program (Windows Media)

COCHRANE: Two years ago, Norodom Ranariddh left Cambodia in disgrace, with his political party split and facing charges of illegally selling the prime city real estate of the party headquarters.

Now he's back with a grand vision.

PRINCE RANARIDDH: (speaking Khmer)

COCHRANE: At a press conference in Phnom Penh, Prince Ranariddh says the royalist parties are hopeless separated and he wants to see them reunited as one big family. He wants the party that has carried on in his absence under the name the Norodom Ranariddh Party to unite with FUNCINPEC, the royalist party that won Cambodia's first election in 1993. The new party would be called FUNCINPEC 81, says Prince Ranariddh.

COCHRANE: Julio Jeldres is an research fellow at Monash University and the official biographer of Prince Ranariddh's father Norodom Sihanouk.

JELDRES: I'm a bit surprised that he decided to return because I thought that after the experiences he went through from 1993 until 2008, when he left politics voluntarily, he would have decided to live a quiet life and concentrate on his role as senior adviser to the king.

COCHRANE: Prince Ranariddh has reportedly been living a comfortable life in Malaysia with his partner, Uk Phalla, a former classical dancer.

So, why did he return to the often brutal world of Cambodian politics?

Julio Jeldres.

JELDRES: He said himself that politics is like a virus, you cannot get away from it.

COCHRANE: The Norodom Ranariddh Party secured only two seats in Cambodia's 2008 election and his former party, FUNCINPEC, also only managed two seats.

Part of the problem, say analysts, are the scandals that have plagued Prince Ranariddh.

JELDRES: I think that they have done a lot of damage because when FUNCINPEC arrived on the Cambodian scene, after the Paris agreement, people were expecting a lot from them. They were expecting clean government and transparency and so on. And then there were a number of scandals in which the party was involved and that, I think, destroyed the fundamental foundation of the party with the people because the people could not trust them any more.

COCHRANE: Prime Minister Hun Sen has warned Prince Ranariddh that if he gets involved in politics again he will have to forfeit his position as a top adviser to the king.

Before the last election, Hun Sen worked hard to lure many senior royalist supporters away from FUNCINPEC with jobs and gifts.

Now, Norodom Ranariddh wants the defectors to defect back to the royalist camp. Hun Sen has issued a letter, saying anyone who does shift allegiances will be immediately fired from their government post.

The Human Rights Party, a relatively new and small opposition group, has been quick to rule out any alliance with Norodom Ranariddh.

The much bigger profile opposition group, the Sam Rainsy Party, has not yet taken that step.

One its MPs, Son Chhay, says the the Sam Rainsy Party would prefer not to work directly with Prince Ranariddh, but won't rule out some form of collaboration with royalist parties.

SON CHHAY: I can say we [are] open to work with the royalist supporter. That doesn't mean we are willing to work directly with the leader of those parties. But we are happy to open our door to get those voters, those supporters at the grassroots [level] to join our movement for change.

COCHRANE: A merger between the Sam Rainsy Party and the Human Rights Party has been on the cards for a while, but only time will tell what impact Prince Ranariddh's return will have on Cambodia's political scene.