Monday, September 05, 2011

Opposition members under fire

Monday, 05 September 2011
Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

The president of the Human Rights Party’s Kampong Cham chapter was the subject of a court investigation and would be arrested in connection with the distribution of a document critical of the ruling party, officials said yesterday.

Kampong Cham provincial court prosecutor Huot Vuthy said Seng Siengly would be arrested for “masterminding” the distribution of a document that criticised the loss of Cambodian land to neighbouring countries.

Two HRP activists, Phan Pha and Om Yean, were arrested on Thursday for handing out copies of the document.

“We have charged the party president because he is the mastermind,” Huot Vuthy said.


“His subordinates said they took these documents from [their] leader.”

Huot Vuthy declined to provide the Post with an exact date for Seng Siengly’s arrest, saying only that it would happen after a court concluded its investigation.

We have charged the party president because he is the mastermind

Seang Siengly did not express concern when contacted on Sunday, claiming his actions were in the best interests of the people.

“If they arrest me, there is nothing I can do,” he said.

HRP president Kem Sokha described the arrest of the HRP members as an example of the government blowing an issue out of proportion.

“We don’t want a small issue to become a big issue,” he said.

Kem Sokha also denied that his members had distributed the document, claiming that it was used for internal purposes only.

However, government spokesman Phay Siphan said that the HRP activists were guilty of incitement.

“The use of fake documents to incite the people is against the law,” he said.

The provincial co-ordinator for rights group Adhoc, Neang Sovath, said he would investigate. “If [the court] does not have proper evidence, the arrests are an abuse of human rights,” he said.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

No doubt that the document was about the lost of land to Vietnam. Any bad talking about HIS boss is unacceptale and will be punished.

Anonymous said...

We don't need documents descibing about loning Khmer land to Viet, but we can see the Viet people more than 6 millions in Kampuchea. But your CPP-Clans ignore this proofs with Khmer people and nearby the futures will lose all my friends and you are the traitors for losing Khmer land to Viet, included Sihanouk too.

I have a lot of friends from Vietname they told Kampuchea belong to Vietnam, they added that your leaders are stupid allows my people (viet) to live their freely and guide your country, so sad. You all will see, it will not take time more this land will be Kampuchea Krom soon.

Anonymous said...

This is the case of intimidation due the election is coming up, but this will not scare the members of HRP to run away and stay quiet. HRP always have been critizing the lost land to Vietnam and many more issues that concerning Cambodia. HRP will not be silence when facing difficulties, HRP has been acused by others for being a pupput of the CPP and with this arrested HRP still not getting any support for others. SRP members matter of fact think that is is a fake arrest to make HRP a real opposition party. They think that this is a set up by the CPP to and the HRP is taking direction from the cpp to create this drama, so that the opposition party such as SRP can no longer be suspicious of the HRP. This arrest is real and there is no set up by anyone, this arrest is a clear intimidation from the CPP too all the opposition parties and it is time for all the oppositon parties to wake up and stop blame each other instead just work hard to confront the CPP.

Anonymous said...

THE MORE FOOLISH GOVERNMENT THREATS OPPOSITIONS PARTY, THE MORE WE SUPPORT OPPOSITIONS PARTY, WE LOVE SAMRAINSY PARTY AND HUMAN RIGHT PARTY. LONG LIVE OPPOSITION PARTY YOU ARE THE GREATEST KHMER PATRIOTS.

Anonymous said...

Did HRP dare to criticize the government about border? I thought they were quiet due to relationship with Hun Sen

Anonymous said...

hun sen must die!