The Cambodian opposition chief believes the government will allow him to contest upcoming polls in order to safeguard the vote's legitimacy.
2013-01-08
RFA
Cambodia's exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Tuesday he is still confident of returning to Cambodia to participate in national elections in July, even though the government has disqualified him from standing or voting in the polls and has vowed to arrest and jail him if he returns.
He said that international pressure on the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen over the vote's legitimacy if he cannot stand in elections could convince the authorities to allow him back to the country.
Sam Rainsy, who is head of the united opposition coalition National Rescue Party (NRP) and currently lives in Paris, faces up to 11 years in prison in Cambodia on charges he says were part of a campaign of political persecution against him.
Sam Rainsy said that the opposition could give Hun Sen's Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) a run for its money following the recent merger between his erstwhile Sam Rainsy Party and another leading group, the Human Rights Party.
Speaking to RFA's Khmer Service from Finland, where he met with senior officials, Sam Rainsy said that international pressure on the Cambodian government is mounting for his return and expressed confidence that the political environment will change ahead of the July 28 elections.
"We have seven months to go, and experience has shown that the political environment changes all the time. All I know now is I will be in Cambodia for the election," he said.
The country’s National Election Committee (NEC), which critics say lacks independence from the ruling party, had removed Sam Rainsy as a voter and disallowed him from standing as a candidate in the elections in a ruling in November.
It reaffirmed its position last week, saying that his conviction for crimes that included destroying border markers near Vietnam in 2009 make him ineligible to vote or to run for office.
U.S. disappointed
The United States criticized the decision on Friday, saying it calls into question the vote’s legitimacy.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said that Washington was disappointed by the NEC's disqualification of Sam Rainsy based on criminal convictions.
"We are disappointed in the Cambodian National Election Committee’s announcement recently, again reiterating that Sam Rainsy was removed from the official voter list for the July 2013 elections due to criminal convictions, which credible observers believe have been politically motivated,” she said.
Free and fair elections “require a level playing field and unfettered participation of opposition parties,” she said. “So the exclusion of a leading opposition leader calls into question the legitimacy of the whole democratic process in Cambodia.”
But as National Rescue Party President, Sam Rainsey declared this week that he would be able to return to Cambodia due to international pressure ahead of the National Election July 28.
"Actually, as president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party representing the united democratic opposition, I am the only serious challenger to Mr. Hun Sen for premiership," Sam Rainsy said.
He said the opposition's chances in the coming elections are good, basing his forecast on local elections last June in which he said the Sam Rainsy Party and the Human Rights Party collected a total of 31 percent of the popular vote in spite of what he described as a partisan election commission and serious manipulation of voter lists.
"Therefore, one can understand why incumbent Prime Minister Hun Sen wants to exclude me from the election process in spite of international condemnation.”
“He wants to preserve his position without a risky, real fight. But any national election without the participation of the leader of the opposition is just meaningless," he said.
"I will be back in Cambodia before the July elections, when Hun Sen realizes that any government stemming from an illegitimate election would be considered illegitimate with far-reaching consequences for Cambodia's stability and prosperity."
'Independent state'
Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith told RFA however that Sam Rainsy's statement that he could return to Cambodia does not hold water, saying the international community cannot influence Cambodia as an "independent state."
He said that the government will enforce the court's verdicts against Sam Rainsy if he returns.
"Sam Rainsy told his followers that when [President Barack] Obama came to Cambodia [in November], he would be here, but he wasn't here," Khieu Kanharith said.
"He is now telling his supporters that he will be in Cambodia for the election. This is a lie."
Reported by Samean Yun of RFA's Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.
12 comments:
Welcome to prey sar five stars hotel baek sae!!!
I b there to welcome this monkey myself when he return to cambodia. What an asshole !!! coursed problem for the poor people and ran away such a coward should be put in jail for ever. asshole coward, traitor the whole family. Like father like son.
Mr Sam Rainsy,
Maybe it is better for you not to go to Cambodia at this time, Hanoi may order Hun Sen and his thugs to terminate you.
Vietnam and Cambodia need foreign monies and international supports.
You are very good at drumming up the supports from the international community.
You can hit Vietnam where it hurts !
Long Live Hun Sen and Long Live CPP and Long LIVE VIET NAM... the stupid KHMER peoples Master
Shut up Hun maneth you're Le duck Tho's son stay way from Srok Khmer to avoid being fish's foods.
Yobal Khmer
Le duck Tho's son screw you ah yuon! Stop barking you days is ###!!! You name is Hun Maneth ah chhrouk! Son of mee ka' chhrouk Bunrany & Le duck Tho.
Shut up,will you?
6:04 PM
You are either Ah Yuon or Ah Kgnom Yuon; you try very hard to induce khmer patriots to make useless sacrifice or to have all Cambodian intellectuals nationalist and patriotic to get kill by Hun Sen or by your 5th column inside Cambodia. We will not fall into your trap. We will preserve our intellectual forces so that we will be able to wage non violent or people’s war against our imperialist neighbor Vietnam. We understand that we do not have military force to fight with the puppet government or colonialist Vietnam but we have millions of peace loving Cambodians craving for Democracy and Human Rights will rise up as Arab Spring to demand the application of the provisions of the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement signed by the 19 signatory countries including Vietnam and Cambodia.
Hun Sen and Vietnam were so afraid of Sam Rainy, they want Sam Rainsy to enter Cambodia so that they will be able to put him in Prey Sar Prison for 12 years as indicted by their Kangaroo Court.
The case of Man Sonado proves that the Cambodian Court is not independent; it is only an instrument of the Ruling party to control Cambodian patriots. Sam Rainsy knew this very well. He is not coward as you or Ah Yuon said. His will devote his life for the liberation of Cambodia from the evil of imperialist Vietnam and its puppet government.
Until he receive Hun Sen and international guarantee of his safe return, Sam Rainsy will not set foot in Cambodia.
នយោបាយរបស់លោក សម រង្ស៊ី គឺចប់
សម រង្ស៊ី ចប់គឺមកពីក្បាលរឹង ហើយមិនខ្មេះ!
ទៅមុខមិនរួច-ទៅក្រោយក៏មិនរួច!
-ព្រោះតែធ្វើនយោបោកប្រឆាំងតែនិងខ្មែរដដែលៗ,
-បោះឆ្នោតសង្គ្រោះជាតិយួនដដែលៗ....
(សំរាំង ស៊ីបិសាចយួន,ឡេឡា-ឡេមឡឺម-ឡប់ៗ) ៕
Mr. Sam Rainsy,
You will be elected as the NEW Cambodia Prime Minister !!!
THE CNRP HAS BEEN SO SUCCESS THAT HUN THUG AND VEIT THIEVES SO SCARE THAT KHMER WILL RISE TO VOTE OUT THE EVIL EMPIRE HUN THUG AND CPP CRONIES AND MOST OF ALL BANDIT NATION CALL VIETNAM. VIETNAM HAS EVIL REPUTATION THAT WILL BE NOTICE AS EVIL EMPIRE, BANDIT NATION. THIS NATION WILL BE HATED AROUND THE WORLD.
LONG LIVE HUN SEN AND FAMILY AND CPP...
BAD LOSER CNRP... the next Prime of Cambodia VIET NAM slave ... good work Hun SEn...kill all the useless Khmer .... and live with us in our great country ...
Come on down loser ScamSr, no one will stop you from being fugitive. We're so needed of a fearless leader to work with gangsters in kok prey sor. Long live Pi Anh. Dwon in the shit hole all scamSR'followers. Pi Anh.
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