Sam
Rainsy, center, president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, gives a
speech during an election campaign rally at Kampong Speu province, west
of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Saturday, July 20, 2013. A gunman fired a shot
early Saturday into one of the main offices of the party, a day after
the exiled leader of the opposition returned home to an exuberant
welcome by supporters ahead of this month's general elections.
Cambodia's
opposition on Saturday condemned political "intimidation" ahead of
elections, after a gunman fired a shot at the party's headquarters.
Nobody
was hurt in the incident, which took place in the early hours of
Saturday when the offices of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP)
in Phnom Penh were closed for the night.
The
party accused people in power of being behind the attack and denounced
it as an attempt to scare the opposition ahead of July 28 general
elections.
It
came a day after tens of thousands of people greeted opposition leader
Sam Rainsy on his return from self-imposed exile to help his party fight
to end Prime Minister Hun Sen's nearly three decades in power.
"I condemn all intimidation," Rainsy told reporters Saturday on the campaign trail in southern Kampong Speu province.
The
French-educated former banker fled in 2009 to avoid charges he contends
were politically motivated but received a royal pardon earlier this
month.
The party said in a statement that the incident was "to intimidate and to cause instability and chaos" ahead of the polls.
"I
think this attack was orchestrated by people in power. This is a
politically motivated case," CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann told AFP.
"This is a cowardly act.... We're not scared by this attack at all," he said.
National
police spokesman Kirt Chantharith confirmed the attack by the
unidentified gunman and said police had collected a bullet.
"We are investigating the case," he told AFP.
Hun
Sen is one of Southeast Asia's longest-serving leaders. His Cambodian
People's Party (CPP) won the last two polls by a landslide amid
allegations of fraud and election irregularities.
His
government is regularly accused of suppressing political freedoms and
muzzling activists. In May Hun Sen said he would try to stay in power
for another decade.
Rainsy,
who is seen as the main challenger to Hun Sen, has been removed from
the electoral register and as a result is unable to run as a candidate
this month unless parliament amends the law.
In
an interview with Radio Free Asia, Rainsy warned that demonstrations
might break out if he is not allow to stand in the polls.
"If
I can't participate, after the elections all the Cambodian people will
protest and the whole international community will condemn the result
and regard this as a sham election," Rainsy was quoted as saying
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