Thailand to circulate arrest warrant to 187 countries to capture ex-PM

Wed, Jun 02, 2010
The Nation/Asia News Network

In another attempt to bring Thailand's ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to justice, the Department of Special Investigation will circulate copies of his arrest warrant on terrorism charges around the world.

The DSI's foreign division will give copies of the warrant to 187 Interpol member countries asking them to help capture Thaksin, DSI chief Tharit Pengdit said.

The DSI will also ask the Office of the Attorney-General to proceed with extradition requests to countries in which Thaksin has been living since his self-imposed exile.

The Foreign Ministry will also circulate the documents through diplomatic channels.

So far, the government has failed to have Thaksin extradited from a number of countries, including Cambodia.

Thaksin apparently has a residence in Dubai and holds Montenegrin citizenship, but both countries have ignored Thai requests to take him into custody.

Meanwhile, a lower court earlier approved arrest warrants for 13 men for their alleged torching of the Maleenont Building, which houses Channel 3, on May 19.

The suspects, aged 30-50, were seen in media and security footage taking part in the arson attack but not identified by name.

Thonglor police said they were verifying the men by their appearance in previous criminal records. Most are seen in the footage armed with clubs and sticks and carrying out acts of attacks and arson.

The Metropolitan Police Bureau yesterday released a report on more than 360 violent incidents related to the red-shirt rally, including 160 violations of the emergency decree.

The cases occurred across Bangkok. Of the total, 140 were reported in the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Police Region 1.

Offences classified under the criminal category include 62 bomb attacks, 54 of which are still being investigated. Two arrest warrants have been issued, and six suspects are in police custody.

There are 39 cases of arson and of torching property, with investigations in progress for 36 of them. Two arrest warrants are outstanding, and one suspect has been arrested.

There are 18 cases of manslaughter and attempted murder. Police are investigating 17 cases and are in the process of requesting judicial approval for an arrest warrant.

Police are working on two cases relating to physical assault.

There are 34 cases of stealing, looting and armed robbery, 12 of which are under investigation. Police have rounded up suspects involved in 21 of them and are preparing an arrest warrant in another.

For national-security-related investigations, there are seven cases of lese majeste. Two are in progress, while two arrest warrants have been issued, and three suspects are in police custody.

Some 160 cases are related to offences committed under the state of emergency. Suspects are under custody for violating the emergency decree.

The remaining cases involve the illegal possession of military supplies. One case is in progress. Two arrest warrants have been issued, and one case has been solved, with suspects in police custody.

Regarding people killed in the mayhem, police investigations are under way, with 37 autopsy reports completed.

Court issued arrest warrant against opposition leader Sam Rainsy

Monday 31 May 2010
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Last week, the Phnom Penh municipal court issued an arrest warrant for opposition leader Sam Rainsy after he did not show up to court based on two of his summonses. Sok Roeun, the deputy prosecutor of the Phnom Penh municipal court, told The Phnom Penh Post on Sunday that investigating Judge Ouen Sieng issued an arrest warrant for Sam Rainsy, however he added he does not know if the warrant is for bringing Sam Rainsy in for questioning or for arresting him. He said: “The issue of the summons depends on the judge. Based on the court legality, it must be done.” Ky Tech, the government lawyer, said on Sunday that, based on the court legality, this is what must be done. He added that when the court issues two summons to someone, and that person does not show up to court, then a warrant is issued. Chuong Chou-ngy, Sam Rainsy’s defense lawyer, told The Phnom Penh Post on Sunday that he did not know about the arrest warrant issued against Sam Rainsy and that he will meet the judge next week to confirm this issue. Chuong Chou-ngy declined to comment about this case.

Sam Rainsy faces arrest for not showing up in court to clarify for the Phnom Penh court

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy

28 May 2010
By Meas Mony
Free Press Magazine Online
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer

For not showing up to clarify the court as summoned in April in the lawsuit case regarding disinformation and falsifying public document, opposition leader Sam Rainsy now faces an arrest warrant issued against him.

The Phnom Penh municipal court issued this warrant to Sam Rainsy on Tuesday after he did not show up in court in April, however, the latter now lives overseas.

Nevertheless, Chuong Chou-ngy, Sam Rainsy’s defense lawyer, told reporters that he went to court instead of Sam Rainsy already on 20 April.

However, Ky Tech, the government lawyer, claimed that Sam Rainsy is involved in a criminal case, therefore his lawyer cannot show up in court for the suspect or the accused.

Yim Sovann, SRP spokesman, indicated that the court arrest warrant is meaningless in the lawsuit case brought up against Sam Rainsy. “I don’t pay attention about this court, this is a political hearing, therefore a political solution is needed,” Yim Sovann said.

Currently, opposition leader Sam Rainsy and Mr. Sean Pengse, a border expert under the Khmer Republic regime, are conducting their campaign in the US in order to explain to the Cambodian people, as well as the international community, about the border situation in Cambodia which is under encroachments from neighboring countries while the Cambodian government is turning a blind eye to this situation.

No Excuse from Sam Rainsy

January 7, 2010

NO EXCUSE FROM SAM RAINSY

On January 6, 2010, opposition leader Sam Rainsy wrote the following letter to the Editor of The Phnom Penh Post.
Sir,

In your January 6 article “PM dismisses possible pardon for Sam Rainsy over VN border charges,” Prime Minister Hun Sen was quoted as saying, “There are no more chances [for Sam Rainsy] to write a letter of apology to me.”

I would like to specify that I have never written any letter of apology to Mr. Hun Sen. As a matter of fact, I did write to express “regrets” for an unpleasant situation in the past but, in political and diplomatic language, regrets and apologies are not the same thing.

You may regret that somebody is a tyrant but you would never make any apologies to him.

This time, I will not even express any regret at all because, on October 25 in Svay Rieng province, I only defended the interest of my country and my people and therefore only did my duty as a Member of Parliament.

I will return to Cambodia and accept to be jailed -- as Mr. Hun Sen apparently dictates to the court -- when the government releases all farmers being detained for protesting land grabbing, and gives back their property.

Yours sincerely,

Sam Rainsy
Member of Parliament

Cracking down on Cambodians to serve Hanoi's interest: Hun Xen's true nature?

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen at Phnom Penh international airport November 8, 2009. Cambodia marked the 31st anniversary of the fall of the murderous Khmer Rouge regime on Thursday in celebrations clouded by the threat of a crackdown on opponents of long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen. (REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea/Files)

Cambodia marks liberation under cloud of crackdown

Thu Jan 7, 2010
By Prak Chan Thul

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia marked the 31st anniversary of the fall of the murderous Khmer Rouge regime on Thursday in celebrations clouded by the threat of a crackdown on opponents of long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Before the festivities, attended by thousands of people in the capital Phnom Penh, the premier vowed to arrest anyone seen handing out leaflets opposing his rule, the latest in what rights groups say is a growing campaign to silence dissent.

Hun Sen's warning to his critics, who say the government is abusing its power to crush all forms of political opposition, came five days after a court issued an arrest warrant for main opposition leader Sam Rainsy.

The crackdown coincides with trouble in one of Southeast Asia's most impoverished economies after an unprecedented boom which saw economic production expand 10 percent annually in the five years up to 2008. Since then, foreign investment has collapsed, tourist arrivals have plummeted and construction has stalled.

Data this week showed about 30,000 workers in the garment industry, a mainstay of the economy, lost their jobs last year as exports to the United States shrank.

Opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua, sued by Hun Sen in July after she accused him of defamation, on Thursday called on the public to resist what she said were intimidation tactics by authorities. "We must still continue to express opinions, not back down because of threats," she said. "We must give a clear message that we can't accept the closure of free expression."

ARREST THREAT

Hun Sen on Tuesday announced the threat to arrest anyone handing out leaflets that express opposition to him or his policies. He said he had seen some such leaflets that were printed in neighbouring Thailand for distribution in Cambodia.

"Leaflet distributors be careful, I will arrest," he said.

He also rejected claims he had been using the courts to intimidate his opponents and warned Rainsy to "be prepared" to go to prison, adding that his long-time political rival, who is now in exile in Europe, would not be pardoned.

The threat appeared effective. No opposition leaflets appeared during Thursday's celebrations marking an invasion by Vietnamese forces in 1979 that toppled the ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge, blamed for the deaths of 1.7 million people.

The National Assembly, dominated by the ruling Cambodia People's Party, passed legislation last year outlawing protests of more than 200 people and tightening existing defamation laws in what opponents said were measures to prevent criticism and keep rival politicians in check.

Risk analysts say despite corruption and concerns over human rights and judicial interference, Cambodia's political and economic stability should remain intact in the foreseeable future, with little threat to the government's grip on power.

South Korea and China, the country's biggest sources of investment, signed agreements late last year to pour more money into Cambodia, which will open its first stock exchange later this year as part of a $2 billion project to build a new financial centre.

Rainsy, who heads a party named after him, is accused of causing criminal damage after uprooting several border demarcation posts to appease farmers.

(Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Jason Szep)

PM dismisses possible pardon for Sam Rainsy over VN border charges

“Sam Rainsy just pulled out six wooden border poles and they accused him of destroying public property, but when Khmer and Vietnamese authorities came to pull out the others nearby, that was not illegal” - Pov Pheap, second deputy chief of Samrong commune in Chantrea district

Wednesday, 06 January 2010
Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

In his keynote speech, the premier called for opposition leader Sam Rainsy’s arrest.

"Now who are the foreigners and embassies that support such an action?"

PRIME Minister Hun Sen warned Tuesday that he will not request a pardon for Sam Rainsy if the opposition leader is found guilty in a pending criminal trial stemming from an October protest against alleged Vietnamese encroachment on Cambodian territory.

“This time I would like to declare … there is no [pardon]. After the court convicts, let it be,” Hun Sen said during an inauguration ceremony for a stretch of National Road 1 in Kandal province.

“There are no more chances [for Sam Rainsy] to write a letter of apology to me. This time, there is no more [chance for pardon], sorry. Prepare yourself. We don’t regard him as guilty yet – [we] just say that if he is, do not rely on Hun Sen.”

The premier also defended the current demarcation of the Cambodian-Vietnamese border, and noted that foreign embassies and international organisations have not sprung to Sam Rainsy’s defence.

“Now who are the foreigners and embassies that support such an action?” Hun Sen asked the audience.

Sam Rainsy was charged last week with racial incitement and destruction of property by the Svay Rieng provincial court after he led villagers in the province’s Chantrea district in a protest last year.

During the rally they uprooted wooden posts on the Vietnamese frontier at border marker 185.

The court issued an arrest warrant for Sam Rainsy, who is currently in Europe, after he failed to appear for questioning at a hearing last week. Two Svay Rieng farmers have already been arrested in connection with the protest, while warrants have been issued for three more.

Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Yim Sovann on Tuesday defended Sam Rainsy’s actions in the protest, saying that Hun Sen should focus on other problems facing Cambodia.

“As I listen to [Hun Sen], it seems that he is influencing the court,” Yim Sovann said.

The SRP released a statement on Tuesday alleging that Cambodian and Vietnamese authorities had conspired to remove other border posts placed near the site of Sam Rainsy’s October protest. In the statement, the opposition party claimed that the posts’ removal proved they had been installed illegally.

“Sam Rainsy pulled out six wooden poles at border marker 185, but subsequently similar wooden poles at nearby border marker 184, 186 and 187 have also been removed by the authorities themselves,” the statement read. “At marker 184 even the concrete foundations under the wooden poles have been dug out, put into a tractor and taken back to Vietnam.”

This action, the SRP claimed, demonstrated that officials from both countries knew that the border posts had been illegitimately placed on Cambodian farmland.

“Now realising they are on weak legal ground in the prosecution of Sam Rainsy and the concerned farmers, the authorities have surreptitiously resorted to do the same thing as Sam Rainsy did, ie removing illegally-imposed border markers, which is leading to a judicial imbroglio illustrating the political nature of the charges levied against Sam Rainsy,” the statement said.

Pov Pheap, second deputy chief of Samrong commune in Chantrea district, said Tuesday that the border markers in question had in fact been removed by Vietnamese authorities on November 16, the same day that Sam Rainsy’s parliamentary immunity was lifted, paving the way for the charges against him.

“Sam Rainsy just pulled out six wooden border poles and they accused him of destroying public property, but when Khmer and Vietnamese authorities came to pull out the others nearby, that was not illegal,” Pov Pheap said.

Var Kimhong, senior minister in charge of border affairs, rejected the claims made by SRP authorities but declined to comment further.

Rainsy facing uphill battle in wake of arrest warrant

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy speaks during a press conference with the Human Rights Party in January last year. (Photo by: Heng Chivoan)

Observers remain divided on the eventual outcome of border incident.

Tuesday, 05 January 2010
Sebastian Strangio
ANALYSIS
The Phnom Penh Post

BY uprooting six wooden stakes close to the Vietnamese border, opposition leader Sam Rainsy has again cast himself in a familiar role as the agent provocateur of Cambodian politics. The act, committed during a Buddhist ceremony in Svay Rieng on October 25, was small but symbolic: With attentions distracted by Prime Minister Hun Sen’s high-profile standoff with the Thai government of Abhisit Vejjajiva, the border stunt gave voice to the enduring Khmer fear of Vietnamese domination and was a none-too-subtle hint about the cosy relationship between Hanoi and the ruling Cambodian People’s Party.

But with the issuing of an arrest warrant for Sam Rainsy by Svay Rieng provincial court last week – effectively marooning the SRP leader overseas – the government has upped the ante on the opposition, and political observers have offered a mixed analysis on what moves it has left to play.

SRP spokesman Yim Sovann said Monday that the party had “a clear policy” for negotiating Sam Rainsy’s return: the release from prison of those detained in land disputes with powerful business interests, including the two Svay Rieng villagers detained for involvement in the October 25 incident.

On the one hand, the fact that an arrest warrant is hanging over the opposition leader’s head is hardly novel. “Sam Rainsy has been out of the country around half of his time as opposition leader,” said Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights. “This is nothing new.”

The most recent point of comparison is Sam Rainsy’s absence during 2005-06, when he lived in self-exile in France for a year after being stripped of his parliamentary immunity and sentenced in absentia to 18 months in prison on criminal defamation charges. Sam Rainsy only returned to Cambodia in February 2006 after recanting comments about Hun Sen and receiving a Royal pardon from King Norodom Sihamoni.

Hang Chhaya, executive director of the Khmer Institute for Democracy, described the issuing of an arrest warrant for Sam Rainsy as a “political game” that could pose concerns for the opposition leader. He said it was hard to know if it would mirror the events of four years ago, but that if he remains overseas much longer it will be detrimental for the SRP. “You need all hands on deck in order to help build the country,” he said.

Despite the precedent of 2005-06, Ou Virak said that one new problem for Sam Rainsy is that repeated petitions to international organisations – one of the few cards the leader has left to play – could be falling on increasingly deaf ears. “You can do it once or twice, but governments get fatigued, donors get fatigued.… You’re running a risk of people no longer paying attention,” he said. “Eventually he’ll have to take it to the next level, and that means facing possible imprisonment.” And unlike 2005-06, he added, the prospect of a political settlement seems slim.

Writing in an email from Paris, Sam Rainsy said he would give the authorities time to respond to his “consistent and legitimate offers” before returning to Cambodia, but also held out the prospect of reassessing the situation with his colleagues and political allies if he receives no answer.

Either way, he said, his absence is unlikely to hurt the party. “By past experiences, I can say it affects the SRP only to a limited and manageable extent, but my ‘absence’ from Cambodia gives us many opportunities elsewhere,” he said.

His 2005-06 absence was compensated for by the “continuous presence on the spot of countless competent and dedicated colleagues at all levels”, Sam Rainsy said, pointing to the party’s successes at the 2007 commune council polls as evidence that it would not be detrimental to the party.

Others predicted a resolution to the issue on similar terms to 2006. Thun Saray, president of local rights group Adhoc, said the current situation, like the earlier standoff, would likely reach an equilibrium before the next cycle of elections in 2012-13.

“[In 2005] the political space was narrowed down for more than a year and later on, when the election approached, the situation became better again,” he said, adding that the ruling party could not move towards a one-party state without undermining its democratic legitimacy. “When election time approaches, they have to show the public and that they believe in democratic principles in order to attract support,” he said.

Ou Virak, however, was not optimistic about the likelihood of Sam Rainsy returning to face jail. “He’s no Aung San Suu Kyi,” he said. “He’s not going to come back.”

Sam Rainsy’s Interview With The Cambodia Daily

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy (Photo: Sovannara, RFI)

5 January 2010

SAM RAINSY’S INTERVIEW WITH THE CAMBODIA DAILY

On 3 January 2010, the following questions from The Cambodia Daily (Q) were answered by Sam Rainsy (A).
Q. Can you explain why you choose to remain abroad and not return to Cambodia? And why you have done so in the past? What do you hope to gain (or prevent) by staying overseas?
A. To make it short, I am awaiting two answers: one from Hanoi, and one from Phnom Penh.

- From Hanoi: See my offer in the 21 December 2009 statement “The Real Court Is in Hanoi” at http://tinyurl.com/y99gv8w
- From Phnom Penh: See my offer in the 2 January 2010 Cambodia Daily’s article “Rainsy Says Will Return When Prisoners Freed” and other press reports such as the one from Radio France Internationale at http://tinyurl.com/yzqq5nn

I must give the two governments some time to respond to my consistent and legitimate offers.

I hope they will answer in one way or another. But, in the present circumstances, no answer is also an answer, a telling answer. The Cambodian people and Friends of Cambodia all over the world will be able to judge.

After that, I will consult with my colleagues in Cambodia and abroad to decide on the next step.

Q. Does your absence hurt the SRP in its operations or its public image?

A. By past experiences, I can say it affects the SRP only to a limited and manageable extent, but my “absence” from Cambodia gives us many opportunities elsewhere.

I am proud of, and blessed by, the permanent presence on the spot of countless competent and dedicated colleagues at all levels who are capable of adjusting to any situation like the one in 2005-2006 when I was “absent” for a whole year. The first subsequent polls (commune elections) in early 2007 were a big and unprecedented success for the SRP, proving that the SRP had not been that “affected” by my “absence.”

In the present world and with modern technologies, the word “absence” in the political field does not have the same meaning as only ten years ago. Look at Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra [the fugitive former Thai prime minister]: In spite of his self-imposed exile, he is very “present” in Thailand. Just a few days ago, I took part in a radio call-in show broadcast live from Phnom Penh. Was I really “absent” from Cambodia?

[End]

Cambodian opposition leader to remain abroad until charges dropped

January 4, 2010
ABC Radio Australia

A member of the Cambodian opposition Sam Rainsy Party says the party's leader will not return to the country while charges remain against him. Sam Rainsy has been charged with inciting racial hatred and destruction of property. An arrest warrant was issued after he failed to appear in court to hear the charges, which he has described as politically motivated.

Presenter: Bo Hill
Speakers: Hing Yoeun, member, Sam rainsy Party Steering Committee

HILL: The charges Sam Rainsy faces relate to an incident on the Cambodia-Vietnam border in October. He's alleged to have incited racial hatred and destroyed property after border markers were removed. Sam Rainsy party member, Hing Yoeun says the opposition leader was doing nothing wrong.

HING YOUEN: On 25 October 2009, the people in the village run to him and complain to him that the Vietnamese side plan to make a border at their rice fields.

HILL: Sam Rainsy claims he was simply helping the villages in Cok Bahn to save their rice fields, and Hing Yoeun says the party and its leader believe the charges are politically motivated.

HING YOEUN: The judicial system in Cambodia is not justice, it's is only the tool of the government and the ruling party.

HILL: Sam Rainsy is currently in France, having left Cambodia before the court appearance order was issued. He's told Reuters news agency he will let the court prosecute him in absentia because the verdict was already decided. Hing Yoeun says Sam Rainsy will pursue the case through diplomatic means from abroad, rather than through the Cambodia court system. But the incident is already a diplomatic issue. A long-running Cambodia-Vietnam border dispute was laid to rest three years ago when the border was official marked, but there are still localised concerns. Hing Yoeun says Cambodian authorities moved against the opposition leader because of pressure from Vietnam, whose investment dollars Cambodia has tried hard to attract.

HING YOEUN: Yes of course because the prime minister of Vietnam said that Cambodia have to avoid the similar action caused by Sam Rainsy in the future.

HILL: Hing Yoeun has hinted that Sam Rainsy, who was educated in France, will remain in Paris for the foreseeable future, and may seek political asylum there. He also said two locals from Cok Bahn village involved in the border marker incident have been arrested, and warrants have been issued for three others.

Cambodian politician ordered arrested

PARIS, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Opposition leader Sam Rainsy says he will let the Cambodian government try him in absentia on charges of racial incitement and destruction of property.

Cambodia's Svay Rieng provincial court ordered Rainsy's arrest Friday after he failed to appear for a hearing on charges he uprooted border markings between Cambodia and Vietnam in October.

In a story published Saturday, Rainsy told The Phnom Penh Post the border markers were illegally placed by Vietnam and encroached on the land of Cambodian farmers.

"I can resolve my own problems, but justice (must be had) for the farmers who lost their rice fields," Rainsy said, speaking with the Post by telephone from France.

Cambodia and Vietnam are three years into a six-year process to demarcate their shared 800-mile border.

Rainsy accused the Cambodian People's Party of pressuring the provincial court to order his arrest and revoke his status as a parliamentarian, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported Saturday.

Sam Rainsy’s reaction to his arrest warrant

01 Jan 2010
By Kuoch Kuntheara
Radio France Internationale
Translated from Khmer by Komping Puoy

Today, Mr. Sam Rainsy issued his reaction in response to the arrest warrant against him in the lawsuit case charging him of uprooting stakes along the Vietnamese-Cambodian border. Sam Rainsy indicated that he agrees to surrender himself if the authority agrees to release Cambodian farmers who are currently being jailed first.

Click here to listen to Sam Rainsy’s response

Opposition leader repudiates ‘political’ charges against him

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy speaks during a Sam Rainsy Party press conference early last year. (Photo by: Heng Chivoan)

Friday, 01 January 2010
Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

It’s useless because the decision has been made beforehand.

THE Svay Rieng provincial court has issued an arrest warrant for Sam Rainsy in connection with an October incident in which he led local residents in a protest against alleged Vietnamese encroachment on Cambodian territory.

Lawyer Choung Chou Ngy said he received the warrant Thursday afternoon, and that it had been issued after his client failed to appear in court on Monday for questioning – a move Sam Rainsy scorned, saying that there was no point in explaining himself to politically biased judges.

“The arrest warrant was issued one day after he did not appear in court. This is a procedure to force Sam Rainsy to appear,” Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said, adding the Sam Rainsy Party president can now be arrested at any point of entry into Cambodia.

Investigating judge Long Kesphyrom, who issued the warrant, could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

Sam Rainsy was charged with racial incitement and destruction of property in early December after removing border markers from the Vietnamese frontier in Svay Rieng’s Chantrea district on October 25. His parliamentary immunity was revoked in November, paving the way for the charges.

Speaking by phone from Paris, Sam Rainsy said he was unconcerned about his failure to appear at the provincial court hearing, arguing that a verdict against him was a foregone conclusion.

“Whether I go [to the court] or don’t go, it is the same. … It’s useless because the decision has been made beforehand,” he said.

Sam Rainsy accused the Cambodian People’s Party of pressuring the provincial court, saying that he would continue his work as a parliamentarian despite the “politically motivated” charges against him.

“I will find a political way for justice…. I can resolve my own problems, but justice [must be had] for the farmers who lost their rice fields,” he said.

Sam Rainsy is in Europe, having met with the European Parliament in Belgium and the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Switzerland last month.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SEBASTIAN STRANGIO

Arrest warrants for Khmer villagers by the puppet Yuon regime

On 25 December 2009, the Yuon-serving court in Svay Rieng issued arrest warrants against 5 Cambodian villagers from Koh Kban Kandal village, Chantrea district, Svay Rieng province. The 5 villagers are accused of destroying wooden stakes marking a border post that is planted right on top of the rice fields they own. Following the order by Nguyen Tan Dung, the communist Yuon prime minister, Hun Xen's regime took action and ordered all the people involved prosecuted. In addition to opposition leader Sam Rainsy, the five Cambodian villagers who were ordered arrested by Hanoi's subservient court are:

1. Mr. Prak Chea, 29-year-old
2. Mrs. Neang Phally, 39-year-old
3. Mrs. Prak Koeun, 38-year-old
4. Mrs. Meas Srey, 39-year-old widow
5. Mr. Prum Chea, 41-year-old

Currently, Khmer villagers lose their land due to the collusion of this lackey regime, we may shed our tears and anger in frustration, but we will never forget the coward action by this repressive regime. Enjoy your clan family reunion while you still can!

Cambodia issues Sam Rainsy arrest warrant

Sam Rainsy is currently thought to be in France

Friday, 1 January 2010
BBC News

The Cambodian government has issued an arrest warrant against opposition leader Sam Rainsy for failing to appear in court over a border dispute.

Mr Rainsy is alleged to have encouraged villagers to uproot markers on the frontier with Vietnam in October 2009.

Mr Rainsy has claimed that Vietnam is encroaching on Cambodian territory, a highly sensitive issue.

The Cambodia's parliament stripped opposition leader Sam Rainsy of his immunity from prosecution in November.

"The arrest warrant for Sam Rainsy was issued on Tuesday by Svay Rieng provincial court," Sam Rainsy's lawyer Choung Chou Ngy told AFP.

No show

In an email from France, Mr Rainsy told Reuters he would not appear in court because the case against him was politically motivated.

"The court in Cambodia is just a political tool for the ruling party to crack down on the opposition," he said.

"I will let this politically subservient court prosecute me in absentia because its verdict is known in advance."

Mr Rainsy's lawyer said the opposition leader had been charged with inciting racial discrimination and intentionally damaging property when he allegedly uprooted the border markings saying they were illegally placed by Vietnam.

A Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Yim Sovann called the move was "a plan organised by the ruling party to intimidate and to threaten members of opposition party".

"Sam Rainsy has done nothing wrong. He just fulfilled his duty as a member of parliament," he said.

Government spokesman Phay Siphan said the court was acting independently of politics and that anyone summoned to court should appear.

Vietnam is a growing investor in Cambodia.

The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding at a forum in Ho Chi Minh City on 26 December to support billions of dollars of Vietnamese investments.

Cambodia and Vietnam officially began demarcating their contentious border in September 2006, in a bid to end decades of territorial disputes.

The 1,270-kilometre (790-mile) border has remained essentially unmarked and vague since French colonial times, with stone markers and boundary flags having disappeared, while trees once lining it were cut down.

Cambodian court orders arrest of opposition leader

Cambodia opposition party leader Sam Rainsy is greeted by his supporters on the street during the Labor day march in the capital Phnom Penh May 1, 2006. A court in Cambodia has ordered the arrest of Sam Rainsy. [Reuters]

Friday, January 01, 2010
Robert Carmichael
Radio Australia News

A court in Cambodia has ordered the arrest of an opposition leader after he failed to appear in court on charges relating to the contested eastern border with Vietnam.

The arrest warrant for Sam Rainsy, the leader of the country's main opposition party was issued after he missed his court hearing earlier this week.

Sam Rainsy, who is currently in France, had been charged with racial incitement and destruction of property.

Those charges followed an incident in October when the veteran politician removed several wooden border posts marking the boundary between Cambodia and Vietnam.

The two countries are halfway through a six-year process to demarcate their 1,300-kilometre long common border.

A spokesman for the opposition said Sam Rainsy had done nothing wrong by removing the posts.

He blamed the authorities for marking the border without consulting local farmers who as a result had lost their land.

The spokesman said Sam Rainsy would return to Cambodia once a political solution to the court case was in place.

Rejecting the court as a political tool of the ruling party, the spokesman said the opposition would instead petition Cambodia's king to resolve the issue.

Arrest warrant for Sam Rainsy

On 29 December 2009, Judge Long Kesphirom of the Svay Rieng provincial court, issued an order to arrest opposition leader Sam Rainsy. The court accused Sam Rainsy of destruction of public properties and incitation to racial discrimination (sic!) because of his involvement in the uprooting of marking stakes along the border between Cambodia and Vietnam. However, there is no word as to why these border stakes are planted right in the middle of rice fields belonging to Cambodian farmers.

Court seeking Rainsy arrest: police official [-A secret arrest warrant?]

Thursday, 31 December 2009
Cheang Sokha and Sebastian Strangio
The Phnom Penh Post

No details of warrant available, Svay Rieng’s top policeman says.

A senior Svay Rieng police officer said Wednesday that the provincial court is believed to have issued an arrest warrant for opposition leader Sam Rainsy after he failed to appear before a judge on Monday in connection with his removal of border posts on the Vietnamese frontier, although no details of the order are available.

Svay Rieng Police Commissioner Prach Rim said he could provide no additional information about the warrant, adding, “It has not yet arrived in my hands, so that is why I cannot elaborate further”.

Earlier this month, Svay Rieng court officials charged Sam Rainsy with racial incitement and the destruction of property over an October 25 incident in which he joined villagers in uprooting six wooden posts near the border with Vietnam.

The outspoken government critic was stripped of his parliamentary immunity last month over the incident.

Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Yim Sovann said he did not have specific information about the warrant, but defended the SRP president’s actions on the border.

“I will repeat that Mr Sam Rainsy has not done anything wrong. Because the demarcation posts were put in the middle of the people’s land without their participation … they had a right to pull them out,” he said.

He said the SRP has long opposed the border treaty signed with Vietnam in 2005, which it feared would lead to the loss of Cambodian land, adding that Sam Rainsy’s current tour in Europe would help publicise the Vietnamese incursions.

“This is a political problem so we have to find a political solution … by speaking to the international donors that provide financial assistance to the government,” he said, adding that he did not know when Sam Rainsy would return.

Government officials, however, said the issuing of an arrest warrant was standard procedure in cases where individuals failed to honour a court summons.

“He failed his obligation to present himself at the court. As a member of parliament, he should set a good example and respect the court’s request,” said Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan. He said he had received no formal notification of the warrant.

“We are trying to respect the rule of law – no matter who you are, you have an obligation to obey the court,” he said.

Cambodia court orders arrest of opposition leader

Thu, Dec 31, 2009
Reuters

"...farmers on the Cambodian side have claimed they are losing land as Vietnam encroaches on Cambodian territory"

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA - An arrest warrant has been issued for the leader of Cambodia's main opposition party after he ignored a provincial court order to appear for questioning, a government spokesman said on Thursday.

Sam Rainsy failed to appear for questioning on Monday about an Oct. 25 incident in which demarcation posts were uprooted along Cambodia's border with Vietnam.

A Phnom Penh court issued an arrest warrant on Tuesday, although it was not announced publicly.

Government spokesman Phay Siphan confirmed on Thursday that the warrant had been issued for Rainsy, who leads the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP).

In an email from France, Rainsy told Reuters he would not appear in court because the case against him was politically motivated.

'The court in Cambodia is just a political tool for the ruling party to crack down on the opposition,' he said. 'I will let this politically subservient court prosecute me in absentia because its verdict is known in advance.'

Phay insisted the judges made their decisions free of political interference and said the warrant was issued only because Rainsy missed his court date.

'No matter who you are you have to appear in court, that's the law,' he said.

Rights groups have accused the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of using the courts to crack down on opposition.

On Nov. 16, the CPP-dominated government voted to strip Rainsy of his immunity for the second time in 2009.

Rainsy faces charges of racial incitement and destruction of property for his alleged role in uprooting six border posts, which local farmers claimed were placed on their land.

Vietnam lodged an official complaint over the incident. The countries are in the process of demarcating their 1,270-metre long border, but farmers on the Cambodian side have claimed they are losing land as Vietnam encroaches on Cambodian territory.

A group of villagers from Svay Rieng province, on the frontier with Vietnam, brought their concerns to Rainsy, who is a fierce critic of Vietnam's influence in Cambodian affairs.

Vietnam is a growing investor in Cambodia, and the countries signed a memorandum of understanding at a forum in Ho Chi Minh City on Dec. 26, which will guide Vietnamese investments that officials said could top US$6 billion.

Cambodia seeks arrest of opposition leader: lawyer

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy (Photo: AFP)

12/31/2009
Agence France-Presse

"Sam Rainsy has done nothing wrong. He just fulfiled his duty as a member of parliament" - Yim Sovann, SRP spokesman

Cambodia has issued an arrest warrant for the country's main opposition leader after he failed to show up in court to answer charges of uprooting border markings, his lawyer said Thursday.

Cambodia has issued an arrest warrant for the country's main opposition leader after he failed to show up in court to answer charges of uprooting border markings, his lawyer said Thursday.

The move came after Sam Rainsy, who was stripped of his parliamentary immunity in November, failed to appear in court on Monday on charges of damaging markers denoting the international boundary with neighbouring Vietnam.

The opposition leader is currently in Paris.

"The arrest warrant for Sam Rainsy was issued on Tuesday by Svay Rieng provincial court," Sam Rainsy's lawyer Choung Chou Ngy told AFP.

He said the opposition leader had been charged with inciting racial discrimination and intentionally damaging property when he allegedly uprooted the border markings in October saying they were illegally placed by Vietnam.

Court officials could not be reached to comment, but opposition Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Yim Sovann called the move was "a plan organised by the ruling party to intimidate and to threaten members of opposition party".

"Sam Rainsy has done nothing wrong. He just fulfiled his duty as a member of parliament," he said.

The French-educated former finance minister is the main rival to Prime Minister Hun Sen. He has promised to promote liberal democracy and human rights if elected, while promising to raise wages and fight corruption.

Cambodia and Vietnam officially began demarcating their contentious border in September 2006, in a bid to end decades of territorial disputes.

The border row has sparked virulent anti-Vietnamese sentiment in Cambodia, fuelled by resentment of Vietnam's expansion over the centuries.

The 1,270-kilometre (787-mile) border has remained essentially unmarked and vague since French colonial times, with stone markers and boundary flags having disappeared, while trees once lining it were cut down.

Arrest warrant issued for Cambodian opposition leader

Dec 31, 2009
DPA

Phnom Penh - A Cambodian court has issued an arrest warrant for the leader of the main opposition party after he failed to appear in court earlier this week, a government spokesman confirmed Thursday.

The move follows an incident in October in which opposition leader Sam Rainsy was accused of removing border markers between Cambodia and Vietnam, an act that riled Hanoi.

Government spokesman Phay Siphan said the Svay Rieng provincial court issued the arrest warrant after Sam Rainsy missed the hearing to answer charges of racial incitement and destruction of property.

'He was meant to show up in court on the 28th [of December],' Phay Siphan told the German Press Agency dpa. 'He is out of the country so they issued a warrant on the 29th.'

Sam Rainsy was charged after he had joined villagers in Svay Rieng province and uprooted several wooden posts marking the border.He was stripped of his parliamentary immunity the following month in a vote that was boycotted by the opposition.

Opposition party spokesman Yim Sovann said Sam Rainsy, who is currently in France, would not return to Cambodia until a political solution to the court case was in place.

'We do not trust the court because it is a political tool of the ruling party to crack down on the opposition,' he said, adding that the opposition would petition the king to resolve the issue.

'Sam Rainsy has done nothing wrong - as a member of parliament he has to represent the people,' he said. 'This is a political problem and [it] must be solved by a political solution.'

Yim Sovann blamed the authorities for planting the demarcation poles without consulting local farmers, who object to losing land to Vietnam.

'So now [the farmers] are losing land because of these demarcation poles - the people do not agree with that because they have only a few hectares of land to feed their families, and now they are losing everything,' he said.

The two nations are currently demarcating their 1,270-kilometre long common border in a process that is scheduled to be completed by 2012.

Vietnam is a key investor in Cambodia with significant interests in agribusiness, aviation, telecoms and banking. In December the two nations signed an agreement that could result in investments worth billions of US dollars, including a deal to look for bauxite in Cambodia's border province of Mondulkiri.

Three opposition parliamentarians were stripped of their parliamentary immunity in 2009. Critics charge that the ruling Cambodian People's Party is using the courts to move against its perceived opponents in politics, the media and civil society.