Cambodian prime minister, opposition leader, meet for fence-mending talks

Sam Rainsy speaks with reporters shortly after his arrival.
(Photo AP)

By KER MUNTHIT
AP

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy and Prime Minister Hun Sen held talks Sunday, seeking an end to their long-standing, bitter rifts.

Sam Rainsy, who returned last week from nearly a year of self-imposed exile in France, went to Hun Sen's residence in Phnom Penh, said Information Minister Khieu Kanharith, the chief government spokesman.

The two leaders "discussed many issues of national importance" during their 3-1/2 hour meeting, Khieu Kanharith said without elaborating.

Sam Rainsy said they discussed "everything that is of current concern to us," including corruption, land-grabbing, deforestation, elections, decentralization and territorial integrity.

"We explored formulas for their solution in a constructive way," he said.

Both sides hailed the meeting as a breakthrough.

Hun Sen wants "to foster a tradition of holding dialogue to exchange views" with different political groups, including the opposition, said Khieu Kanharith.

"We have created a new culture allowing the leader of the opposition and the prime minister to discuss national issues," Sam Rainsy said, adding that they were "well-mannered and respectful" to each other.

Sam Rainsy, a former finance minister and leader of the Sam Rainsy Party, went into exile in France in February 2005. He fled after the government stripped him of his parliamentary immunity and charged him with defamation, for accusing Hun Sen of being behind a deadly grenade attack on a peaceful anti-government demonstration in 1997, among other allegations.

In December, a court found Sam Rainsy guilty of criminal defamation and sentenced him in absentia to 18 months in prison.

In a surprise move last week, Sam Rainsy recanted his accusation against Hun Sen and the prime minister accepted, in effect ending a long-running personal and political feud. Hun Sen then asked King Norodom Sihamoni to grant the opposition leader a royal amnesty, which the king issued on Feb. 5.