Don't depend on the king ... if you are not from the ruling CPP party?!?!

Friction between the opposition and the royal palace

23 January 2010
By Pen Bona
Radio France Internationale
Editorial
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer

The monarchy institution expressed its extreme displeasure towards Cambodia’s opposition party. This displeasure was shown in two letters sent by Prince Sisowath Thomico, the advisor attached to the king’s office, to the SRP which was seeking royal intervention from King-Father in the border stakes uprooting lawsuit case in Svay Rieng province. The content of these two letters showed the friction that exists between the royal palace and the SRP.

Relationship between Cambodia’s opposition party and the royal palace shows that an intense friction is taking place between the two parties, a situation that was never seen in the past. The friction is observed through two major events:

1. King-Father turned down the intervention request in the border stakes uprooting lawsuit against Sam Rainsy. The request was made by Kong Korm, the SRP party vice-president, on 05 January. It was accompanied with a 232-page long petition gathered by the SRP from its supporters. According to Thomico’s letter dated 18 January, King-Father would have refused to intervene in Sam Rainsy’s case, based on three points: (1) he already retired since October 2004; (2) Sam Rainsy’s case is a political case and therefore, King-Father cannot get involved with it; and (3) the case is currently in the hand of the court, therefore, nobody can interfere with it.
2. On 22 December 2009, opposition leader Sam Rainsy sent a request to the royal cabinet asking for a private audience with King-Father. His request was not welcomed by the royal palace, in order to avoid showing any involvement of the monarchy with Sam Rainsy’s lawsuit case. Not only that, an angry Thomico also scolded Sam Rainsy in very strong terms, telling Sam Rainsy that he was looking down the monarchy, as well as claiming that Sam Rainsy lacks respect for the monarchy. Thomico’s letter content, filled with friction, clearly shows the seriousness of the problem between the opposition and the royal palace.

In the eyes of political observers in Cambodia, this rupture stems from the use of the royal pardon. It is true that the Cambodian Constitution allows the king to pardon jailed convicts. However, what is noticeable is the fact that in major cases involving politicians or in very sensitive cases, the king had never used his rights to issue pardon without first obtaining the consent from the government. The king adopted this attitude in order to avoid locking horns with the government.

Therefore, each time that there is a pardon request made, the king always forward these requests to the prime minister and the ministry involved to review them. However, in this latest case, the royal palace decided to provide a direct reply to the opposition party. Such direct response is viewed as a warning from the monarchy telling politicians not to pester the monarchy anymore.

In summary, what has happened lately truly shows the friction that exists between the opposition and the royal palace. However, this problem does not carry any negative impact on the general political situation, it is only a first warning letter from the royal palace to politicians. Politicians tend to seek royal intervention from the king when they have problems, even though they know beforehand that the king can never help them.