Emperor Hun Sen's first rewarding act: Telling King Sihamoni to pardon his half-brother

Parliament re-elects Hun Sen as prime minister

2008-09-25
RFI

The parliament of Cambodia re-elected Hun Sen as prime minister on Thursday for five more years. The session was boycotted by political parties that dispute the results of the July election.

Of the 123 elected members in parliament, 94 showed up for Thursday's vote to approve the new government. Hun Sen, who has been in power for 23 years, was elected unanimously.

Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP) won 90 seats in the general election held 27 July.

The opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) garnered 26 seats. The royalist parties Funcinpec and the Norodom Ranariddh Party each took two seats, while the Human Rights Party (HRP) got three seats.

Members of the SRP and the HRP did not attend Thursday's session, claiming that their widespread irregularities in the election.

Hun Sen promised that his government would use its new term to accelerate the country's development and push for deep and wide reforms.

One of his first acts as prime minister was to ask, Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni to issue a pardon for Prince Norodom Ranariddh, who was convicted of fraud.

Ranariddh, who is the king's half-brother, was sentenced in absentia to 18 months in jail last March over an illegal property sale.

The pardon means he can return to Cambodia from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he has been living.

Assembly Approves [hyper-bloated] CPP-Dominant Cabinet

Prime Minister Hun Sen addresses reporters following the National Assembly's approval of 26 Cambodian People's Party ministers.

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
25 September 2008

Click here to listen to the Khmer audio program

A freshly sworn-in National Assembly on Thursday voted in Prime Minister Hun Sen's executive cabinet, granting as expected all top posts to those loyal to the Cambodian People's Party and spreading lower-level ministry positions among CPP and Funcinpec.

The entire cabinet was approved in a package vote that critics say defied the checks and balances of the National Assembly's right to singularly approve cabinet nominations.

"The fourth legislative government has a duty to push the development and push deeply and widely the implementation of reforms in all fields for prosperity and progress," Hun Sen told the assembled lawmakers.

Missing from the National Assembly's first session were 26 Sam Rainsy Party lawmakers, who attended a swearing-in ceremony Wednesday but boycotted the session Thursday.

Also absent Thursday were three Human Rights Party officials who were elected in July but refused to be sworn in Wednesday. The three officials have said they hope to request a separate swearing-in ceremony after the Pchum Ben festival, which ends Sept. 30.

Both parties have protested the election results from July, where the CPP won 90 of 123 National Assembly seats.

Thursday's appointments marked the formation of the largest cabinet for the government to date, with 248 positions. Some positions had to be added to the government to accommodate former opposition members who joined the CPP ahead of the elections.

"The Human Rights Party disagrees with the new government's composition, which has a bigger head than body," HRP President Kem Sokha said. "So the Human Rights Party did not join the National Assembly meeting."

No ministry positions were given to the Sam Rainsy, Human Rights, or Norodom Ranariddh parties.

But the Norodom Ranariddh Party had one cause to celebrate Thursday: King Norodom Sihamoni announced he would grant a royal pardon to the exiled leader of the party, Prince Ranariddh, following a request from Hun Sen. Prince Ranariddh left Cambodia in early 2007 and was found guilty in absentia of breach of trust, which carries a prison sentence of 18 months and a fine of $150,000.

In a letter to the king and prime minister, Prince Ranariddh said he planned to return Sept. 28, in time to participate in Pchum Ben festivities.

Nine deputy prime minister positions were approved, including one position for Funcinpec Secretary-General Nhiek Bunchhay, as well as 16 senior minister posts, 26 ministers and 196 secretaries of state.

The ministries of Rural Development, Transportation, Education, Health, Culture lost Funcinpec leaders.

Among those promoted, former Phnom Penh governor Chea Sophara, was given minister of Rural Development.

The 26 new CPP ministers follow: Council Minister, Sok An; Interior, Sar Kheng; Defense, Tea Banh; Foreign Affairs, Hor Namhong; Economy and Finance, Keat Chhon; Agriculture, Chan Sarun; Rural Development, Chea Sophara; Commerce, Cham Prasidh; Industry, Suy Sem; Planning, Chay Thon; Education, Em Sithy; Social Affairs, Ith Samheng; Urbanization, Em Chhun Lim; Environment, Mok Mareth; Water Resources, Lim Keanhor; Information, Khieu Kanharith; Justice, Ang Vong Vathana; Inspection, Som Kimsuor; Telecommunications, So Khun; Health, Mom Bunheng; Public Works and Transport, Trang Iv Tek; Culture and Fine Arts, Him Chem; Tourism, Thong Khon; Cults and Religion, Men Khin; Women's Affairs, Ing Kantha Thavy; Labor and Vocation, Vong Soth.

Cambodian king pardons half-brother [after receiving the green light from Emperor Hun Sen]

Thursday, September 25, 2008
The Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Prominent Cambodian politician Prince Norodom Ranariddh on Thursday was granted a pardon for his embezzlement conviction by his half-brother, King Norodom Sihamoni, paving the way for his return from exile.

Ranariddh, who is living in Malaysia, will come home Sunday to resume his political career, said Suth Dina, a spokesman for the party named after the prince.

The king signed a royal decree pardoning "the convicted person named Norodom Ranariddh, who the court has sentenced to 18 months in prison."

In July, a Supreme Court judge upheld a lower court's ruling from last year that found Ranariddh guilty of breach of trust and sentenced him in absentia to 18 months in prison.

The lawsuit was filed by the prince's former colleagues in the royalist Funcinpec party, which he once led.

The court also ordered him to pay US$150,000 in compensation to the party.

The Funcinpec party, which ousted Ranariddh as president in October 2006, sued the prince on a charge of embezzling some US$3.6 million from the sale of the party's headquarters in August that year.

The prince now leads his own Norodom Ranariddh Party, which won two parliamentary seats in this year's general election two months ago.

His party has said the court ruling was politically motivated. He had been living in exile, mostly in Malaysia, long before the court case was initiated against him.

The prince is "happy" about the pardon, Ouk Phalla, Ranariddh's consort, said by phone from Malaysia. She declined to elaborate.

It was not clear what prompted the pardon. But local media have recently reported about behind-the-scenes maneuvering between Prime Minister Hun Sen's government and the prince's party to end Ranariddh's legal trouble.

The two politicians are known for having an on-again, off-again political relationship. They once served as co-prime ministers until Hun Sen staged a coup to unseat his rival.

When Ranariddh was still the leader of Funcinpec, Hun Sen encouraged the royalist party's followers to get rid of the prince for his weak leadership.

Ranariddh fired back, accusing Hun Sen of poking his nose in his business.

The prince and King Sihamoni are sons of former king Norodom Sihanouk.

In a letter to Sihamoni on Thursday, Ranariddh thanked the king for granting him the royal pardon "following intervention" from Hun Sen.

The prince, in a separate letter, also offered "warm congratulations" to his Hun Sen after the country's parliament endorsed him as the prime minister for another five years.