20 March 2011 By Den Ayuthyea Radio Free Asia Translated from Khmer by Oss Dey *Click here to read the article in Khmer<http://www.rfa.org/khmer/indepth/no_candidate_replace_Sam_Rainsy-03202011072149.html> *
Opposition officials indicated that they will not ask the NatAss (National Assembly) to replace opposition leader Sam Rainsy, the MP from Kampong Cham province. Yim Sovann, SRP spokesman, gave an interview to RFA on 20 March that there is no reason for the SRP to ask for a replacement to Sam Rainsy, President of the SRP, even if the NatAss ended the latter’s duty and rights as Kampong Cham province MP. Yim Sovann indicated that the use of the justice system to sentence Sam Rainsy to 12-year in jail stems from Sam Rainsy’s help to farmers, preventing these farmers from losing their rice fields, and also from Sam Rainsy’s decision to protect [Cambodia’s] land against foreign aggression. On this issue, the ruling CPP intends to prevent Sam Rainsy from participating in the political process in Cambodia: “It’s a political intention to prevent President [Sam Rainsy] from participating in the upcoming election. President Sam Rainsy is a courageous man, he dared come out to defend our lands against foreign aggressions. He dared protect justice for the people, defend the land for the people, therefore, he is considered a hero. Therefore, there is nothing against the criminal law, nobody can stop our President from being a Member of Parliament. Therefore, we absolutely will not present another candidate to replace him.” The stripping of Sam Rainsy’s rights could prevent him from presenting his candidacy to the next general legislative election. Regarding this issue, Im Suosdei, the chairman of the National Election Cheating (sometimes known as National Election Committee) or NEC, indicated that up to 20 March, the NEC did not receive any request from the opposition to replace Sam Rainsy after the NatAss stripped the latter of his position: “According to the election law, if something happened, the party would ask for a replacement. We did not see such thing yet.” The NEC indicated that the Cambodian electoral system leaves the decision rights to the party rather than the candidate himself. Therefore, the decision to replace or remove a MP remains with the party. Nevertheless, Sam Rainsy announced to the news media that his party’s officials will not ask for a replacement to fill in his empty seat. He said that he still considers himself as a MP. Sam Rainsy indicated from France that the stripping of his duty as MP initiated by the NatAss is illegal. Nevertheless, Im Suosdei indicated that whether Sam Rainsy will return to politics or not is not up to the NEC, but rather it is up to the ministry of Interior which is in charge of applying the law concerning political parties. On 20 March, RFA could not reach Khieu Sopheak, mouthpiece of the ministry of Interior, over the phone to clarify on Sam Rainsy’s case. Sam Rainsy was stripped from his duty by Heng Xamrin, president of the NatAss, through a declaration dated 15 March. The declaration removed Sam Rainsy from his duty rights a MP from Kampong Cham during the remaining of the 4th legislative mandate. The decision was made after the Supreme Court upheld the sentence issued against Sam Rainsy stemming from his removal of border stakes planted at border post no. 185, located in Koh Kban Kandal village, Chantrea district, Svay Rieng province at the end of 2009. Sam Rainsy who is currently living in self-exile overseas, is also involved in another lawsuit by the government which accused him of falsifying public documents. The Phnom Penh municipal court sentenced him in absentia to 10-year of jail time and fined him of 100 million riels (~$25,000). Based on both lawsuits against him, Sam Rainsy is sentenced to a total of 12-year of jail time. In spite of all the issues above, the public and civil society organizations in Cambodia indicated that, in a democratic country, the opposition leader should not see his rights to participate in the political process be stripped, furthermore he should have the rights to present his candidacy to the election on equal par with the ruling CPP party. ------------------- The Sam Rainsy Affairs<http://ki-media.blogspot.com/2011/03/sam-rainsy-affairs.html> Op-Ed by Khmerization <http://khmerization.blogspot.com/> 19th March, 2011 The ruling Cambodian People’s Party is closer to achieving its goal of silencing dissenting voices and any oppositions in the country after it has successfully moved to expel opposition leader, Mr. Sam Rainsy, from the parliament and barring him from participating in future elections. It is also a sign that Mr. Hun Sen is closer to achieving his political supremacy after he has significantly weakened his arch-rivals within the ruling CPP, the likes of Chea Sim and Sar Kheng, by successfully purging many of their ardent loyalists such as Moek Dara and Hun Hean. However, the expulsion of Mr. Sam Rainsy<http://khmerization.blogspot.com/2011/03/vox-populi-on-sam-rainsys-expulsion.html>, the best finance minister Cambodia has ever had and the most effective opposition leader to date, from the parliament and his barring from participating in the election process will not bode well with the international community and certainly has not helped in promoting Cambodia’s image as being tolerant of divergences and differences of opinions in the eyes of the free world. It has in fact reinforced the belief that the Hun Sen government has been an international pariah and the elections were only used as a facade of democracy to fool the international community all along. The conviction and the sentences of Mr. Sam Rainsy from dubious charges of spreading disinformation and destruction of public property were highly politically motivated from the start. The charges were motivated by the desire of the ruling party to demonise Mr. Sam Rainsy in a view to destroy his party and him personally because Mr. Rainsy is a thorn in the eyes of Mr. Hun Sen and the only serious challenger to his political survival. This is not the first time Mr. Hun Sen had tried to assassinate Mr. Sam Rainsy, not only politically, but also physically. In 1994, Mr. Hun Sen had effectively engineered the sacking of Mr. Sam Rainsy as the minister of finance after he had stood up against corruption and dared to touch Mr. Hun Sen’s business associates like Teng Bunma, the owner of Thai Bunruang Construction Co, Ltd., who refused to pay taxes on imports of construction materials. On 30th March 1997, the grenade attack on Mr. Sam Rainsy-led rally, which had killed 16 people and wounded more than a hundred, had specifically targeted Mr. Rainsy. It has been investigated by the American FBI which found that the attack was orchestrated by Mr. Hun Sen bodyguard unit posted nearby. In 2005, Mr. Sam Rainsy was barred from returning to the country after he had accused Mr. Hun Sen of bribing Prince Ranariddh to secure a coalition government after the 2003 election which the opposition and Prince Ranariddh himself claimed to have been riddled with frauds and irregularities. All previous attempts to assassinate Mr. Rainsy politically have all failed, but it seemed that Mr. Hun Sen might succeed this time if political compromise is not reached any sooner. The only political compromise that can facilitate the return of Mr. Rainsy would be a written apology from Mr. Rainsy to Mr. Hun Sen personally. Mr. Rainsy has said already that that is unlikely to happen. If Rainsy is unable to return, his party is likely to be significantly weakened and the prospect of its survival as his personalised party is finished. However, the party as a political entity will survive this political turbulence, but will morph into another party and takes up a new name and new identity. Mr. Sam Rainsy, like his father Sam Sary, who survived a number of assassinations and has been stripped of his parliamentary immunity four times in 1994, 2005, 2008 and 2009, might go down in history as a traitor in the eyes of the ruling elites and their supporters in Cambodia, but will emerge as a hero in the eyes of Cambodia’s general population. His father, Sam Sary, who was one of the authors of the 1946 constitution, Cambodia’s first ever constitution, and one of the peace negotiators of the 1954 Geneva Conference, was ignominiously dumped from the government and forced to flee into the jungle in around 1958 after a fall out with the then Prince Sihanouk and died mysteriously in 1962, presumably killed by the government or the American CIA agents whom he had worked for. His sacking and his political scandal, dubbed the Sam Sary Affairs, had been parroted and demonically repeated by the government until it has been ingrained in the mind of the population that he is a traitor. And like his father, he could disappear into the political wilderness for good if a political reconciliation with Mr. Hun Sen is not reached any time sooner. However, the persecution of Mr. Sam Rainsy for a crime of defending his nation will make him a political martyr and would reinforce his personal standing as a Cambodian political hero. On the contrary, the persecutors, the current ruling elites and the ruling CPP will be viewed with suspicion and seen as the traitors in the eyes of the Cambodian people. For this reason, Mr. Hun Sen and his ruling CPP will not gain politically from the persecution of Mr. Rainsy, but instead will only receive national and international condemnation. And for this reason, Mr. Hun Sen could do better without the national and international backlash by seeking a political solution and acquiescing to a political compromise with Mr. Sam Rainsy. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. This is an unmoderated forum. Please refrain from using foul language. Thank you for your understanding. Peace among us and in Cambodia. 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