CPP lawmakers vote in favour of controversial amendments to the Law on Political Parties during a National Assembly session in July.

Pha Lina

Breaking: Interior Ministry files

complaint to dissolve CNRP
Fri, 6 October 2017

Phnom Penh Post

Mech Dara and Erin Handley

The Interior Ministry has filed complaints to the Supreme Court
asking for the Cambodia National Rescue Party to be dissolved ahead
of next year‟s crucial national elections.
Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak, speaking outside a
closed-door meeting of ministers and high-level commanders, today
confirmed lawyer Ky Tech had taken the next step towards putting an
end to the country‟s main opposition party.
“Lawyer Ky Tech has filed the complaints to the Supreme Court and
the complaints are to dissolve the CNRP,” he said, adding that Tech
represented Interior Minister Sar Kheng on the case.
The ministry‟s request is based on two complaints filed this week by
the Cambodian Youth Party and royalist party Funcinpec on
Wednesday and Thursday, respectively – as well as on evidence that
Sopheak said had been collected over five days by ministry lawyers.
“Ky Tech and the other five lawyers have enough documents, and
what I know is that they have at least 21 pieces of evidence.”
“The Ministry of Interior has done an investigation and has all the
documents and gave them to the lawyer to take action, complying
with the procedure.”
The Supreme Court is the highest rung in the Kingdom‟s justice
system, and once its decision is handed down, there is no recourse
for appeal.
The potential dissolution of the party is made possible by
controversial amendments to the Law on Political Parties, passed first
in February and again in July. The changes prohibit people with
criminal convictions from holding leadership positions within the
party, and further forbid parties from conspiring with criminals, using
their image, or from undermining national security – a vague term
whose scope legal analysts have said is problematic.
CNRP leader Kem Sokha was arrested on September 3 on charges of
treason, in a case commentators widely believe is politically
motivated to quash the opposition before the elections.
The CYP complaint filed earlier this week alleged Sokha “made a
conspiracy with foreigners for the purpose of colour revolution”,
while Funcinpec claimed the opposition head had crafted a plot to
“topple the government”, and that it was “impossible to separate this
crime as an individual crime of Kem Sokha and ignore the
responsibility of the CNRP as a whole”.
Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said the legal challenge
to the CNRP‟s existence was in accordance with the law. He added
that the lack of an opposition party was not a threat to democracy in
the Kingdom.
“Democracy does not allow for anyone to commit crimes – it does not
pave the way or [roll out] the red carpet to act as a criminal,” he said.
The idea that the charges were spurious and politically driven was
merely a “preconception” of the CNRP, he added.
Mu Sochua, who was forced to flee the country this week after she
was warned of imminent arrest, said the latest blow to her party was
another step in a concerted campaign to hamstring any legitimate
challenger to Prime Minister Hun Sen at the polls.
“The hope for free and fair election was shattered a long time ago.
This is [reaching] towards the end of the CPP‟s scenario,” she said,
speaking via phone from an undisclosed location in Southeast Asia.
She said the ruling party strategy included trying to drive a wedge
between former party president Sam Rainsy and Sokha, and using the
passage of two sets of amendments to the law to its benefit – setting
into motion Rainsy‟s resignation, the arrest of Sokha, and the exodus
of CNRP lawmakers from the country due to heightened political
pressure.
“And now dissolving the party, so what‟s left?” She said if the party
was dissolved, their 55 National Assembly seats and 489 commune
chief positions would be stripped away.
“I don‟t think the international community will remain silent. This is
the tip of the iceberg. We cannot have an election without a real
opposition – it‟s not acceptable.”
Tech, an attorney often employed to represent ruling party officials,
claimed the case to dissolve the opposition was not linked to Sokha‟s
case, yet, somewhat incongruously, said some of the strongest
pieces of evidence involved the opposition leader‟s comments in
video clips that were also used to justify his arrest.
“Today‟s complaint is to dissolve the CNRP and it is not related Kem
Sokha who in past the authority arrested in relation to treason,” he
said.
“There are three key pieces of evidence, including Kem Sokha‟s
remarks on behalf of the leader of the CNRP, and in this were three
video clips that he said related to CNRP‟s … organising plans to
cooperate with foreign [powers].”
He said the relevant articles under the political party law – many of
them additions rushed through by the ruling party this year – were
articles 6, 7, 44 and 45. The latter two allow for the dissolution of the
party and a ban on its leaders from political activities for five years.
The points under Article 6 involve conducting “sabotage that would
lead to counter liberal, multi-parties democracy and constitutional
monarchy”; carrying out “an activity that would affect the security of
the state”; “incitement that could break the national unity”; and
supporting or developing plots or conspiring with any individuals
“who carry out activities aiming at opposing the interest of the
Kingdom of Cambodia”.
Meanwhile, Article 7 reads: “All political parties shall not be
subordinated to or under command or order of any foreign political
party or any foreign government”.
Sokha, in the 2013 video circulated following his arrest, tells an
audience that he received advice and support from the United States
during his political career, and also refers to the Serbian approach of
ousting the dictator Slobodan Milosevic. However, he also appears to
distance himself from the same approach of popular protest, and
advocates “not making noise” and to avoid self-destructive violence.
Tech maintained there were “strong grounds” to dissolve the party,
arguing there was “undeniable” evidence of “conspiracy with foreign
powers to topple the legitimate government in a colour revolution…
under the pretext of positive change”.
“It can cause disaster for the country and nation, therefore we must
[lodge] a complaint and dissolve [the party],” he said.
Just yesterday, the ministry warned journalists not to misreport on
the Law on Political Parties, urging them to stick to the government
line that “this is strictly implementation of the law” – a missive that
may have been launched in preparation of the announcement of the
legal case against the CNRP on Friday.
Opposition leader Kem Sokha is escorted by police following his midnight arrest in Phnom Penh
earlier this month. AFP

Sokha may miss bail hearing due to ‘security

concerns’
Mon, 25 September 2017

Phnom Penh Post

Leonie Kijewski and Niem Chheng

A hearing to determine the legality of opposition leader Kem Sokha‟s

pre-trial detention is scheduled to proceed on Tuesday, though it will
likely take place without him in court due to “security concerns”,
Prison Department officials confirmed yesterday.
Chan Kimseng, the chief of the General Prisons Department, raised
concerns about “the security and safety during transportation” in a
letter last Monday. As of yesterday evening, department officials had
not yet announced whether or not the opposition chief would be
shepherded from his Tbong Khmum province prison cell to the
capital.
The Cambodia National Rescue Party chief was arrested this month
on charges of “treason” in a case widely seen as political, and which
has drawn international criticism. Sam Sokong, one of five defence
lawyers, yesterday criticised the department‟s request.
“If the hearing proceeds without Kem Sokha, we think that the
decision by the Appeal Court will not provide justice to our client, and
the hearing will not comply with international law and breaches the
human rights of the accused,” he said.
Sokong added that lawyers would submit a motion today to demand
Sokha‟s presence in the court for the hearing, which will address the
legality of the CNRP chief‟s detention. They will then decide whether
or not to boycott the hearing once the judge has ruled on the motion.
In a CNRP statement released on Saturday, the party claimed the
purported security concerns were “just a pretext” to hold the hearing
without their leader present and asked the court to respect legal
procedures.
However, Prisons Department spokesperson Nuth Savna yesterday
defended the prison chief‟s request.
“We know that his supporters could organise protests during the
hearing. And this would cause a problem in security control. We are
afraid that a third person or anyone would have a bad intention to do
something to the crowd,” he said. He added that such protests could
also cause traffic jams and suggested the court could set up a video
conference with Sokha.
Legal expert Sok Sam Oeun challenged the government‟s
explanation, however, saying there were ample means to protect the
convoy and quell protests. “The government can use security forces
to protect the court,” he said.
CNRP Deputy President Mu Sochua echoed this assessment, and
added that having to resort to a video conference would be prejudicial
against the defence. “That‟s not an option at all,” she said. “He would
still be in prison. How can he defend himself as a prisoner?”
Sokha was charged with treason on September 5 following a dramatic
midnight arrest two nights before. The government has justified the
arrest by pointing to a 2013 video in which the opposition leader said
the United States government had supported him in building a
political strategy.
Defence lawyer Sokong said his team would file motions this week
requesting access to all remaining evidence, and will request to admit
further evidence, such as the full version of Sokha‟s allegedly
incriminating speech. The defence will also request a summons of the
person behind the anonymous Facebook account to which the
incriminating video was re-uploaded.
In a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last Monday, eight US
members of congress called for “all necessary diplomatic means” to
compel Cambodia to respect the rule of law. “We are deeply disturbed
by this pattern of constitutional abuse by the Cambodian government
under the leadership of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the [Cambodian
People‟s Party],” they wrote.
In response to international criticism, Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn
defended the arrest before the UN on Friday.
“In what country would such behaviour of a foreign government be
tolerated?” he asked. “Today we are accused of undermining
democracy because, under existing laws, we are prosecuting and
punishing people who violate these laws. Those who criticise us,
even threaten us, refuse to take into consideration the crimes
committed under the law by those whom they protect.”
Contact authors: Leonie Kijewski and Niem Chheng
People gather on Saturday in California to protest against opposition leader Kem Sokha‟s arrest. Facebook

Security beefed up at Sokha’s prison ahead

of CNRP lawmakers’ visit

Mon, 11 September 2017

Phnom Penh Post

Leonie Kijewski, Niem Chheng and Phak Seangly

In an apparent show of force, the government yesterday sent 75

additional police officers to the prison where opposition leader Kem
Sokha is being held, a day before Cambodia National Rescue Party
representatives plan to gather in front of the prison to protest his
arrest.
However the police presence at Correctional Centre 3 (CC3) could
prove to be even bigger. In response to the CNRP‟s announcement,
government mouthpiece Fresh News quoted Tbong Khmum
Provincial Police Chief Pen Rot yesterday evening as saying that 200
police staff and 100 soldiers would be sent to the prison today “to
maintain security and order for the society and country”.
Meanwhile, international protests against the controversial
decision to charge Sokha with “treason” kicked off in multiple
countries over the weekend, drawing a quick rebuke from media
aligned with the ruling Cambodian People‟s Party.
Sokha was arrested in the early hours on September 3 in what has
been decried as an illegal move by his lawyers due to his
parliamentary immunity and a lack of evidence for his alleged
collusion with the US to topple the CPP-led government.
“For safety at CC3 currently, the commanding unit decided to add 75
people from different units to help protect CC3,” Tbong Khmum
police announced yesterday on Facebook.
Mu Sochua, deputy CNRP chief, said she expected about 30
parliamentarians and senators to gather at the prison in Trapaing
Phlong commune to read a statement, despite a request to visit Sokha
today being rejected last week.
Son Chhay, the CNRP‟s acting spokesperson, said the reinforcements
could stem from a fear of protests. “The authorities are probably
afraid that people might go to prison to demand the release of Kem
Sokha,” he said.
But Pen Rot said in an interview he had simply followed a request
from the prison. “I sent them there as per the request from the prison
to help security during Pchum Ben days,” he said, referring to the
local holiday, and adding that the officers would stay for about 10
days.
Rot could not be reached again later in the day to confirm the reports
that he would deploy 300 more police and soldiers.
Yet prison chief Pin Yan said he had “no idea” about the
reinforcements, and hadn‟t requested additional personnel.
Sochua doubted their motives. “They say they will protect security.
Let‟s see tomorrow.”
She then questioned why soldiers were reportedly being deployed to
the prison. “Why the army? Is Cambodia at war?”
Naly Pilorge, deputy advocacy director at rights group Licadho,
agreed the deployment was inappropriate. “Military should only be
used to protect the borders or for natural disaster,” she said.
Meanwhile, Sokha‟s wife Te Chanmono was permitted to visit him
yesterday and said his “spirit [is] very high”, according to Sochua.
But CNRP lawmaker Suon Rida, who has been tasked with reporting
on prison visits and Sokha‟s health, said the party president was
experiencing some health problems. “He is feeling so sad and
unhappy,” he added.
Aside from his imprisonment taking a mental toll, Rida said
Chanmono had told him that Sokha‟s “face looks swollen and . . .
when he walks around her, his legs are weak”.

Opposition leader Kem Sokha escorted by police officials following

his midnight arrest in Phnom Penh last week. AFP

He claimed the prison‟s health official had not yet checked on the
opposition leader‟s condition. According to his daughter Kem
Monovithya, who is also the CNRP public affairs deputy director,
Sokha suffered from high blood sugar “at the level that‟s close to
diabetes”.
Monovithya on Friday said her father‟s lawyers had requested the
authorities to move him to Phnom Penh.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly is meeting today to decide on
whether the court can continue action against him, bypassing his
parliamentary immunity because of the alleged red-handed nature of
his crime – a designation that has been disputed by experts.
The CNRP will boycott the meeting, according to a statement released
yesterday, in which it claims that the meeting is “illegal” since the
ruling party did not have the votes to permit the court to pursue the
case.
Article 80 of the Cambodian Constitution requires a two-thirds
majority to continue an in flagrante delicto – or “red-handed” – case
against a parliamentarian, or a three-quarter vote to halt it. The CPP
holds just 68 of the 123 seats, well under the two-thirds threshold.
National Assembly spokesperson Leng Peng Long, however, seemed
unconcerned.
“The boycott will not affect the meeting,” he said. “If we want the
court to pause the charge, there needs to be the vote of three-
quarters, equalling 93 votes.”
“If they want to demand a release, and to drop the charge, they
should join to defend Kem Sokha,” he said, adding that the court
proceedings would only stop if enough votes were collected to halt
the case.
Last week, Interior Ministry spokesperson Khieu Sopheak said the
CNRP would be dissolved under controversial new changes to the
Political Parties Law if it defended its leader.
CNRP official Prince Sisowath Thomico, however, expressed his
support for Sokha on Saturday on Facebook, saying that if the
opposition leader was a traitor, then he was a traitor too. “I and all the
activists and supporters are also traitors, because all of us are
together on a journey with Mr President Kem Sokha, and I myself offer
to join fates with him, with no fear at all,” he said.
International condemnation of Sokha‟s arrest has poured in over the
last week, with Cambodians overseas lending their voices to the choir
over the weekend, staging protests in South Korea, Australia, Canada,
France and the US. The protests are slated to continue this week in
the US and New Zealand.
The protests provoked government mouthpiece Fresh News to go on
the defensive, posting a letter from a coalition of little-known
Cambodian-Australian organisations, claiming the protests
“intentionally confuse the public” and did not reflect the will of the
entire diaspora.
Meanwhile, two “reader letters” by the contributor known as
Chaksmok Chao – whose past letters justified the expulsion of
National Democratic Institute and urged the CNRP to elect Pol Ham
president – warned against protests in Cambodia.
The first letter repeated a claim from Hun Sen last week blaming the
CNRP for the “cruel violence” that occurred during the 2014 garment
worker wage protests, which were brutally quelled when authorities
fired into an unruly crowd, killing five.
“Some Cambodian people who are protesting abroad . . . are
supporting foreigners to destroy their country,” the letter reads.
The other letter accused the CNRP and former party President Sam
Rainsy of being directly involved in the international protests.
“Although Son Chhay, a senior official at the CNRP, declared that the
protests abroad are not related to his party, this is just a strategy to
hide the truth,” the letter reads.
Under the newly revised Political Parties Law, convicted criminals,
like Rainsy, are barred from associating with political parties. Rainsy
himself strongly denied participating in the protests, adding there was
no evidence to support the accusation. “Cambodians abroad are
intelligent enough and mature enough to make their own decisions
and conduct their own activities,” he said.
CPP spokesman Sok Eysan said yesterday that any demonstrations
in Cambodia that were deemed illegal would face “crackdowns”. “The
ones who want to have him [Kem Sokha] released are wrong because
he has been charged already,” he said. “When doing legal protests,
there is no problem . . . but when doing illegal protests, legal
measures will be taken.”
Additional reporting by Andrew Nachemson

Arrest of CNRP President Sokha Puts

Party on the Brink
BY ZSOMBOR PETER
CAMBODIA DAILY
SEPTEMBER 4, 2017

After hundreds of armed police raided Kem Sokha‟s home in the

predawn hours on Sunday morning and arrested the opposition
leader for alleged treason over a years-old speech, Prime
Minister Hun Sen wasted little time warning the only party with
a chance of beating his long-ruling CPP in July‟s general election
of its potential dissolution.
“If the party appears to protect the individual, the party has to be
dissolved,” the premier told a packed auditorium of garment
workers only hours later at a pre-scheduled event in Phnom
Penh, according to government mouthpiece Fresh News.

CNRP President Kem Sokha is seen handcuffed and escorted

away from his house by police officers shortly after midnight on
Sunday morning in Phnom Penh‟s Tuol Kok district. (Fresh
News)
Mr. Hun Sen has the laws to do it. Earlier this year the CPP
rammed through Parliament a package of legislative
amendments giving the government and courts sweeping new
powers to dissolve its political rivals for breaking any existing
laws and added a few vague new offenses, including subversion,
for good measure. Mr. Sokha‟s snap arrest, though widely
condemned as politically motivated, gives him a handy new
reason to use them.
But analysts and observers think the CPP is more likely to let the
party live, if only to have a still-popular but fatally wounded
party to give the elections the thinnest veneer of an actual
contest.
“This would be the ideal scenario for the CPP,” said Lee
Morgenbesser, a research fellow at Australia‟s Griffith
University who follows Cambodia closely.
“By persisting in neutered form, the government can point to the
existence of a multi-party system on paper, whereby all parties
fully conform to the (highly flawed) rule of law,” he said. “The
opposition would essentially become irrelevant come election
time, meaning it would be only slightly superior to the various
minor parties.”
Some analysts suspect the CPP of aiming to postpone the
elections. But it will want to keep them, too, said Mr.
Morgenbesser, author of “Behind the Facade: Elections Under
Authoritarianism in Southeast Asia.”
“The CPP government has far more to gain from holding even
highly flawed elections than no elections at all,” he said. “When
coupled with some sympathetic election observation groups and
the outlawing of protests at Freedom Park, I have little doubt
that Hun Sen will get away with it all.”
John Kurlantzick, a Southeast Asia fellow at the Council on
Foreign Relations in the U.S., agreed that Cambodia‟s strongman
was not the type to abandon elections outright.
“It doesn‟t really seem like it‟s Hun Sen‟s style. His style is to
push the limits of what‟s possible, to amass as much power as
possible while still remaining within some formal institutions as
much as possible,” he said. “If he was going to cancel or suspend
it, why go through the trouble of trying to crush the opposition
beforehand?”
Mr. Kurlantzick said the next elections were likely to include the
CNRP in some form.
“The illusion of choice is always preferable to North Korean-style
dictatorship,” said Sophal Ear, author of “Aid Dependence in
Cambodia: How Foreign Assistance Undermines Democracy.”
“There is no need to postpone or cancel the elections when you
control everything. The Soviet Union had regular elections,” he
said. “They were meaningless.”
Mr. Sophal, an associate professor of diplomacy and world
affairs at Occidental College in Los Angeles, said elections
without the CNRP, or even with a CNRP without Mr. Sokha,
would also be “meaningless and totally unfree and unfair.”
Under the amendments the CPP single-handedly pushed through
Parliament earlier this year, parties must sever all ties with
leaders convicted of a crime carrying jail time or risk death.
Long-time opposition figure Sam Rainsy resigned as CNRP
president in February, before the amendments even took effect,
in hopes of saving the party from his own convictions, also
widely seen as politically motivated.
“If [Mr. Sokha] is convicted it means that, like Sam Rainsy, the
CNRP can‟t be associated with him and he would have to resign,”
Mr. Sophal said. “Like everything else in Cambodia, everyone
must dance the dance of the ruling party. Dissolving the CNRP
isn‟t really necessary when it is a neutered party.”
A leaked public opinion poll also suggests that‟s all the CPP may
want.
Late last year, researchers hired by the CPP asked thousands of
Cambodians how their support for the CPP and CNRP would
change if, instead of Mr. Rainsy, the opposition were led by Mr.
Sokha or neither one of them.
The results were leaked to the media in May. They showed
support for the CPP holding steady in any case, hovering
between 33 and 35 percent. The CNRP fared worse. Without Mr.
Rainsy, who was still leading the CNRP at the time of the poll,
support for the opposition party dipped from 44 percent to 42
percent. Without either Mr. Rainsy or Mr. Sokha, it plummeted
to 35 percent.
The pollsters did not ask whom people might vote for if there
were no CNRP at all.
Political analyst Meas Nee said the CNRP, should it survive to
July, could still pull the same level of support it did during the
last two elections without Mr. Rainsy or Mr. Sokha. It won a little
less than half the popular vote both times.
But with no other parties of consequence to hurt the CPP, the
CNRP will need to gain support between now and July to win.
And without either towering opposition figure at the helm, Mr.
Nee thinks that‟s unlikely.
He said whoever replaces Mr. Sokha will be hamstrung by the
fear of following him to prison. Some of his top officers and
potential heirs have criminal court cases hanging over their own
heads already.
With Mr. Sokha behind bars, he said, “the rest of the party will
be very careful about what they say.”
Mr. Nee said it was also no coincidence that the state has
launched a broadside on the Cambodian media‟s few
independent voices at the same time.
Over the past two weeks, the government has shut down nearly
20 radio stations carrying content from the opposition and a pair
of U.S.-funded outlets often critical of the government, Radio
Free Asia and Voice of America, claiming unpaid taxes or broken
operating contracts. The Cambodia Daily published its last paper
today after being hit with an unaudited tax bill of $6.3 million
only a month ago and denied the standard course of appeal.
The CNRP has so far faced the onslaught with reserve—limiting
itself to a few critical tweets and Facebook posts—determined to
make it to the general elections at all costs. But it has shown an
equal measure of confusion. Last week, at the height of the
government‟s media crackdown, CNRP lawmaker Son Chhay
admitted that the party did not know how to respond. On
Sunday, CNRP officials issued mixed messages about whether
the party would call for protests over Mr. Sokha‟s arrest.
Mr. Sophal said that was the last thing the CPP wanted, worried
they could spiral dangerously out of control.
But Mr. Nee said the government could use any ensuing violence
to impose martial law, as in Thailand, and have another excuse
to shut the CNRP down.
For now, he said, the party‟s fate was still in the balance.
“Dissolving the party is still a real possibility at this stage,” he
said.
peter@cambodiadaily.com

CNRP Formally Petitions King for

Help Against New Law
BY BEN SOKHEAN

CAMBODIA DAILY

JULY 21, 2017

The opposition party on Thursday delivered a letter to the Royal

Palace asking King Norodom Sihamoni to refuse to sign
controversial amendments to the Law on Political Parties
targeting former CNRP President Sam Rainsy.
The letter, signed by 29 opposition lawmakers, said the amended
law is “not in accordance with the principle of rule of law and
runs opposite to the principle of liberal multiparty democracy
that is ensured by the Constitution of the Kingdom of
Cambodia.”
Opposition leader Kem Sokha speaks at the CNRP headquarters in Phnom Penh on September last year. (Ma Chettra)

The law is “politically motivated, oppresses individual rights,

breaks the nation and oppresses political parties in order to
eliminate our own Khmer” and will cause the next “national
election to be not free, correct, or fair.”
CNRP deputy president Mu Sochua, who signed the letter, said
she was hopeful that the king will intervene to stop the proposal
from “breaking the nation.”
“We will use all mechanisms that we have, especially when it
affects national unity,” she said.
The royal palace could not be reached for comment. The CPP
panned the request on Wednesday, saying the king was unlikely
to favor the opposition and that the law strengthened democracy
and the rule of law without explicitly targeting anyone.
The proposed amendments bar parties from collaborating with
or promoting those convicted of crimes, or using their images in
advertising, including the exiled Mr. Rainsy, who has lost several
court cases observers say are politically motivated. They also add
new rules around logos and party names.
The changes need only clear the CPP-controlled Constitutional
Council before going to the king for his signature, or, in his
absence, CPP stalwart and Senate President Say Chhum.
Duch Piseth, advocacy director at the Cambodian Center for
Human Rights, noted the king could not veto the legislation, only
ignore it. Only the Constitutional Council is empowered to
return the proposal to legislators.
“But in general, I‟ve seen that if there is some controversy or
issue between both major parties in the Assembly, the king, he
travels abroad and passes this responsibility to the acting head
of state,” he said at a roundtable organized at the Royal Academy
on Wednesday.

Senate President Say Chum speaks at the senate session today in Phnom Penh.Heng Chivoan
Senate passes controversial legal
amendments to sideline Rainsy
Tue, 18 July 2017

PHNOM PENH POST

Meas Sokchea and Erin Handley

The Cambodian Senate, as predicted, passed contentious changes to

the Law on Political Parties this morning in a bid to erase self-exiled
opposition figure Sam Rainsy from Cambodia‟s political scene.
The amendments – which prohibit a party from using the image, voice
or written materials of a convicted criminal – were passed by the
National Assembly last week, and expressly targeted the former
Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) president, who has a slew of
convictions to his name in what observers characterise as politically-
motivated defamation and incitement cases.
Rainsy was forced to resign from his party‟s presidency earlier this
year or face its forced dissolution following a previous round of
amendments to the law finalised in March.
Of the 50 ruling Cambodian People‟s Party senators, 42 were present
and unanimously supported all of the controversial changes, which
were forwarded to the Senate floor as a matter of “urgency”.
The proposed new changes were aligned with “free multiparty
democracy” and would “strengthen the rule of law”, the Senate
maintained in a press statement.
“This law proposal also refers to the promotion of rights and the duty
of every Khmer citizen … [and] the rights, obligation and
responsibility of every political party to guarantee proper respect
according the constitution and the law,” the statement said.
The Sam Rainsy Party‟s 11 senators chose to boycott the Senate vote,
said SRP senator Teav Vannol.
“The political amendments are not serving the Cambodian people.
That law just targets individuals,” he said.
“We send a strong message when we boycott.”
The amendments were sent back to the National Assembly today and
will be sent to the Constitutional Council tomorrow. They must still be
signed by the King before they are brought into effect.
Opposition leader Kem Sokha, seen greeting supporters last week in Takeo province, is reportedly travelling abroad to meet the CNRP‟s former leader Sam Rainsy. Facebook

Sokha and CNRP lawmakers ‘leave

Cambodia to meet Rainsy’
Fri, 14 July 2017

PHNOM PENH POST

Andrew Nachemson
Lawmakers from the Cambodia National Rescue Party have left the
country for a meeting with former opposition leader Sam Rainsy, a
party official said yesterday, anticipating the passage of legal
amendments that will ban them from “conspiring with a convicted
criminal”.
The controversial amendments to the Law on Political Parties were
ordered by Prime Minister Hun Sen last month to further sideline the
self-exiled Rainsy, who faces multiple politically-tinged convictions,
and were on Monday passed by the National Assembly. A Senate vote
is due early next week.
Prince Sisowath Thomico, a member of the CNRP‟s standing
committee, said that current party President Kem Sokha and a
number of other lawmakers would be meeting with Rainsy this week,
but said he did not know where.
“They left Cambodia today, but they intend to meet in the coming
days,” Thomico said, adding Sokha would be joined by a group of
about 30 other people composed of “mainly the members of
parliament”.
“It will be an assessment of the new changes to the Law on Political
Parties … and the future of CNRP,” Thomico said. “According to the
changes to the law, this will be the last time they can meet with Sam
Rainsy, otherwise the CNRP will be disbanded.”
In addition to banning “conspiring” with criminals, the new
amendments will also ban “using the voice, image, written documents
or activities of a convicted criminal . . . for the interests of the party”.
Rainsy‟s face currently appears on thousands of billboards across
the country, and he has been known to address CNRP rallies via
Skype during his self-exile.
An article from pro-government news site Fresh News said Sokha
would be joined in Hong Kong by senior lawmaker Son Chhay and
deputy CNRP leader Mu Sochua, who was elevated to the position
after a previous round of changes to the law in February forced
Rainsy to step down as leader to avoid his party‟s dissolution.
Neither Sochua nor Chhay could be reached for comment, and CNRP
spokesman Yim Sovann said he was “not aware” of the meeting.
Thomico said he had received “contradictory information” about the
location of the meeting, with some claiming it would be in France and
others saying it would take place in the Asia-Pacific region.
The new amendments pose a challenge to the party, which has long
relied on Rainsy and his legacy to whip up its base, and political
commentator Meas Ny said the new law will be purposefully
ambiguous.
“It leaves a lot of gaps for the ruling party to play around in,” Ny said,
pointing out that any communication with members of the CNRP
could qualify as “conspiring”.
Ny noted that there is an added concern because Rainsy is married to
Tioulong Saumura, who is herself a CNRP lawmaker. “The
government will try to follow phone communication . . . to ensure
complete disconnect between Rainsy and the CNRP,” Ny said.
Saumura declined to comment yesterday and Rainsy did not respond
to requests for comment.
CPP lawmakers vote in favour of controversial amendments to the Law on Political Parties during a National Assembly session yesterday in Phnom Penh. The law effectively
forbids former opposition leader Sam Rainsy from participating in the Kingdom‟s politics. Pha Lina

CPP assembly members vote for ‘Anti-Rainsy’ law

Tue, 11 July 2017

PHNOM PENH POST

Meas Sokchea and Erin Handley

The National Assembly swiftly passed controversial new measures

yesterday to effectively ban former opposition leader Sam Rainsy
from the political arena or from bolstering the opposition‟s firepower
ahead of next year‟s elections.
The amendments to the Law on Political Parties are the second round
of changes this year, following an earlier amendment that
forced Rainsy to resign as the president of the Cambodia National
Rescue Party in February to avoid the possible dissolution of his
party, just months ahead of the commune elections.
But the sustained attack on Rainsy – who is currently in self-imposed
exile in France, and would face jail time if he returned to Cambodia
due to a slew of politically tinged criminal cases – will strengthen
rather than diminish the potency of his political rhetoric, Rainsy and
some political analysts said yesterday.
Rainsy yesterday goaded the premier over the latest changes, which
he branded the “Anti-Sam Rainsy Law”.
“I am honoured to be Hun Sen‟s constant obsession,” Rainsy said,
while still urging the prime minister to “push for the adoption of really
useful laws aimed at putting things right in a country that is just
upside down”. “He must now understand that his efforts to get rid of
me – whatever the means he uses – have been and will remain
useless, futile and counterproductive.”
Rainsy also suggested there were “millions of Sam Rainsys” in the
Cambodian citizens who fight for freedom and justice, and claimed he
had attained near-mythological status.
“As in any religion, legend or myth, the more you strive to kill the
central figure, the more he remains alive and becomes more and more
vibrant and popular,” he said.
After less than an hour of debate, the amendments were passed by
the assembly with 66 votes, though Prime Minister Hun Sen and
Interior Minister Sar Kheng were conspicuously absent from the
session. The CNRP, which holds 55 seats to the ruling Cambodian
People‟s Party‟s 68, boycotted the vote.
CNRP Deputy President Mu Sochua yesterday defended her party‟s
decision not to attend the National Assembly and argue against the
laws.
“It‟s the same question asked each time we decided not to be there.
Would there be a true democratic debate?” Sochua said in an email,
adding she doubted the law would have its intended effect.
“That law will bring together the voices of other democrats to stand
with the CNRP,” Sochua said. “It‟s the case each time the CPP passes
a law or uses its power to threaten, arrest, or eliminate the voice of its
critics.”
Motorists pass a CNRP billboard featuring former party President Sam Rainsy yesterday in Kandal. New changes to the Law on Political Parties forbid the use of Rainsy‟s image in
party materials. Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP

The new amendments ban parties from “using the voice, image,
written documents or activities of a convicted criminal . . . for the
interests of the party”, and from “accepting or conspiring with a
convicted criminal to do activities in the interests of the party”.
Currently Rainsy appears – along with his successor Kem Sokha – on
thousands of party billboards across the country and is a regular
presence, via Skype, at opposition events.
The new law also prevents political parties from “supporting or
organising any plans or conspiracies with any individual to undertake
any actions against the interest of the Kingdom of Cambodia”.
Any parties who violate the law could be banned from political
activities for five years and disallowed from competing in elections, or
even dissolved.
Though the premier was absent yesterday, his youngest son, CPP
lawmaker Hun Many, made an impassioned speech advocating for the
changes, saying they were a matter of “national security”. “We should
consider if some views or some words can affect the security of the
nation and affect the interests of the nation,” Many said.
But despite the amendments, political analyst Meas Ny said that for
many Cambodians, Rainsy remained an effective and charismatic
leader. “He can still drive up the support, the way he speaks is very
colourful and he has the ability to compete directly with Hun Sen.”
Sebastian Strangio, political analyst and author of Hun Sen’s
Cambodia, said while it might be smarter for the CPP to ignore Rainsy
rather than launch a new legal offensive, the changes were likely
sparked by frustration that – through Facebook – Rainsy continues to
enjoy a political platform.
“It does seem to be an instance of overkill,” Strangio said, saying the
ruling party were driven by “fear and paranoia” over foreign
intervention and losing power.
Strangio said he believed the CPP was “trying to remove Sam Rainsy
by the root from the CNRP” in order to avoid a repeat of the
opposition momentum Rainsy garnered in the 2013 national election.
Meanwhile, the Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights yesterday
called the ruling party‟s move to reconfigure the law as “legal
harassment” of the major opposition.
The changes still must be approved by the Senate and Constitutional
Council before being signed by the King into law.

The Provocateur
CAMBODIA DAILY
7/7/2017
Despite efforts to banish him from Cambodia, strip him of his political titles and
eliminate his connection to the political opposition, Sam Rainsy’s loudspeaker just gets
louder
By Ben Paviour
Five months ago, Sam Rainsy surprised almost everyone and
walked away from his political party.
He had led the CNRP through a contentious national election, a
doomed detente and a fresh round of lawsuits that sent him
packing for Paris. Then, in February, with the CPP on the verge
of passing legislation that would punish the CNRP for his court
cases, Mr. Rainsy stepped down as party president.
Pundits wondered what would become of the opposition icon.
Would Mr. Rainsy pull the strings of his old party from Paris or
fade into irrelevance in a Facebook photostream of French bike
rides? Cut off from his country and party, would the Cambodian
public—and Prime Minister Hun Sen—still take notice of his
strident criticism?
The last two weeks seem to have settled those questions.
First came a video, posted to Mr. Rainsy‟s Facebook page last
week linking the CPP‟s origins to “yuon” Vietnamese
communists, striking the most sensitive nerve in the ruling
party‟s political body and using a word that can have racist
undertones.
Less than 48 hours later, Mr. Hun Sen called his rival an
“endless warmonger” and urged lawmakers to punish the CNRP
for its former leader‟s rhetoric by amending the Law on Political
Parties to punish parties that cooperate or advertise affiliations
with those convicted of crimes.
“It‟s very serious,” CPP lawmaker Chheang Vun said yesterday of
Mr. Rainsy‟s accusations as his party sped the proposed changes
through the National Assembly. “There are not any countries
that would allow that kind of party to survive until now.”
By thrusting the limelight back on Mr. Rainsy, who resigned as
lawmakers submitted a first set of changes to the law,
commentators say the prime minister might be gifting his
nemesis the only kind of ammunition Mr. Rainsy has left: more
attention.
“It‟s clear now that Hun Sen is very afraid of me—his best
enemy—and that just my name, my photo, my voice, my shadow
or any representation of me makes him crazy,” he wrote in an
email yesterday.
Mr. Rainsy has spent decades nettling Mr. Hun Sen in feuds that
have spawned a stable of farmyard metaphors from analysts and
the prime minister: catching the mouse, beating the dog,
crushing the snake.

A worn CNRP sign showing current CNRP President Kem Sokha, left, and former president Sam
Rainsy hangs in Phnom Penh on Thursday. (Siv Channa/The Cambodia Daily)
In past Parisian exiles, Mr. Rainsy had to go through radio and
newspaper outlets to reach a mass audience.
But since he joined Facebook in 2013, Mr. Rainsy has been
increasingly able to leapfrog media gatekeepers, putting him at
the center of a growing number of opposition-aligned Facebook
pages circulating government criticism, rumors, leaks and anti-
Vietnamese sentiment, which have pricked the CPP into action
on several occasions.
“With a single post, Sam Rainsy‟s page can pull [the] trigger on
the whole political climate in Cambodia,” said Bong Chan-
sambath, an international relations student at Pannasastra
University and a writer for the politics forum Politikoffee.
“There is no doubt that if Rainsy slows down a bit on the
rhetoric, the climate would be a lot more pleasant. But then the
question continues: „What is the definition of being an
opposition politician?‟” he asked.
Prince Sisowath Thomico, a member of the CNRP‟s steering
committee, said the CPP, and especially the prime minister, were
“very upset by the fact that Sam Rainsy is very free to speak out
freely and say things that we cannot say.”
“Whatever Sam Rainsy would say, would write on his Facebook
page…remains very helpful for the CNRP,” he said.
Astrid Noren-Nilsson, an associate senior lecturer at Sweden‟s
Lund University specializing in Cambodian politics, said Mr.
Rainsy‟s rhetoric continued to fan the flames of opposition
against the government.
“Maintaining the element of anger and confrontation could
make the difference for keeping the opposition momentum going
through the 2018 elections,” she said.
Prince Thomico and Mr. Rainsy both claim that the party has no
influence on the exiled figure‟s media output.
Instead, the content is produced by a personal media team
funded by Mr. Rainsy‟s pension, rents collected as a landlord and
foreign donations, he said in an email. It includes six employees
in Phnom Penh producing daily news presentations and another
three in France making short, documentary-style commentaries
and analyses based on recent events.
Mr. Rainsy‟s posts in exile have added to a pack of legal
challenges that the party and most independent attorneys see as
politically motivated: claims that the government orchestrated
the assassination of political analyst Kem Ley, that the CPP
bought “likes” for Mr. Hun Sen‟s Facebook page, and that the
prime minister paid social media provocateur Thy Sovantha $1
million, among others.
He also rarely misses a chance to connect the ruling party to
“yuon” and the Khmer Rouge regime, pushing those angles on
anniversary posts of both the April 17, 1975, Khmer Rouge
invasion of Phnom Penh and the January 7, 1979, Vietnamese
toppling of that regime.
(For his part, Mr. Rainsy maintains that “yuon” was a “neutral
term” that became “politically incorrect” after the 1979 invasion,
and that foreign observers and journalists have been
“contaminated by the CPP propaganda” to connect the rhetoric
with racism.)
He also posts whispers and leaks collected from unidentified
sources, including a leak last month purporting to show “secret
instructions given by Hun Sen” laying out how the government
would handle Mr. Rainsy‟s eventual return to Cambodia.
The missives target the more than 4.1 million people who have
liked Mr. Rainsy‟s Facebook page, and potentially many more
who see the content elsewhere.
The Facebook page gives Mr. Rainsy arguably the largest
megaphone a government critic has ever held, offering a pungent
counter-narrative to the peace-and-stability programming of
CPP-affiliated mass media.
Though Mr. Rainsy still sees himself as a politician, and CPP
spokesman Sok Eysan said the latest legislative changes were
being written to “kill Sam Rainsy‟s political career,” Mr. Rainsy
seems to have become something else: a loudmouth the prime
minister can‟t find a way to shut up.
“He could be seen more as an activist,” said Ou Virak, director of
the Future Forum think tank. “And that‟s actually a new role for
him.”
As Cambodia‟s highest-profile provocateur, Mr. Rainsy enters a
Facebook ring crowded with pro-opposition pages that have
sprung up to criticize the government wherever they see an
opening.
Those pages include Brady N Young, run by Yang Nuy, a
California-based activist who was ousted from the CNRP chapter
there over a video he posted last year demanding that Mr. Hun
Sen prove that his eldest son, Hun Manet, was not actually
fathered by a Vietnamese official.
The post appeared to strike a nerve with the prime minister, who
in March leaked what he claimed were his own WhatsApp
messages asking CNRP lawmaker Mao Monyvann why CNRP
President Kem Sokha did not expel members who circulated the
rumors.
Mr. Hun Sen‟s wrath hasn‟t stopped Mr. Nuy, who raised the
idea to his 90,000 followers as recently as Sunday.
Lt. Gen. Manet filed a defamation suit last year against a
Facebook user, Cham Chany, another popular critic, after he
claimed to have insider information linking the prime minister‟s
son to the illegal timber trade.
But the user behind the page, which now has almost 300,000
followers, said last year that he lived outside the country, out of
reach of Cambodian courts.
Some pages—and comments from users—make Mr. Rainsy‟s
rants look tame.
“When will you cut your head and throw it away?” Pang
Sokheoun, the overseas administrator of the popular Khmer
Sovannaphumi page, asked the prime minister, referring to Mr.
Hun Sen‟s famous pledge to do so if he failed to stop illegal
logging on land concessions.
Another user responded with a photoshopped image of Mr. Hun
Sen in a noose.
None of this has been lost on the prime minister, whose party‟s
near-monopoly on domestic news outlets—and growing social
media clout—is threatened by a handful of lone wolves who are
uncowed by his laws.
“Those people [go] beyond freedom of expression,” Council of
Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said on Tuesday. “They have
no right to insult or use the barbaric words” against Mr. Hun
Sen, who was lawfully elected by the majority of voters.
Though courts have convicted several Facebook users inside the
country for posts in cases that drew international condemnation,
those abroad have proven a pricklier thorn in the CPP‟s side.
Mr. Siphan said the government could press the CNRP to remove
the users from the party, as it did with Mr. Nuy and ultimately
with Mr. Rainsy. It could even ask the French government to
extradite Mr. Rainsy if he threatened national security, though
Mr. Siphan said the state had never made such a request.
“Everyone has to protect their integrity,” Mr. Siphan said.
But Ms. Noren-Nilsson said there were few signs of Mr. Rainsy
or other Facebook users backing down.
“Probably he is enjoying being able to play the role of the
maverick, as the one liberating consequence of his political
sidelining,” she wrote in an email.
Mr. Rainsy himself appears unsatisfied merely standing on the
sidelines.
“My main desire is to return to Cambodia and to serve my native
country in any capacity,” he wrote in an email on Wednesday.
He was less circumspect in a cartoon posted to his Facebook
showing a small, beer-gutted prime minister backed by two
police squaring off with a chained, chiseled opposition leader in
what the caption called “a competition for premiership.”
Yet Prince Thomico said the prime minister saw the CNRP—not
Mr. Rainsy—as his main existential threat.
“To me, Sam Rainsy is just a scapegoat,” he said. “The real target
is the CNRP.”
(Additional reporting by Ben Sokhean)

Change Is Coming, Kem Sokha

Promises at Mass CNRP Rally
BY BEN SOKHEAN AND BEN PAVIOUR |

MAY 22, 2017 |

អានជាភាសាខ្ំែរ(ខាងក្រោម)
Skirting the fiery rhetoric of some of its past rallies and the strong response
from authorities that it often elicited, the CNRP kicked off its commune
election campaign with a message of change.
—Commune Election 2017—
At a procession that drew thousands of supporters in Phnom Penh on
Saturday, party president Kem Sokha promised a number of reforms once—
not if—his party comes to power next year.

CNRP President Kem Sokha addresses supporters at a rally in Phnom Penh on Saturday morning, in a photograph posted to his Facebook page.

“To change or not? Remove or not?” Mr. Sokha asked on Saturday morning
from the bed of a truck on Hun Sen Boulevard.
“Change! Change! Change!” a sea of supporters chanted back.
Saturday kicked off a two-week campaign period for the June 4 commune
vote that is being closely watched as a bellwether for next year‟s national
election. Mr. Sokha has taken the opposition campaign on a tour through
the provinces, while the CPP will stick to smaller commune-level events
before holding large rallies across the country on the final day of the
campaign period.
Hundreds of trucks, tuk-tuks and motorbikes meandered north and then
west over the span of at least seven hours on Saturday, avoiding
confrontation with authorities after city officials instituted rules restricting
parties from campaigning along several sections of major roads, markets,
and parks.
The new party president used speeches on Saturday as well as at another
rally yesterday in Kampot province to emphasize the party‟s plans to
empower local government and avoid the corruption and land grabbing
that he suggested characterized the current regime.
“After 2018, when the CNRP leads the country, if you want to build canals,
ponds, toilets, dirt roads, you will have your own financial package. You
won‟t need to beg the Ministry of Rural Development,” he said yesterday.
Mr. Sokha vowed to eliminate the ministry if elected, repeating his party‟s
plan to provide $500,000 in annual funding to each commune to lead their
own infrastructure projects and suggesting on Saturday that the amount
could be doubled.
He did not elaborate on the details of the proposal, which would cost
approximately $800 million to $1.6 billion, depending on how much
funding each of the 1,646 communes received.
CNRP supporters gather at in Phnom Penh, on Saturday morning. (Ben Paviour/The Cambodia Daily)

With Prime Minister Hun Sen warning that an opposition victory would
spark civil war and Defense Minister Tea Banh threatening last week to
“smash the teeth” of protesters who disputed the election results, Mr.
Sokha used a stop in Kampot province yesterday to paint his party‟s non-
violent alternative.
“I want to say that CNRP victory will not be achieved using threatening acts,
insults and intimidation to get votes,” he said to hundreds of supporters.
“There will be no land-grab- bing from the people, logging, corruption or
theft of national resources. We will end it when the CNRP leads the
country.”
Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said it was a mistake to
conflate the actions of individuals with the government.
“It‟s a person,” he said of the perpetrators of corruption and land grabs.
“It‟s not the government. It‟s not any political party.” Mr. Siphan also called
the work of the Rural Development Ministry “very important,” saying the
government‟s program of decentralization had led to a more empowered
grassroots form of governance.
But Mr. Sokha‟s message appeared to resonate with his base in Phnom
Penh, who came out on Saturday in a crowd that party spokesman Yim
Sovann estimated at upward of 20,000, though that number could not be
independently confirmed. (The ruling party claimed between 50,000 and
110,000 supporters at its two Phnom Penh events over the weekend, with
those estimates likewise unverified.)
CNRP supporters waved flags and wore shirts and baseball caps
emblazoned with the party logo of a rising sun.
“I‟ve seen that most ruling party officials don‟t pay attention to the people,”
said Phann Lin, a 42-year-old maid who stood out in the predominantly
male crowd in Phnom Penh. “They have no intention to solve people‟s
issues.”
Pheng Ratha, a 63-year-old party supporter who retired to Cambodia in
2010 after fleeing the country for Switzerland in the wake of the Khmer
Rouge regime, said it was time for fresh blood.
“The CPP has had more than 30 years,” he said in French. “They have done
nothing…. They don‟t respect human rights.”
Supporters and onlookers said the mood was mellower than the last time
the party took to the streets en masse in the wake of the disputed 2013
national elections.
Munineath Sok, a 25-year-old draftsman for a construction company who
watched the procession from the air-conditioned comfort of a Tela Mart
convenience store, estimated he had spent an hour watching the procession
pass, but said turnout was also lower than some marches in 2013.
Mr. Sok said he stayed away from all party rallies, fearing some
“unintentional accident,” but said he would vote for the party that spurred
economic growth and job creation.
“With our economic growth, many people will have jobs and their lifestyles
will be better,” he said.
His friend, 26-year-old Eng Keang, who held a post at the Labor Ministry,
suggested he would inevitably cast his vote for the ruling party.
When asked if that decision was at all motivated by his employer, Mr.
Keang declined to respond.
“You know how it is in Cambodia,” he said.
ក្ោក កឹម សុខា សនាអំឡុងយុទ្ទនាោរក្ោសនាថា នឹងក្្វើោរផ្លាស់ប្តូរ
េ ោយ ែបន សុខឞោន និង B E N P A V I OUR

ៃថ៮ច័នទ ទី 22 ែែឧសភា ឆនាាំ2017

េដាយេចៀសវាងការមិនេរបើពាក្យេពចន៍ធ៮ន់ៗដូចែដលែលអនធលាប់បានេរបើអាំឡហងេពលជួបជុាំក្នលងៗមក្ និង
ការេឆលើយតបធ៮ន់ធ៮រែដលែលអនជាេរឿយៗទទួលរងពីសាំណាក្់ហាជ៳ាធរេនាោះ
គណបក្ឝសេ្ង៬ាោះជាតិបានចាប់េផតើមយុទធនាការេឃាសនារបស់ែលអនសរមាប់ការេបាោះេឆនាតឃុាំសង៪ាត់អម
េដាយឝារផលាស់បតឡរ។

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េលាក្ ក្ឹម សុខា របធានគណបក្ឝសេ្ង៬ាោះជាតិ បានសនាេធវើក្ាំែណទរមង់មួយចាំនួន
េ ាេពលគណបក្ឝរបស់េលាក្កាន់អាំណាចក្នហងឆនាាំ២០១៨។
េលោក កឹម សុខា ប្រធានគណរកសសង្ប្្រោះជាតិ  និងង្ោក យឹម សុវណណ អ្ន កនាំពាកយគណរកសង្នោះជិោះង្ ើរថយនតប្រ ុង អ្ាំឡ
ុ ងង្េ ហែកប
ួ នង្ោសនង្ ោះង្ននតកា េីថ្ថៃ
ង្ៅរ៍ រ ូរថតរង្្ហោះតាមរាំេ័រង្ែេ សរុកររស់ង្ោក  កឹម សុខា។

េលាក្បានសួរកាលពីរពឹក្ៃថ៮េ ារ៍េពលឈរេ ាេលើរថយនតក្នហងក្បអនដែងឞតាមបណតាយ មឞាវិថី ែុន

ែសន ថា “ ដូរមិនដូរ? ដក្មិនដក្?” ។អនក្គាាំរទយាងេរចើនបានែរសក្បនទរថា “ ដូរ!ដូរ!ដូរ!” ។

យុទធនាការកាលពីៃថ៮េ ារ៍ គឺជាការចាប់េផតើមៃនយុទធនាការេឃាសនារយៈេពល២សបតាែ៍សរមាប់ការ

េបាោះេឆនាតឃុាំសង៪ាត់េ ាៃថ៮ទី៤ែែមិថុនា ែដលរតូវបានេគតាមដានយាងយក្ចិតតទុក្ដាក្់េដាយឝារ
វាជាតរមុយ សរមាប់ការេបាោះេឆនាតជាតិេ ាឆនាាំេរកាយ។ េលាក្ ក្ឹម សុខា
បានបនតេធវើការយុទធនាការេឃាសនាេដាយចុោះេ ាតាមបណតាេែតត
រីឯគណបក្ឝរបជាជនក្មពហជានឹងេ ាែតេធវើយុទធនាការេឃាសនាតាមឃុាំសង៪ាត់
មុនេពលេរៀបចាំការជួបជុាំដ៏ធាំទូទាាំងរបេទសេ ាៃថ៮ចុងេរកាយៃនរយៈេពលេធវើយុទធនាការេឃាសនា។
រថយនត រឺុមក្់មូតូក្ង់បី និងមូតូជាេរចើនរយេរគឿងបានែែេឆពាោះេ ាទិសខាងេជើង បនទាប់មក្េ ាទិសខាង
លិច ក្នហងរយៈេពលយាងតិច៧េមាងកាលពីៃថ៮េ ារ៍ េដាយេចៀសវាងការរបឈមមុែជាមួយហាជ៳ាធរ
បនទាប់ពីឝាលា
រាជធានីបានេចញបរមាមមិនឱ្យគណបក្ឝនេយាបាយេធវើយុទធនាការតាមផលឡវ ផារ និងសួនឝាធារណៈសាំ
ខាន់ៗមួយចាំនួន។

េឆលៀតឱ្កាសក្នហងេពលែថលងសុនទរក្ថាកាលពីៃថ៮េ ារ៍
រពមទាាំងអាំឡហងេពលជួបជុាំមួយេទៀតកាលពីមឝិលមិញក្នហងេែតតក្ាំពត
របធានគណបក្ឝថមីរូបេនោះបានសង៪ត់ធ៮ន់េលើេគាលការណ៍ផតល់សិទធិអាំណាចដល់ហាជ៳ាធរមូលដ៶ាន និង
េចៀសវាងអាំេពើពុក្រលួយ ការរំេលាភយក្ដីធលីែដលេលាក្េលើក្េឡើងថា េក្ើតមានអាំឡហងរបបបច៯ហបបនន។

េលាក្បានែថលងកាលពីមឝិលមិញថា “ អញ្៯ឹងេរកាយឆនាាំ២០១៨េ ាគណបក្ឝសេ្ង៬ាោះ

ជាតិដឹក្នាាំរាជរដ៶ាភិបាល ២០១៨ គឺេយើងចង់ េធវើរបសាយ ចង់េធវើអណតូង ចង់េធវើបង៬ន់  ចង់ធ្វ ើ ផ្ល វូ លំ
គឺលុយធយើងមានធ្វ ើធោយែលអនេយើង មិនចាាំបាច់សុាំពីរក្សួងអភិវឌ្ឍន៍ជនបទេទ” ។

េលាក្ ក្ឹម សុខា បានេបតជ៳ាលុបបាំបាត់រក្សួងេនោះ

របសិនេបើជាប់េឆនាតេដាយេលើក្េឡើងមតងេទៀតពីេគាលការណ៍បក្ឝរបស់េលាក្េ ាក្នហងការផតល់របាក្់ចាំនួ
ន៥០០.០០០ដុលលារក្នហងមូលនិធិរបចាាំឆនាាំដល់ឃុាំសង៪ាត់នីមួយៗេដើមបីអនុវតតគេរមាងេែដ៶ារចនាសមព័នធ
ផទាល់ែលអន េែើយេលាក្បានេលើក្េឡើងកាលពីៃថ៮េ ារ៍ថា ទាំែាំទឹក្របាក្់េនោះហាចេក្ើនេឡើងេទវដង។
េលោក កឹម សុខា ប្រធានគណរកសសង្ប្្រោះជាតិ ែថលងេ ោកោន់អ្នកគោាំរទអ្ាំឡហងេពលែែកបអនេឃោសនោេបោោះេឆនោតកោលពីៃថ៮េ ោរ៍  រ ូរថតរង្្ហោះតាមរាំេ័រង្ែេ សរុកររស់ង្ោ
ក កឹម សុខា។

េលាក្មិនបានេរៀបរាប់លមសិតអាំពីសាំេណើេនោះេទ
ែដលនឹងចាំណាយរបាក្់របែែល៨០០លានដុលលាររែូតទល់េ ា១,៦ ពាន់លានដុលលារ ហារស័យេលើថា
េតើឃុាំសង៪ាត់នីមួយៗក្នហងចាំេណាមឃុាំសង៪ាត់ែដលមានចាំនួនសរុប១.៦៤៦ ទទួលបានមូលនិធិបុនមាន។

េដាយេលាក្នាយក្រដ៶ម្នតី ែុន ែសន បានរពមានថា

ជ័យជមនោះរបស់គណបក្ឝសេ្ង៬ាោះជាតិនឹងេធវើឲ្យផទហោះស្ង៬ាមសុីវិលេែើយេលាក្ េទៀ បាញ់ រដ៶ម្នតីរក្សួង
ការពារជាតិបានគាំរាមកាលពីសបតាែ៍មុនថា នឹង ” ៃវ៉ៃបាំែបក្េធមញ”
អនក្តវ៉ៃាែដលជាំទាស់នឹងលទធផលៃនការេបាោះេឆនាតេនាោះ េលាក្ ក្ឹម សុខា
បានេឆលៀតឱ្កាសក្នហងេពលឈប់េ ាេែតតក្ាំពតកាលពីៃថ៮មឝិលមិញ េឃាសនាអាំពីជេរមើសមិនេរបើអាំេពើែិ
ងារបស់គណបក្ឝេលាក្។
េលាក្បានមានរបឝាសន៍េ ាកាន់អនក្គាាំរទជាេរចើនពាន់នាក្់ថា
“ ែ៳ហាំសូមបញ្៱ាក្់ថា ជ័យជមនោះរបស់គណបក្ឝសេ្ង៬ាោះជាតិមិនែមនបានមក្េដាយការគាំរាមក្ាំែែង
េដាយការេជររបមាថ េដាយការបាំភិតបាំភ័យេដាយសមលហតយក្សនលឹក្េឆនាតេទ” ។

េលាក្ ក្ឹម សុខា បានែថលងបនតថា “ េែើយជាពិេសសគមានេទការបលន់យក្ដីរបស់របជាពលរដ៶ គមានេទកា

រកាប់បាំផលាញៃរពេឈើ គមានេទអាំេពើពុក្រលួយ ែដលលួចធនធានរបស់ជាតិ
េយើងនឹងបញ្៲ប់រាល់េពលគណបក្ឝសេ្ង៬ាោះជាតិឈនោះេឆនាតដឹក្នាាំរបេទស” ។

េលាក្ ៃផ សុីផាន អនក្នាាំពាក្យទីសតីការគណៈរដ៶ម្នតីបានេលើក្េឡើងថា

វាជាក្ាំែុសឆ៬ងែដលបូក្បញ្៯ឡលសក្មមភាពបុគ៬លជាមួយរដ៶ាភិបាល។

េលាក្បានមានរបឝាសន៍េដាយសាំេ ាដល់ជនរបរពឹតតអាំេពើពុក្រលួយ និងទ្នទានទឹក្ដីថា

“ វាជាេរឿងបុគ៬ល” ។ េលាក្បានបែនថមថា “ មិនែមនរដ៶ាភិបាលេទ។
មិនែមនគណបក្ឝនេយាបាយណាមួយ េទ” ។

េលាក្ ៃផ សុីផាន ក្៏បានចាត់ទុក្ការងាររបស់រក្សួងអភិវឌ្ឍន៍ជនបទថា

“ សាំខាន់ណាស់” ផងែដរ េដាយេលើក្េឡើងថា ក្មមវិធីវិមជ៲ការរបស់រដ៶ាភិបាលបាននាាំឲ្យេក្ើតមានទ
រមង់អភិបាលក្ិច៯ថនាក្់មូលដ៶ានែដលទទួលបានសិទធិអាំណាចេរចើនជាងមុន។
អ្នកគោាំរទគណបកឝសេ្ង៬ោោះជោតិ ែែកបអនេឃោសនោេបោោះេឆនោតកនហងទីរកុងភនាំេពញ កោលពីៃថ៮េ ោរ៍។ រូបថតៈ B e n P a v i o u r /ឌឹ េខមបូឌោ េេលី

បុែនត ឝាររបស់េលាក្ ក្ឹម សុខា ទាំនងជាបានរជួតរជាបដល់អនក្គាាំរទរបស់េលាក្េ ាក្នហងរាជធានីភនាំេពញ

ែដលនាាំគនាេចញមក្ែែក្បអនកាលពីៃថ៮េ ារ៍ក្នហងចាំនួនែដល េលាក្យឹម សុវណណ
អនក្នាាំពាក្យគណបក្ឝរបឆាាំងមួយេនោះបាាន់របមាណថា មានរែូតដល់២០.០០០នាក្់
បុែនតចាំនួនេនាោះមិនហាចបញ្៱ាក្់ចាស់លាស់បានេទ។ (គណបក្ឝកាន់អាំណាចបានអោះហាងថា
ក្នហងរពឹតតិការណ៍ជួបជុាំចាំនួនពីរក្នហងរាជធានីភនាំេពញរបស់ែលអនកាលពីចុងសបតាែ៍មានអនក្ចូលរួមចាំនួនច
េនលាោះពី៥០.០០០នាក្់ដល់១១០.០០០នាក្់
ែតក្៏គមានការបញ្៱ាក្់ចាស់លាស់ែដរ)។អនក្គាាំរទបាននាាំគនារគវីទង់ជាតិ និងទង់បក្ឝ េែើយមានពាក្់ហាវ
និងពាក្់មួក្ែដលមានរូបសញ្៴ារពោះហាទិតយរោះ។
អនក្គាាំរទេឈមាោះ ផាន់ លីន ហាយុ៤២ឆនាាំ
បុគ៬លិក្េធវើការេ ាក្នហងរក្ុមែុនទទួលេបាសសមសាតែដលឈរក្នហងចាំេណាមមនុសឝែដលភាគេរចើនជាបុរ
សេ ាក្នហងរាជធានីភនាំេពញបានេលើក្េឡើងថា “ ែ៳ហាំេមើលេឃើញថា
ម្នតីគណបក្ឝកាន់អាំណាចភាគេរចើនមិនយក្ចិតតទុក្ដាក្់ជាមួយរបជាពលរដ៶េទ ” ។
បុគ៬លិក្េបាសសាំហាតរូបេនោះបានេលើក្េឡើងេទៀតថា
“ ពួក្េគគមានបាំណងេដាោះរឝាយបញ្ឞារបស់របជាពលរដ៶េឡើយ ” ។

អនក្គាាំរទមនាក្់េទៀតេឈមាោះ េផង រដ៶ាហាយុ៦៣ឆនាាំ

ែដលចូលនិវតតន៍េែើយវិលរតឡប់មក្របេទសក្មពហជាវិញេ ាក្នហងឆនាាំ២០១០
បនទាប់ពីេភៀសែលអនេចញពីរបេទសេ ាកាន់របេទសសវីស
េរកាយរបបបុល ពតេនាោះបានេលើក្េឡើងថា វាដល់េពលសរមាប់ថនាក្់ដឹក្នាាំថមីេែើយ។

េលាក្បានមានរបឝាសន៍ជាភាឝាបារាាំងថា
“ គណបក្ឝរបជាជនក្មពហជាកាន់អាំណាចជាង៣០ឆនាាំមក្េែើយ ” ។េលាក្បានបនតថា “ ពួក្េគមិនបាន
េធវើអវីេទ… ពួក្េគមិនេគារពសិទធិមនុសឝេឡើយ ” ។

អនក្គាាំរទនិងអនក្ឈរេមើលនិយាយថា ហារមមណ៍របស់អនក្គាាំរទមិនសូវពុោះក្េរញ្៱ាលខលាាំងដូចេពលអនក្គាាំ
រទគបណបក្ឝរបឆាាំងនាាំគនាែែក្បអនតវ៉ៃាតាមផលឡវក្នហងចាំនួនយាងេរចើន
េរកាយការេបាោះេឆនាតជាតិឆនាាំ២០១៣ដ៏ចរមូងចរមាសេនាោះេឡើយ។

េលាក្ សុែមុននីនាថ ហាយុ២៥ឆនាាំ

ជាអនក្គូរបលង់ឲ្យរក្ុមែុនសាំណង់មួយែដលេមើលការែែក្បអនេចញពីេតលាមាតមួយក្ែនលងបានបាន់របមា
ណថា
េលាក្បានចាំណាយេពល១េមាងឈរេមើលេគែែក្បអនឆលងកាត់ បុនថា ការេចញមក្ចូលរួមែែក្បអនមាន
ចាំនួនតិចជាងការែែក្បអនមួយចាំនួនក្នហងឆនាាំ២០១៣។

េលាក្បានេលើក្េឡើងេទៀតថា េលាក្មិនចូលរួមក្នហងការជួបជុាំរបស់គណបក្ឝនេយាបាយណាទាាំងអស់
េដាយឝារខលាចេក្ើតមាន” ឧបបតតិេែតុ” មួយចាំនួន
បុែនតថា េលាក្នឹងេបាោះេឆនាតឲ្យគណបក្ឝណាែដលេធវើឲ្យេសដ៶ក្ិច៯មានក្ាំេណើន
និងបេង៪ើតការងារ។េលាក្បាននិយាយថា “ េសដ៶ក្ិច៯របស់េយើងមានក្ាំេណើន
របជាពលរដ៶របស់េយើងជាេរចើនមានការងារេធវើ េែើយជីវភាពរបស់ពួក្គាត់នឹងរបេសើរេឡើង ” ។

មិតតភក្តិរបស់េលាក្ េឈមាោះ េអង េគៀង ែដលមានតួនាទីេ ារក្សួងការងារបានេលើក្េឡើងថា

េលាក្េចៀសមិនផុតពីេបាោះេឆនាតឲ្យគណបក្ឝកាន់អាំណាចេទ។
េពលសួរថា េតើការសេរមចចិតតេនោះទទួល រងឥទធិពលពីថនាក្់េលើ ឬយាងណាេនាោះ េលាក្េអង េគៀង
បានបដិេសធមិនេឆលើយតបេឡើយ។ េលាក្បាននិយាយថា “ អនក្ដឹងេែើយថា េតើេ ាក្មពហជាវាយាងេមច?
” ៕ សុយឈាង

Amid Threats to Its Existence, CNRP Seeks Bylaw

Approval
BY KUCH NAREN

CAMBODIA DAILY

MARCH 31, 2017

After the Interior Ministry warned this week that it would not
recognize the CNRP‟s newly elected leaders because the
opposition had violated its own bylaws in electing them, the
party on Friday said it had asked the ministry to acknowledge its
amended bylaws.
In a hastily convened congress on March 2 to replace former
party President Sam Rainsy — who resigned in February to
protect the party from being outlawed under the new Law on
Political Parties — the CNRP first changed the party‟s bylaws,
then went on to elevate Mr. Sokha to permanent president and
Pol Ham, Mu Sochua and Eng Chhay Eang as deputies.
The opposition CNRP’s new leadership stands before a party congress in Phnom Penh on March From left:
Kem Sokha, Pol Ham, Mu Sochua and Eng Chhay Eang. (Emil Kastrup/The Cambodia Daily)

However, the ruling party branded the bylaw alterations as

illegal, stating that the CNRP should have first submitted its
internal rule changes to the government before selecting new
leadership, since the party‟s old bylaws required a longer waiting
period to change president.
Mr. Chhay Eang said on Friday that the party had submitted the
amended bylaws to the Interior Ministry on Thursday.
“We are waiting for the official approval from the Ministry of
Interior for recognition of Articles 45 and 47 of the party‟s bylaw
that we amended at the extraordinary congress in March,” he
said.
If the ministry recognizes the new bylaws, the party will hold a
meeting on Tuesday with the board of directors, of which 102 of
the 112 members can re-elect the three deputies, he said.
“The board of directors is planning to hold a meeting on April 4
to discuss the party‟s work, but we can decide to vote for the
three deputy leaders on the said schedule if the Ministry of
Interior officially recognizes the new party bylaw,” he said.
The ministry ratcheted up its warnings against the CNRP on
Thursday, warning that it could outlaw or suspend the
opposition under the Law on Political Parties, but refused to
define what steps the opposition could take to avoid its
dissolution.
Officials from the Interior Ministry could not be reached for
comment.

Government Comes Down Hard On CNRP Leadership

BY BEN SOKHEAN AND BEN PAVIOUR

CAMBODIA DAILY

MARCH 30, 2017

The Interior Ministry confirmed on Wednesday that it would not

recognize Kem Sokha as CNRP president or three other
opposition lawmakers as deputy presidents, promising “further
measures” that analysts say could sideline the party in upcoming
commune elections.
Speaking after a meeting between the CNRP and ministry on
Wednesday, Prak Sam Oeun, director-general at the ministry‟s
general department of administration, said the evidence was
clear: The CNRP violated its own bylaws when it elevated its
leaders at a snap congress earlier this month.
CNRP Vice President Eng Chhay Eang speaks to reporters after a meeting with Interior Ministry officials on
Wednesday about alleged legal breaches by the party. (Pring Samrang/Reuters)

“We informed the CNRP that their extraordinary congress to

elect Kem Sokha as president and Pol Ham, Mu Sochua and Eng
Chhay Eang as deputy presidents was against Article 47,
paragraph 2 of the CNRP‟s bylaws kept at the Interior Ministry,”
Mr. Sam Oeun said. “We won‟t recognize them.”
In a rush to replace former party President Sam Rainsy—who
resigned last month to avoid repercussions from changes to the
Law on Political Parties—with a permanent president who could
sign off on its commune candidate roster, the CNRP first
changed the bylaws of its party at the congress, then went on to
elevate Mr. Sokha and the three lawmakers.
But according to the ministry, the party should have first
submitted its internal rule change to the government before
selecting new leadership, since the party‟s old bylaws required a
longer waiting period to change president.
The CNRP immediately panned the meeting on Wednesday and
said it would keep its current leadership.
“It‟s a private issue of our party, but the ministry interfered with
us,” Mr. Chhay Eang said.
“Whether with the old bylaws or the new ones, [Mr. Sokha] is
still party president,” CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann told
reporters.
Mr. Sam Oeun claimed on Wednesday that the CNRP‟s
leadership selection process violated the newly amended Law on
Political Parties, a hastily passed, vaguely worded set of new
rules that critics say was aimed squarely at the ruling party‟s
biggest threat at the ballot box in two decades.
The amended Article 17 of the law stipulates that the “president
and vice president of a political party shall be chosen by
implementing statutes of that political party.”
Article 26 of the law, which was not changed in recent
legislation, says that when an internal party rule is changed, “the
concerned political party must notify the Interior Ministry in
writing by enclosing new documents [stating] which [bylaw] had
already been changed/amended.”
But the law does not specify the process for a combined change
in bylaws and leadership, saying only that when a new president
is chosen, the ministry should be informed by “enclosing a copy
of the brief personal history of that new president with a 4×6
photograph attached.”
Mr. Sam Oeun declined to elaborate on which elements of the
law were violated.
He also urged the CNRP to change its campaign slogan—“change
commune chiefs who serve the party and replace them with
commune chiefs who serve the people”—repeating the CPP‟s
belief that it discredited the hard work of its local leaders.
Mr. Sam Oeun told reporters to “wait and see” what action it
would take next, promising “further measures.”
“We already asked them to change it,” he said. “We don‟t dare
say the next step now.”
The CPP has threatened to sue the CNRP if it does not formally
renounce the slogan.
Mr. Chhay Eang said the party had already moved on from the
phrase, but that the party would discuss the issue further after
the meeting.
“Like we already said, we won‟t put it in our party policy and we
have not advised our activists to use it,” he said
Mr. Chhay Eang also said he was “not worried at all” that the
government might use the newly amended Law on Political
Parties to petition the Supreme Court to dissolve the party in
advance of June 4 commune elections, arguing that an election
without the CNRP would have no credibility.
“If we are dissolved, [the election] is finished,” he said. “How
will the election work?”
National Election Committee spokesman Hang Puthea said on
Wednesday the ministry‟s spat with the party did not affect the
CNRP‟s ability to field candidates in the upcoming election. The
party would only be barred from contention if it were dissolved,
he said.

Government Deems Kem Sokha’s

Presidency Illegitimate
BY BEN SOKHEAN

CAMBODIA DAILY

MARCH 24, 2017

Interior Ministry officials said the CNRP‟s promotion of Kem
Sokha to party president and three officials to vice president
violated internal party rules, issuing vague threats of legal
consequences that could potentially imperil the standing of the
opposition party‟s candidates ahead of June commune elections.
In a letter sent on Wednesday by Interior Minister Sar Kheng to
CNRP executive committee chairman Yim Sovann, he said the
party‟s reshuffle, which came about two weeks after Sam Rainsy
resigned as party president, violated the party‟s own bylaws,
which mandates an 18-month gap before selecting the leader
unless the position becomes vacant within 18 months of a
national election.

Interior Minister Sar Kheng gestures toward deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha in
2015 at the National Assembly in Phnom Penh, where the two met to discuss recent
political issues. (Siv Channa/The Cambodia Daily)
The letter did not specify what action the government would
take, and ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak on Thursday was
cryptic about why the internal infraction merited government
attention.
“Whether they take action or not, it‟s not the ministry‟s decision,
but it is in the law,” General Sopheak said, declining to specify
which law—if any—had allegedly been violated.
“What we told them is enough,” he said. “They will understand
it. For example: There is a ghost in there, please don‟t go inside.
If you go, the ghost will haunt you.”
The letter also took aim at the opposition‟s campaign slogan for
upcoming June commune elections: “Change commune chiefs
who serve the party and replace them with commune chiefs who
serve the people.”
“This slogan has content that violates the principle of 1993
Constitution, Law on Political Parties, Law on the Election of
Commune/Sangkat Council, Law on the Administration of
Commune/Sangkat, and especially liberal multiparty democracy
in Cambodia and the principle of a proportional [electoral]
system,” Mr. Kheng wrote.
Gen. Sopheak warned that the slogan would cause “national
disintegration.”
“We just see commune chiefs who serve the people,” he said.
“There are no commune chiefs who serve the party.”
The general said the ministry had yet to decide whether it would
back its “advice” with punitive consequences.
“Change it or not, it is their issue,” he said, seeming to return to
the metaphor of ghosts for the law. “If the ghosts haunt, they‟re
the ones who will haunt you, not the Interior Ministry.”
President Kem Sokha speaks to party officials during a meeting in Preah Sihanouk
province in January, in a photograph posted to his Facebook page.
Mr. Sovann, who is also the CNRP‟s spokesman, said on
Thursday that the party had drafted a response requesting to
meet with Mr. Kheng or a ministry representative, but declined
to comment further.
When the party rushed to appoint Mr. Sokha and his three
deputies earlier this month, they did so because the Law on
Political Parties requires a permanent president to endorse
commune councilor candidates whose names had to be sent to
the election committee by the first weekend of the month,
according to one of those new deputies, CNRP lawmaker Mu
Sochua.
If the government were to deem Mr. Sokha‟s presidency
illegitimate, the submission of those candidates might become
invalid, said political analyst Cham Bunthet, who believed the
opposition‟s position in the June elections was doomed one way
or another.
“If [the CPP] allows the CNRP in this election, they could lose
half of their grassroots power,” he said, adding that the ruling
party might invite the opposition back to the negotiating table to
quiet international criticism after the vote.
“It‟s a very smart, very evil game,” he said. “That‟s how politics
are played in this country.”
(Additional reporting by Ben Paviour)

CNRP lawmaker Kong Saphea is helped into a clinic in 2015 after he was attacked outside the National Assembly by
protesters, some of whom were members of the Prime Minister‟s Bodyguard Unit. Heng Chivoan
Searing report chides CPP’s crackdown against opposition, activists
Tue, 21 March 2017

Phnom Penh Post

Ananth Baliga

A scathing report by a group of ASEAN parliamentarians yesterday

called recent changes to the Law on Political Parties and judicial
harassment of opposition lawmakers part of a “systematic
dismantling of democracy”, creating a “dark shadow” over
Cambodian society ahead of June commune elections.
Titled Death Knell for Democracy, the report describes the sustained
use of a partisan judiciary and National Assembly by the government
in a bid to hobble the opposition in the wake of the “game
changer” 2013 election, which saw a unified opposition make
unprecedented gains.
Charles Santiago, chair of the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human
Rights, said the continued targeting of the opposition and Hun Sen‟s
apparent desire to retain power at any cost had created an
environment that could call into question the legitimacy of the June
ballot.
“The fear element is of extreme concern – if people are voting or not
voting – based on fear, then that‟s not a real contest,” he said, via
email.
The report decries legally dubious cases brought against former
Cambodia National Rescue Party leader Sam Rainsy, current party
President Kem Sokha and parliamentarians Um Sam An, Thak Lany
and Hong Sok Hour, while also arguing that opposition figures have a
legitimate reason to fear for their physical safety as well.
The savage October 2015 beating of CNRP lawmakers Kong Saphea
and Nhay Chamroeun by members of Hun Sen‟s Personal Bodyguard
Unit since promoted following their release from prison had a far-
reaching impact on other opposition MPs.
Ongoing legal concerns were further compounded by widely
criticised recent amendments to the Law on Political Parties, which
allow for the dissolution of parties that have leaders with criminal
convictions – something that has put opposition MPs in a “tough
position”, Santiago added.
“The new law and other attacks completely undermine their ability to
do their jobs, serve the people, and focus on the future,” he said.
Among the report‟s numerous recommendations, it calls for
clarification on procedures used to lift parliamentary immunity,
assurances for the physical safety of parliamentarians and a repeal of
the amendments to the Law on Political Parties.
CNRP Vice President Mu Sochua, herself a member of APHR, said the
report was spot-on in assessing the government‟s multi-pronged
attack on the party, which could be detrimental in the June commune
elections.
“This has been their strategy. The goal has always been to weaken
the opposition and silence it at all costs,” she said.
Aside from the legal and physical threats, Sochua said the recent
barrage of leaked recordings of private phone conversations of party
officials and increased surveillance was only exacerbating their
inability to function.
“It is difficult when we are hacked and cannot communicate with our
own colleagues,” she said. “Also, no matter how small and remote the
village we visit, we are always followed.”
CPP spokesman Sok Eysan, however, dismissed the report‟s criticism
of the judiciary – which in 2015 was ripped by the International Bar
Association as being ridden with corruption and government
influence – saying the fair application of the law was the only goal of
the Kingdom‟s courts, not the oppression of a particular party.
Eysan questioned why APHR would even bring up the 2015 beating of
two lawmakers, calling it an “accident” that “happened years ago”,
and took exception to the criticism of recent legislation changes.
“The amendment of the Law on Political Parties was not done to
satisfy the critics,” he said.
Human Rights Watch‟s Phil Robertson, speaking at the release of the
report, said the ruling CPP‟s electoral near-defeat in 2013 and the
subsequent mass demonstrations made Prime Minister Hun Sen
reluctant to rely solely on a message of development, prompting him
instead to retreat to tried and tested methods.
“I think that the lesson Hun Sen took from the 2013 elections is that it
is better to be feared than loved,” he said. “And if you don‟t like [him],
to make sure there are no other choices.”
Opposition Learning to Live With Fear of Death
BY ZSOMBOR PETER

CAMBODIA DAILY

MARCH 16, 2017

Early this month, the opposition CNRP registered 11,572

candidates for June‟s commune elections—one for every seat—in
what‟s likely to prove a bellwether for next year‟s all-important
national election.
—News Analysis—
A few days later, Senate President Say Chhum, a stalwart of the
long-ruling CPP, signed off on legislation giving his government
sweeping new powers to do away with any party over vaguely
worded offenses, left to its own discretion to interpret. Prime
Minister Hun Sen, facing his toughest test in a quarter of a
century, unabashedly put the CNRP in his crosshairs when he
ordered his party to draw up the amendments to the Law on
Political Parties last month.
The opposition CNRP’s new leadership stands before a party congress in Phnom Penh in March From left: Kem
Sokha, Pol Ham, Mu Sochua and Eng Chhay Eang. (Emil Kastrup/The Cambodia Daily)

That has observers wondering whether the CNRP will live to see
the commune elections at all, let alone the national poll next
year. If it does, they say the opposition will have to drastically
tone down its often fiery—sometimes racist—campaign talk. But
it could also lose some critical swing votes in the process.
The CNRP has already started watching its words.
Party President Kem Sokha has been urging members to refrain
from personal attacks on government and CPP figures. On
Tuesday, at a prep meeting for the local elections, he instructed
the party‟s candidates to avoid talk of January 7, 1979, a date that
politically divides many Cambodians as the day Vietnam either
liberated the country from the Khmer Rouge or embarked upon
a 10-year occupation during which its officials installed the CPP.
Meas Nee, a political analyst, said the opposition will have to go
even further.
The amended party law allows the Interior Ministry and
Supreme Court, widely seen as a CPP tool, to suspend or dissolve
parties for a new list of vague offenses, including “subversion of
liberal multiparty politics” and “incitement that would lead to
national disintegration.” The CPP has already threatened to sue
the CNRP for incitement over a campaign slogan urging voters to
replace commune councilors who serve the party with those who
serve the people.
The CNRP has so far held firm, refusing to abandon the slogan.
But Mr. Nee said the party was likely to refrain from more than
just talk of January 7.
“In the past, slogans against the Vietnamese could be accused by
the ruling party as discriminative, but this time they can be
accused as creating…incitement,” he said.
In the lead-up to the 2013 national elections, the CNRP whipped
up some support by harping on popular suspicions that the
government has willingly given up territory in the long-running
demarcation of Cambodia‟s frontier with Vietnam.
It has proved an especially sore point for the CPP, which seems
to recognize that its historic ties with Hanoi are a genuine
political liability. CNRP lawmakers would draw large, angry
crowds on trips to the border and pepper their speeches with
liberal invectives against “yuon” encroachment and migration.
Many consider the word a derogatory epithet for the
Vietnamese, though the CNRP disagrees.
“[The] CNRP might need to adjust its tactics by not mentioning
the word „Vietnamese‟ directly, by spelling out policy that can
address the issue of migrants in general,” Mr. Nee said. “[O]nly
referring to all migrants could…make people understand who
they refer to. This way the CPP might find it difficult to accuse
[the opposition of] inciting propaganda.”
Koul Panha, who runs the nongovernment Committee for Free
and Fair Elections, said the opposition has already softened its
talk on border issues since two of its lawmakers were arrested
and convicted on related charges over the past two years.
With the new party law now in force, he said, “I expect the tone
to get even more soft.”
That‟s not likely to turn off most CNRP supporters, Mr. Panha
said, but it could cost the party votes from those on the fence
who might instead cast their ballots for someone else or, more
likely, no one at all. Those votes could prove critical in provinces
with tight races, and every seat in the 123-seat National Assembly
is precious. Had the CNRP and CPP swapped only seven seats in
2013, the opposition would have won.
“Maybe some undecided voters, they need some very critical
understanding,” Mr. Panha said. “They [the CNRP] need to touch
their emotions, so critical comments are very important.”
Political analyst Lao Mong Hay, a former adviser to Mr. Sokha,
agreed that a tamer CNRP could lose some swing votes.
“It‟s possible,” he said. “The people want something specific and
straight to the point.”
Prince Sisowath Thomico, a member of the CNRP‟s steering
committee, said the party will need to direct its members and
candidates away from personal attacks to stay alive, but believed
its supporters would stay both loyal and engaged “because the
people are starving for change.”
CNRP Vice President Mu Sochua said it also mattered less what
the party itself does or does not say now that social media is
allowing more Cambodians to circumvent the government‟s
propaganda.
But none of the CNRP‟s restraint will matter if it‟s not on the
ballot.
Only a few days ago, Interior Minister Sar Kheng intimated that
Mr. Sokha‟s appointment as party president earlier this month
may have broken the party‟s own internal rules, jeopardizing the
CNRP‟s chances of fielding any of its candidates come June.
There‟s also the incitement lawsuit the CPP has threatened to
lodge over the CNRP‟s campaign slogan, the open corruption
investigation against Mr. Sokha related to his alleged affair with
a hairdresser, and the insurrection charges against other party
officials over a 2014 clash at Phnom Penh‟s Freedom Park.
The government can push ahead with any of them whenever it
wants, and use its new powers under the amended party law to
suspend the party. With the CPP increasingly willing to suffer
the West‟s rebuke thanks to China‟s growing financial largesse,
it‟s not unthinkable.
In the end, Ms. Sochua said, no amount of self-censorship can
save the CNRP from a government with the power to bend the
law to its will, and it was pointless to try too hard.
“They can interpret any way. If they don‟t find anything today,
they can find something tomorrow,” she said. “We will do
whatever is in the interest of the nation, of the people.”
peter@cambodiadaily.com

Interior Minister Sar Kheng speaks at the ground-breaking ceremony of National Road 51 yesterday in Phnom Penh. Photo
supplied

Kheng queries Sokha’s validity

Wed, 15 March 2017
Phnom Penh Post

Meas Sokchea and Ananth Baliga

Interior Minister Sar Kheng yesterday, after becoming the latest ruling
party official to weigh in on the CNRP‟s embattled campaign slogan,
went on to question the validity of the recent extraordinary congress
that elevated Kem Sokha to party president.
At the inauguration of a new road in Kampong Speu, Kheng said he
was unsure of the legality of the March 2 Cambodia National Rescue
Party congress that moved Sokha to president and selected three new
vice presidents – Pol Ham, Mu Sochua and Eng Chhay Eang.
The extraordinary congress was necessitated by the surprise
resignation of former CNRP president Sam Rainsy in early February,
ahead of ruling party amendments made to the Law on Political
Parties to facilitate dissolution of parties whose leaders hold criminal
convictions.
Under the revamped law, a president departing under the cloud of a
criminal record must be replaced within a 90-day window.
But Kheng, referring to what appeared to be an outdated version of
CNRP bylaws, said the ministry would check if the congress was
valid, as the party‟s statutes stipulated that a new president could be
selected only 18 months after the presidency was vacated.
“Their congress was held after about two months. This duration is not
over 18 months, so why did they select the president?” he asked.
“In this case they did not respect the statute. If so, it is difficult to
recognise the CNRP.”
Article 47 of an earlier version of the CNRP‟s bylaws demands an 18-
month window between the resignation of a party president and the
selection of a new one, allowing only for the assumption of an “acting
president” title by the deputy during the interim. However, the CNRP
amended this article at the same March 2 congress to state that the
senior-most deputy president can become president immediately in
case of a vacancy.
The current deputy presidents are ranked in order of age – Ham, then
Sochua, then Chhay Eang.
Chhay Eang yesterday defended the party‟s decision to hold the
extraordinary congress, saying there were no restrictions on such a
meeting, which was necessary given the political situation. “If there
were no amendments to the Law on Political Parties, then it would not
have been necessary to hold an extraordinary congress.”
He again reaffirmed that amendments to the party bylaws, which he
said had been submitted to the Interior Ministry, allowed the deputy
president to take over as president with-out the previously called-for
18-month waiting period.
However, Kheng yesterday said the ministry would examine the
bylaws submitted by the CNRP, then send a response in writing to the
party. Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak could not be reached to
confirm if the bylaws had been received.
Sam Kuntheamy, head of election monitor Nicfec, said political
parties were required to submit any amendments to their bylaws for
approval by the Interior Ministry, but that the ministry should just
approve them as a matter of course in this case.
If the bylaws were rejected, he argued, it would create a situation
where the CNRP would suddenly not be recognised despite already
being registered with the National Election Committee for the
upcoming ballot.
“I think the Ministry of Interior should acknowledge the political
situation. They can accept or reject the amendments, but if they don‟t
[accept them], the CNRP cannot [take part in] the elections,” he said.
Kheng yesterday also waded into the controversy surrounding the
CNRP‟s new slogan. The seemingly innocuous call to “replace
commune chiefs who serve the party with commune chiefs who serve
the people” was decried as incitement by Hun Sen during a March 8
speech, which was followed by a CPP statement threatening legal
action if it weren‟t changed.
In the intervening week, about 200 CPP commune chiefs have
condemned the slogan in what the ruling party has claimed is a
grassroots show of force, though the letters of protest being
circulated are strikingly similar.
Kheng yesterday suggested the CNRP use words that wouldn‟t divide
“Khmers and Khmers”, adding that the ministry was still considering
whether it should take legal action against the party.
The CNRP‟s Chhay Eang yesterday questioned politicians‟ fixation on
the slogan, saying if the message were untrue, it would simply fizzle
out.
“If it does not reflect the truth in society, it will disappear by itself,”
Chhay Eang said.

King Away; Senate President to Sign Party

Law
BY VAN ROEUN AND BEN SOKHEAN

CAMBODIA DAILY

MARCH 6, 2017

អានជាភាសាខ្ំែរ(ខាងក្រោម)
With King Norodom Sihamoni out of the country, Senate
President and CPP stalwart Say Chhum is set to sign off on
controversial new changes to the Law on Political Parties, the
last step in what some are calling the final, fatal blow to
Cambodia‟s democracy.
The Constitutional Council, a body stacked with CPP loyalists,
ruled on Friday that amendments giving the CPP-controlled
government and the courts broad new powers to suspend and
dissolve political parties complied with the highest law of the
land.
Prime Minister Hun Sen greets King Norodom Sihamoni as the king prepares for a
weekslong trip to China for a medical checkup, in a photograph posted to the prime
minister’s Facebook page last week.
“The Constitutional Council decides that the Law on Political
Parties adopted by the National Assembly and the Senate is
pronounced constitutional,” the council said in a brief
statement.
The amendments would normally head to King Norodom
Sihamoni for his signature before taking effect. But the king left
for China on Friday for a weekslong medical checkup, and those
duties will fall to the Senate president, Mr. Chhum.
“Samdech Say Chhum will sign it as acting head of state,” said
Mam Bun Neang, the Senate spokesman. “It could be on Monday
or the end of the week. It‟s a Royal Palace affair.”
Mr. Bun Neang said he did not know why the signing could not
wait for the king‟s return.
Oum Daravuth, an adviser to the royal family, could not be
reached for comment.
King Sihamoni‟s late father, Norodom Sihanouk, would as
monarch occasionally leave the country specifically to avoid
endorsing legislation with which he did not agree. Though he
could not block the legislation, he could make his political views
known by choosing not to be available to sign it into law.
Since taking the throne in 2004, his son has shown none of his
father‟s penchant for politics and has gone along with every
official act the CPP has asked of him.
Prince Sisowath Thomico, a member of the opposition CNRP‟s
steering committee, said he did not believe that this time was any
different. He said the king made about two trips a year to China
for medical checkups and that the timing of this one was just a
coincidence.
Cham Bunthet, a political analyst and adviser to the Grassroots
Democracy Party, said there was no way to know for sure.
Though the king has effectively served the CPP by signing off on
past legislation that strengthened the ruling party‟s hand, Mr.
Bunthet said, he may have wanted to avoid tainting his own
hands with these amendments.
“I think it could be the case,” he said. “It would be good for him
to just go away and avoid any political involvement.”
Once the amendments take effect, the Interior Ministry will have
the power to indefinitely suspend political parties for any legal
infraction, even if attributed to a single party leader. The
Supreme Court will have the power to dissolve a party for a short
but vaguely worded list of offenses left open to its interpretation.
Though the CPP has since denied it, Prime Minister Hun Sen,
while proposing the changes last month, said they were targeted
specifically at the CNRP, which nearly won national elections
four years ago and poses as the CPP‟s only viable challenger next
year.
In protest, the opposition boycotted votes on the amendments in
the National Assembly and Senate last month. The CPP, with a
majority of seats in both chambers, was able to push them
through regardless.
Some jailed lawmakers in the CNRP—as well as those from the
legacy Sam Rainsy Party—have resigned to pre-empt possible
issues with the new law. SRP Senator Thak Lany, who fled
overseas to escape a defamation conviction, also resigned from
the party‟s permanent and steering committees last month,
according to a letter signed by Ms. Lany that was posted online
over the weekend.
Late last month, a dozen local NGOs issued a joint statement
arguing that the changes were unconstitutional because they
gave the Interior Ministry and Supreme Court—both widely
perceived to be instruments of the CPP—the power to rob voters
of the representatives for whom they cast ballots. The U.S.
advocacy group Human Rights Watch called the amendments the
“final blow” to the foundations of Cambodia‟s fledgling
democracy.
The CPP says the government needs the new powers to maintain
national unity.
រប្ធានររឹទ្ធសភានឹងចុុះហត្ថក្េខាក្េើវិក្សា្កមែថ្ែី
ំណៈររុះមហាកសរត្យាងក្ៅក្រៅរប្ក្ទ្ស
ដោយ វណ្ណ ដ ើន និង បែន សុខហ៊ាន

ថ្ងៃ ច័នទ ទី 6 បខមីនា ឆ្នាំ2017

ដោយរពះមហាក្សររ នដោរម
ថ សីហមុនីយាងដៅដរៅរបដេស ដោក្ សាយ

ឈុ ុំ របធានរពឹេស
ន ភា និងជាមន្តនី ដសា
ថ ម ះស័រម រនឹងរណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជាជាយ
ព ូរ

មក្ដហើយដរោងចុះហរដទ លខាដលើវដសាធនក្ម
ិ ចម ាប់ដ៏ចរមូងចរាសសីព
ថ ី រណ

បក្សនដយាបាយ

ុំ
ជាចណា រ់ការចុងដរកាយក្ុ ងអ
ប ដដលមជឈោ
ីវ ុំ ួ នចារ់េុក្ថា
ឌ នមួយចន

ជាការវាយរបហារចុងដរកាយដ៏ធន
ង ់ធរង ចដុំ ះលេិរបជាធ
ន បដរយយដៅក្ម
ិ ុ ជា។
ព

រក្ុមរបក្ាធម
ឹ នម ុ ញ្ដដ ដលជាសាទប័នានេនា
ុំ ក្់េន
ុំ ងជាមួយមន្តនី ដដលដសា
ថ ម ះស័រម រ

នឹងរណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជាបានសដរមចកាលព
ព ី ថ្ងស
ង ុ រក្ថា

វដសាធនក្ម
ិ ថ ់ អណា
ដម ដលផល ុំ ចដ៏េូលេ
ុំ ូោយងដ
ីម ល់រោឌភបាលដ
ិ ក្ ុំ
ឹ នាដោយរ

ណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជា
ព និងរុោការដៅក្ុ ងការផ្អ
ប ា ក្សក្មភា
ម ព

ឬរាលយរណបក្សនដយាបាយដចាលដនាះ

ថ មចាប់ក្ព
អនុវរតា ុំ ូ លរបស់របដេសក្មុ ជា។
ព
ព្រះមហក្សព្រ នដោរត ម សីហមុនី និងសដមត ចបម៉ នដោរត ម មុនីនាង
ដ ើងយនត ដហះយាងដៅរិនិរយព្រះោជសុខភារដៅក្នុងព្ែដទសចិន កាលរីថ្ងៃសុព្ក្។

រក្ុមរបឹក្ាធមន
ម ុ ញ្បា
ដ នដលើក្ដឡើងដៅក្ុ ងដសចក្
ប ីសដរមចរបស
ថ ់ខ្ួ នថា
ល

“រក្ុមរបឹក្ាធមន
ម ុ ញ្ស
ដ ដរមចថា

ចាប់សីព
ថ ី រណបក្សនដយាបាយដដលដបាះដនបរអនុម័រដោយរដស
ឌ ភានិងរពឹេ ន

សភាររូវរបកាសរសបតាមរដធ
ឌ មន
ម ុ ញ្”។
ដ
វដសាធនក្ម
ិ ម ររូវោក្់ថាវយរពះមហាក្សររ នដោរម
ដម នះជាធមតា ថ សីហមុនី

ឡាយរពះហសដថ លខាមុនដពលចូលជាធរាន។ បុ ៉ដនថ

រពះមហាក្សររបានយាងដៅរបដេសចិនកាលពីថ្ងស
ង ុ រក្

ដដម
ើ ផព
ី ិ និរយរពះោជសុខ្ភាពក្ុ ងរយៈដពលជាដរច
ប ថ ហ៍
នសបា
ើ
ុំ
ដហើយរួនាេីទងដនាះររូ វធាលក្់ដៅដលើបនុ ក្របស
ធ ់ដោក្សាយ ឈុ ុំ របធានរពឹេ ន

សភា។

ដោក្ ម៉ម បុ ន
៊ នាង អក្
ប នា ុំ ន ភាបានានរបសាសន៍ថា“សដមច
ក្យរពឹេស ថ សាយ

ឈុ ុំ នឹងចុះហរដទ លខាក្ុ ងនាមជារបម

ប ុ ខ្រដស
ឌ ីេ
ថ ”។ដោក្បានានរបសាសន
ី ៍បនថ

ថា

ង ័នដធ ៅរហូរដល់ចុងអាេិរយហឹ ង។វារ

“វាអាចពីថ្ងច ប ជាក្
ឺ ច ច ររបស់រពះបរមោជវា ុំ
ិ កា

ង”។

ដោក្ ម៉ម បុ ៊ននាង បានដលើក្ដឡើងដេៀរថា ដោក្មិនដឹងដឡើយថា ដរើដហរុអីវ

បានជាការចុះហរដទ លខាមិនអាចរង់ចាដល
ុំ ់ ដពលរពះមហាក្សររយាងររឡប់មក្

វញ។
ិ

ដោក្ អុ ៊ុំ៊ តាោវុធ េីរបក្ារពះមហាក្សររ

ឹ

មនអាចទក្
ិ ់េងសុកា
ុំ រដធអតា
ើវ ទ ធបាយបានដេ។
ិ

រពះបតាដដលយាងច
ិ ូ លេិវងរ
គ ដៅដហើយ

របស់រពះមហាក្សររ នដោរម
ថ សីហមុនី ររពះបរមររនដកាដ
ឺ ិ នដោរម
ថ សីហនុ

ធាលប់ជារពះមហាក្សររដដលយាងដចញពីរបដេសមង
ថ ាាលជាពិដសសដដើមផដរច
ី
ពីការឡាយរពះហសដថ លខាដលើចាប់ដដលរពះអងម
គ នឯក្ភាព។ដទះប
ិ ជារពះអ
ី

ងម ុំ
គ ិនអាចោោងចាប់ដដលរពះអងម
គ ិនឯក្ភាពក្៏ដោយ

ក្៏រពះអងបា
គ នសដុំ ដងឲ្យសាធារណជនដឹងអព
ុំ ី េសសនៈនដយាបាយរបស់រពះអងគ

តាមរយៈការសដរមចមនរង់ដៅក្ងរបដេសដដម
ើ ផឡាយរពះហសដថ លខាឲ្យចូល
ិ ុប ី
ជាធរានដដរ។
ចាប់តាងព
ុំ ី ដឡើងររងោជសមផរដៅក្
ិថ ុ ងន
ប ុំ
ប ២០០៤មក្បុរតារបស់រពះអងគ
រេង់មនដដលបង្ហ
ិ ា ញឲ្យដ ើញពីការចូលចរ
ិ ដថ ផក្
ប នដយាបាយដូចបតារបស
ិ ់រពះ

អងដគ នាះដឡើយ

ដហើយរពះអងដគ រងដរដធើតាមោល
វ ់ ការដសើជាផ
ប ូ វការព
ល ី រណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជា។
ព

គ ច ស់សុីសុវរិទ
រពះអងា

ធមដកាសាជ
ិម ក្
ិ រណៈក្ាមធការអច
ិ ថ្ន្តន
ិ យថ ៍ របស់រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារបានដល
ិ ើ

ក្ដឡើងថា រពះអងដគ ជឿថា ដលើក្ហឹ ងម

ប នខ្
ិ ុសអព
ី ី សពវមួយដងដេ។

រពះអងា
គ នបនូ លថា
ធ

រពះមហាក្សររយាងដៅរបដេសចន២ដងក្
ិ ុ ងម ុំ ើមផព
ប ួ យនបដដ ី ិ និរយរពះោជសុខ្ភា
ព ដហើយថា ដពលដវោ

គ ៉ ងដៅដលើក្ដនះវាររោន
ដដលរពះអងយា ឺ ់ជាដរឿងោប់ជួនបុ ដ៉ ណាតះ។

ដោក្ ន ុំ បុ ៊នដងរ អក្

ប វភារ
ិ នដយាបាយនិងជាេីរបឹក្ារណបក្សរបជាធិបដរ

យយមូលោឌនបានដលើក្ដឡើងថា

ោមនផូ វដឹ ចាស់ដនាះដេ។ ដទះបជារពះមហាក្សររធា

ល ង ី ល ប់ដធតាមស
ើវ ដុំ ណើរបស់រ

ណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជាតាមរយៈការឡាយរពះហស
ព ដថ លខាដលើចាប់មុនៗដដម
ើ ផី

ពរងឹងឥេិពលរបស
ន ់រណបក្សកាន់អណា
ុំ ចក្៏ដោយដររពះអងរគ បដហលជាមនច
ិ

ង់ ក្់ពន
័ ន
ន ឹ ងវដសាធនក្ម
ិ ទ ុំ
ម ងដនាះដឡើយ។

ដោក្បានានរបសាសន៍ថា “ខ្ុ រ
ុំញ រថា
ិ វារបដហលជាដោយសារដរឿងហឹ ង
ប ”។

ដោក្បានបដនម ា រាប់រពះអងដគ ដលយាងដៅដរៅរបដេសដដើ

ទ ថា “វាជាដរឿងលស

មផក្ ុំ យានជាប់
ី ុ ឲ្ ក្់ពន
័ ន
ន ឹ ងដរឿងនដយាបាយណាមួយដនាះ”។
ដពលវដសាធនក្ម
ិ ដម នះចូលជាធរានរក្សួងមហាថ្ផន
ធ ឹ ងានសិេិអ ុំ
ន ណា ចដៅក្ុ ប

ម ពរបស់រណបក្សនដយាបាយ
ងការផ្អាក្សក្មភា

ដបើសិនជាានការរបរពឹរប
ថ េដលើសណាម
ម ួ យដោយថាបក្់ដឹក្នាដរា
ុំ ប ក្់ររ់របស់

រណបក្សដនាះ។

ុំ ូ លនឹងានសិេិអ
រុោការក្ព ុំ
ន ណា ចក្ុ ងការរា
ប ល យរណបក្សនដយាបាយណាមួ

យទក្់េិនការរបរពឹរប
ថ េដលើសដដលម
ម នានដចងចាស
ិ ់ោស់។

ដទះបជារណបក្សរបជាជនក្ម
ី ុ ជាបានបដ
ព ដិ សធចាប់តាងព
ុំ ី ដពលដនាះថាមនដ
ិ ូ

ដចាបះក្៏ដោយ ដរដោក្នាយក្រដម
ឌ ន្តនី ថ ហ៊ុនដសនបានដលើក្ដឡើង

ដពលដសើស ុំ យានការដធវើវ ដសាធនក្ម

ប ុ ឲ្ ិ ដម នះកាលពីដខ្មុនថា

វាានដោលដៅជាពិដសសដលើរណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារដដលដស
ិ ើរដរឈ
ធ ះប ការ

ដបាះដនបរជារកាលព
ិ ុំ ុ ន
ី ៤នបម

និងជារូរបដជងដរមួយររ់សរាប់រណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជាក្
ព ុ ងន
ប ុំ
ប ២០១៨។

ុំ ស់ រណបក្សរបនងបានដធ
ជាការរវា៉ជទ ុំ ើពហ
វ ិ ការការដបាះដនបរសីព
ថ ី ការដធើវវ ិ

ដសាធនក្មដម នះដៅសភា

និងរពឹេស
ន ភាកាលពីដខ្មុន។រណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជាដដលានអាសនៈភារ
ព

ដរចនទ
ើ ុំ
ងដៅក្ុ ងសភា
ប

ន ភាដនាះអាចអនុម័រចាប់វដសាធនក្ម
និងរពឹេស ិ ដម នះបានមនថាានការដធ
ិ ពហ
ើវ ិ

ការយា៉ងណាដនាះដឡើយ។
 ុំ
រណា ថ ប់ពននា
ងោន្តសជា ុំ ួ នមក្ពីរណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារិ
ន ោរមួយចន

ុំ
រពមទងមន្តនី ដដលមក្ព
ថ ី រណបក្ស សម រងសុ ី បានោដលងពីរដុំ ណងដដើមផបង្ហ
ី ារ

ា ណាមួយដោយសារចាប់ងីដម នះ។ដោក្រសី ថាក្់ ឡានី

ខាលចដរក្ងដក្ើរានបញ្ហ

សាជក្
ិ រពឹេស
ន ភាមក្ពីរណបក្ស សម រងសុ ី

ដដលដភៀសខ្ួ នដៅដរៅរបដេសដដ
ល ម
ើ ផដរចព
ី ី ការការ់ឲ្យជាប់ដទសពីបេបរហារ
ិ
ិ៍ថ
ដក្រដនាះ ក្៏បានោដលងពីរណៈក្ាមធការអច
ិ ថ្ន្តន
ិ យថ ៍ របស់រណបក្សដោក្រសី

ដដរ កាលពី ដខ្មុន

ដនះដបដយាងតាមល
ើ ិខ្ិរមួយចាប់ចុះហរដទ លខាដោយដោក្រសី

ដដលររូវបានបដង្ហាះដៅដលើអុុ ឺ ិ រកាលពីចុងសបាថហ៍។
ី នធណ

កាលពីចុងដខ្មុន

អងកា
គ រមនដមនរោ
ិ ឌ ភបាលក្
ិ ុ ងរស
ប ុ ក្ជាង១០បានដចញដសចក្ដង ល ការណ៍រួមមួ
ីថ ង
ុំ ស់ថា វដសាធនក្ម
យដោយជទ ិ ដម នះផុ យន
ធ ឹ ងរដធ
ឌ មន
ម ុ ញ្ដ

ដរ ថ ់ សិេិអ
ះវាផល ុំ
ន ណា ចដល់រក្សួងមហាថ្ផធ

ុំ ូ លដដលមជឈោឌនេូដៅដឹងថា
និងរុោការក្ព

ជាឧបក្រណ៍របស់រណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជា
ព

ក្ុ ងការឆក្
ប ់យក្អក្ ុំ
ប ដបាះដនបរពីរណា ងដដលពួក្ោរ់ដបាះដនបរឲ្យ។

អងកា ុំ លស
គ រឃ្លដម ើ ិេិមន
ន ុ សស (Human Rights Watch)

គ ររសូ ៊មរានម
ដដលជាអងកា ិ ូ លោឌនដៅអាដមរក្បានចារ
ិ ់េុក្វដសាធនក្ម
ិ ដម នះ

ថាជា “ការវាយរបហារចុងដរកាយ”

ចដុំ ះមូលោឌនថ្នលេិរបជាធ
ន បដរយយដ
ិ ៏ដក្ង
ម ខ្ីដៅក្ម
ច ុ ជា។
ព
រណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជាបានដល
ព ើក្ដឡើងថារោឌភបាលររូ
ិ វការសិេិអ ុំ
ន ណា ចងីម

ុំ
ដនះជាចាបាច់ដដើមផរក្ាឯក្ភាពជារ
ី ិ៕ស៊ុយឈាង (រាយការណ៍បន្ថែ មដោយ
Z s o mb o r P e t e r )

Sokha Sets Course for CNRP Ahead of Polls

BY BEN SOKHEAN

MARCH 3, 2017

CAMBODIA DAILY

អានជាភាសាខ្ំែរ(ខាងក្រោម)
Opposition leader Kem Sokha, speaking after officially becoming
the CNRP‟s president at a party congress in Phnom Penh on
Thursday, laid out a five-point strategy as campaigning ramps up
ahead of commune elections set to take place in June.
After being approved, along with three new vice presidents, by
hundreds of party officials from across the country in a
theatrical vote—deemed unanimous despite some in the crowd
failing to raise their hands when prompted—Mr. Sokha laid out
his vision for success at the local polls.
The opposition CNRP’s new leadership stands before a party congress in Phnom Penh
on Thursday. From left: Kem Sokha, Pol Ham, Mu Sochua and Eng Chhay Eang. (Emil
Kastrup/The Cambodia Daily)
“We know very well that the road to victory and nonviolent
change that lies ahead of us will be filled with obstacles,” Mr.
Sokha told a raucous audience at the party‟s headquarters.
“From now on, the CNRP will always look and step forward.
Regardless of the big storms ahead of us, the CNRP will not turn
around. We will not hesitate or shift from our party principles.”
The ruling party has said in the past week that the word “change”
is itself a threat to national stability, with Prime Minister Hun
Sen warning that a vote for change could plunge Cambodia back
into civil war, while Defense Minister Tea Banh said the word
should be prevented along with other perceived symbols of
revolution.
Unlike his predecessor Sam Rainsy, who resigned last month,
Mr. Sokha has studiously steered clear of direct attacks on the
ruling party, but removing Mr. Hun Sen and his officials from
power—starting with commune chiefs—was very much at the
center of his speech on Thursday.
“Change commune chiefs who serve the party and replace them
with commune chiefs who serve the people” would be the
overarching theme of the party‟s commune election
campaigning, he said.
Mr. Sokha instructed officials to focus on five pledges,
threatening to punish any CNRP commune chief who did not
follow through on them. He said the party would allow people to
create communities to manage their own forests or agricultural
land, have commune leaders meet with local residents before
making any major decisions, provide public services without
taking any bribes, and ensure security by combating drugs and
violence.
The fifth promise was to drastically boost commune-level
funding if the party wins next year‟s national election, setting
aside about a fifth of the national budget in order to give
$500,000 to each of the country‟s 1,633 communes. That would
cost more than $816 million, which is equal to about 16 percent
of this year‟s total budget of $5 billion.
Members of CNRP raise their hand to elect new leadership at CNRP headquarter in
Phnom Penh on Thursday. (Emil Kastrup/The Cambodia Daily)
Commune budget allocation currently ranges from $10,000 to
$20,000 depending on the size of a commune—an official from
one commune interviewed last year said its budget had been cut
from $17,500 in 2013 to about $13,000 in 2015. Though the
government has long pledged to undertake reforms to
decentralize power, little progress has been made.
The situation was explored in a research paper released last year
by Netra Eng, head of the government unit at the Cambodia De-
velopment Resource Institute, and Sophal Ear, an associate
professor of diplomacy and world affairs at Occidental College in
Los Angeles.
“The CPP wants to improve service delivery and we‟ve seen
selective efforts in that direction after the 2013 election, i.e. the
education sector reform,” Ms. Eng wrote in an email
summarizing their findings.
“But remember that to seriously improve services, the CPP needs
to give sufficient power over decisions and resources to local
institutions, all of which would in practice require shifting
power away from central level to local level, and control away
from party network to state institutions.”
CPP spokesman Sok Eysan said he was not concerned with
whatever strategy the CNRP rolled out for the elections, as the
ruling party had a better one.
“It‟s nothing surprising for us. We are not scared or worried
about it,” he said. “The CPP already has many political programs
that the congress has approved.”
He said the new leadership of the opposition—with Pol Ham, Mu
Sochua and Eng Chhay Eang named vice presidents, a change
from Mr. Sokha being the sole deputy under Mr. Rainsy—also
made no difference.
“They are the same people, nothing new,” he said of the three
deputies, who have long been prominent figures in the
opposition. “It‟s like the dishes in the basket. It only changes
from bowls to plates.”
Cham Bunthet, a political analyst and policy adviser to the
Grassroots Democracy Party, noted that despite peddling
democratic change, the CNRP‟s process for selecting its new
leadership was far from inclusive.
“It‟s already decided and the people just come and clap their
hands,” he said of Thursday‟s vote, which approved a leadership
slate and structure drafted by two dozen senior officials on the
party‟s permanent committee.
“That‟s the nature of politics in this country.”
Ms. Sochua, who is also the head of public affairs for the CNRP,
defended the process.
“We are doing it according to the bylaws of the party,” she said,
adding that she did not see any way to make the decision-making
process more democratic. “This is representative of all of the
provinces.”

ក្ោក កឹម សុខា កំណត្់មាគ៌ា សរមាប្់គណប្កស

សក្គ្រ ុះជាត្ិក្រោមោរដឹកនាំរប្ស់ក្ោក
ដោយ បែន សុខហ៊ាន

ថ្ងៃ សុព្ក្ ទី 3 បខមីនា ឆ្នាំ2017

បនាធប់ពីកាលយជារបធានរណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារជាផ
ិ ូ វការក្
ល ុ ងអង
ប សគ ាជបក្សដៅ

ោជធានីភដបុំ ពញ កាលពីមសលម
ិ ិញ ដោក្ ក្ឹម សុខា

បានពនយល់លមិរអ
ា ពុំ ី យុេសា
ន ន្តស៥ ុំ ុ ចដដលររូវោក្់បញ្ូ ច លក្ុ ងយ
ថ ចណ ប ុ េនា
ន ការ

ដឃ្សនារក្សដុំ ឡងដនបរសរាប់ការដបាះដនបរ ុ -ុំ

សង្ហារ់ដដលនឹងរបរពឹរដថ ៅដៅដខ្មង
ិ ុ នាខាងមុខ្។

បនាធប់ពីររូវបានមន្តនី បក្សោប
ថ ់រយនាក្់ដដលមក្ពីេូទងរបដេសអន
ុំ ុ ម័ររួមជាមួ

យអនុរបធានបរី ូបដៅក្ុ ងការដបាះដន

ប ប រមួយដដលដរចារ់េុក្ថាមូលមរោ
ិ ប ជាឯ

ក្ចន
ឆ ធ ងដីវ បអ
ើ ក្
ប ខ្ះ
ល មនបានដល
ិ ើក្ថ្ដដៅដពលដសើស ុំ យដលើក្ថ្ដក្ីថ ដោក្ក្ម
ប ុ ឲ្ ឹ សុខា

បានពនយល់លមរអ
ិា ុំ ី េសសនវស
ព ិ ័យរបស់ដោក្សរាប់េេួលបានភាពដជារជ័

យដៅក្ុ ងការដបាះដន
ប បរ ុ -ុំ សង្ហារ់។
ថ្ននក្់ដឹក្នាាំងមីគណ្ែក្សព្ែឆ្ាំងឈ មុនកា ដ ះដឆ្នរអនុម័រដព្ជើសដ ើសថ្ននក្់ដក្
ឹ នាាំងមី ែស់គណ្
ែក្សសដគ្រះជារិដៅទីស្ននក្់កា ក្ណ្ត ត ល ែស់គណ្ែក្សដនះដៅោជធានីភ្នាំដរញ
កាលរីមសិលមិញ ។ (រីដវេ ងដៅស្នត)ាំ ដោក្ ក្ឹម សុខា ដោក្ ែ៉ុល ហាំម ដោក្ព្សី មឿ
សុខហឿ និងដោក្ដអង ថ្វ អ៊ាង។ ូែងរៈ E m i l K a s t r u p / C a mb o d i a
Da i l y

ដោក្ ក្ឹម សុខា

ល ដៅកាន់រក្ុមអក្
បានដងង ប ចូលរួមដៅេីសាបក្់ការរណបក្សថា“ដយងដ
ើ ឹងចាស់

ដហើយថា ផូ វដៅរក្ជ
ល ័យជមះ
ប និងការផ្អលស់បូ រដោយអហ
ថ ិ ងាខាងមុខ្

នឹងដ រដពញដៅដោយឧបសរជា
គ ដរចនដេៀរក្
ើ ៏ដោយ។ ចាប់ពីថ្ងដង នះរដៅ
រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារន
ិ ឹ ងសមង ុំ នដៅមុខ្ជានិចច មនថាពយ
ឹល ដហើយដបាះជហា ិ ុះ
ដពោារសាហាវយា៉ងណា ក្៏រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារិនឹងមិនបក្ដរកាយោងយ

ុំ ររបស់ខ្នដឡ
ឬង្ហក្ដរដោលជហ ើយ”។
ួល

រណបក្សកាន់អណា
ុំ ថ ហ៍ក្នង
ចបានដលើក្ដឡើងក្ុ ងសបា
ប ល ដៅថា ក្យថា “ផ្អលស់បូ ថ

រ” រជាការរ
ឺ ោុំ មក្ដុំ ហងដល់សិរភាពជារ
ទ ិ

ឌ ន្តនី ថ ហ៊ុន ដសន រពានថា

ដោយដោក្នាយក្រដម

ការដបាះដនបរដដម ី ល ស់បូ រអាចន

ើ ផការផ្អ ថ ឹ ងទញរបដេសក្មុ ជា
ព

ឲ្យធាលក្់ចូលក្ុ ងសន្តង្ហ
ប ិ ខ្ណៈដោក្ ដេៀ បាញ់ រដម
គ មសុីវល ឌ ន្តនី រក្ស
ថ ួង

ការ រជារដង
ិ ងល ថា ក្យដនះរួរដរេប់សាារ់ រួមជាមួយនិមរ
ិ រថ ូបដផសងដេៀរដដល

អាចចារ់េុក្បានថាជាសញ្ហដថ្នបដិវរន
ថ ៍។

ខ្ុសពីដោក្ សម រងសុ ី ដដលបានោដលង

ពីរដុំ ណងកាលពីដខ្មុន ដោក្ ក្ឹម សុខា បានដចៀសវាងមិនវាយរបហារដៅដលើ

រណបក្សកាន់អណា
ុំ ុំ ដឡើយ។ បុ ៉ដនថ ការដក្ដោក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន និងម
ចដោយចៗ

ន្តនី របស
ថ ់ដោក្ដចញពីអណា
ុំ ចដដលចាប់ដផម
ើថ ពីដម ុ -ុំ ដៅសង្ហារ់ដឡើងដៅ

រជារបធានបេស
ឺ ុំ ន់ថ្នសុនរធ ក្ថារបស់ដោក្កាលពីមសលម
ខា ិ ញ។
ិ

ដោក្បានានរបសាសន៍ថា “ដូរដម ុំ ដរមបក្ស

ុប ើ ោក្់ដម ុំ ដរមោន្តស
ុប ើ ”ថ

រជារបធានបេដដលររូ
ឺ វោក្់បញ្ូ ច លដៅក្ុ ងយ
ប ុ េនា
ន ការដឃ្សនាដបាះដនបរ ុ -ុំ

សង្ហារ់របស់បក្ស។
 ុំ
ដោក្បានដណនាមន្តនី ឲ្យដផ្អ
ថ ុំ ុ ច
ថ រដលើការសនោ៥ចណ

ុំ មោក្់េណឍក្មដម ម
ដោយរោ ុ -ុំ

ដៅសង្ហារ់រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារិរូបណាដដលមិនដធើតាមការសនោ។
វ

ដោក្ដលើក្ដឡើងថា

រណបក្សរបស់ដោក្ក្៏អនុញ្ហដរឲ្យរបជាពលរដប ា សហរមន៍ដដម
ឌ ដងើរ ើ ផររប
ី ់ររ

ងដថ្ី រព និងដក្ ម ធ ល់ខ្ួ នរបស

ី សិក្មផ្អ ល ់ពួក្ោរ់ឲ្យថាបក្់ដក្
ឹ នា ុំ ុ -ុំ

សង្ហារ់ចុះជួបរបជាពលរដម
ឌ ូ លោឌន

មុនដពលដធដសចក្
ើវ សដរមចស
ីថ ុំ ន់ណាមួយ
ខា

ថ ់ ដសវាសាធារណៈដោយមនេេ
ផល ិ ួលការសូក្បា៉ន់

និងធានាសនិ ស ុំ
ថ ុ ខ្តាមរយៈការរបនងដររឿងដញៀន និងអដុំ ពើហិងា។

ការសនោេី៥រររូ
ឺ វបដងើន ប ក្់
ា ងវកាថា
ិ ុ -ុំ

សង្ហារ់ឲ្យបានដរចន របស
ើ ិនដបរណបក្សរបស
ើ ់

ដោក្េេួលជ័យជមះ
ប ដៅក្ុ ងការដបាះដន
ប ុំ ណា
ប រដរជើសតាងរ ុំ ងោន្តសន ុំ
ថ ប ២០១៨

ដោយថ្លេុក្ងវកាជារ
ិ ិជិរ២០ភាររយសរាប់ ុ -ុំ

សង្ហារ់ទង១.៦៣៣ដៅេ
ុំ ុំ
ូទងរបដេសដោយ ុ -ុំ

សង្ហារ់នីមួយៗេេួលបានក្នះ
ល ោនដុោលរ។

ុំ
ដនាះនឹងររូវចណា យអស់ជាង៨១៦ោនដុោលរដដលដសើរបាណ១៦ភាររយ
ម

ថ្នងវកាសរ
ិ ុំ
ុប៥.០០០ោនដុោលរដៅនបដនះ។
បចុ បផន
ច កា
ប រដបងដចក្ងវកា
ិ ុ -ុំ

សង្ហារ់សិរដៅចដនា
ទ ល ះ១មុឺនដុោលរដៅ២មឺុុនដុោលរអារស័យដលើេហ
ុំ ុំ ុ -ុំ

សង្ហារ់នីមួយៗ។ មន្តនី ថ ុ -ុំ

សង្ហារ់មួយរូបដដលររូវបានសាាសន៍កាលពីនបម
ុំ ុ នដលើក្ដឡើងថា ងវកា
ិ ុ -ុំ

សង្ហារ់ររូវបានការ់បនយ
ទ ពី១៧.៥០០ដុោលរក្ុ ងន
ប ុំ
ប ២០១៣មក្ដៅរបដហល១

៣.០០០ដុោលរក្ុ ងន
ប ុំ
ប ២០១៥។ ដទះបជារោ
ី ឌ ភបាលសនោយ
ិ ូ រមក្ដហើយថានឹង

ើវ ដុំ ណេរមង់ដដម
ដធក្ ើ ផដធ
ី វើវ មជឈការអ
ិ ុំ
ណា ីថ ៏ានការវវឌ្ណរ
ចក្ក្ ិ ចរ
ិ ួ ចណាស់។

ទិដឋភារថ្នកា ដលើក្ថ្ដដ ះដឆ្នរអនុម័រដព្ជើសដ ើសថ្ននក្់ដឹក្នាាំងមី ែស់គណ្ែក្សសដគ្រះជារិ

ដៅទីស្ននក្់កា ក្ណ្ត
ត ល ែស់គណ្ែក្សដនះដៅោជធានីភ្នាំដរញ កាលរីមសិលមិញ។
ូែងរៈ E m i l K a s t r u p / C a m b o d i a D a i l y

សាទនភាពដនះររូវបានដលើក្យក្ដៅពិភាក្ាក្ុ ងឯក្សាររសាវរជាវម
ប ួ យបដញ្ចញ

ុំ ុ នដោយដោក្រសី ដអង
កាលពីនបម

ដនរតា របធានរសាវរជាវដផក្
ប អភបាលក្
ិ ច
ិ ថ្ច នវេោសា
ិ ទ នបណុ ថ ះបណា
ថ ល

និងរសាវរជាវដដម
ើ ផអភ
ី វឌ្ណន
ិ ៍ក្មុ ជា
ព

ដៅការ់ CDRI និងដោក្អា៊ សុផល សាន្តសចា

ថ រយរងដផក្
ប ការេូរ និងក្ច
ិ កា
ច រពិភ

ពដោក្ដៅមហាវេោល
ិ ័ យOccidental College ក្ុ ងរដ
ប ឡឌ ូ សដអនដជើដឡស។

ដោក្រសី ដអង ដនរតា

បានដលើក្ដឡើងតាមរយៈសារដអឡិចររូនិក្ដដលសដងប
េ លេផ
ន លថ្នការរក្ដ ើញ

របស់ពួក្ដរថា “រណបក្សរបជាជនចង់ដក្លមកា ថ ់ ដសវា

ា រផល

ដហើយដយងបានដម
ើ ើលដ ើញការរបឹងដរបងដោយរបុងរបយ័រដប ៅក្ុ ងេ
ប ិសដៅ

ដនាះ បនាធប់ពីការដបាះដនបរនប២០១៣
ុំ ដ លរឺក្ដុំ ណេរមង់វស
ិ ័យអប់រ។ុំ

បុ ដ៉ នច ុំ ដដម
ថ ូ រចងចាថា ើ ផដក្លម
ី ម ់ចរ់
ដា សវានានាដោយហរ

ថ ់ អណា
រណបក្សរបជាជនររូវផល ុំ ចររប់រោន់ដលើការដធដសចក្
ើវ សដរមច
ីថ

និងធនធានដៅដល់សាទប័នមូលោឌន

ដោយជាក្់ដសង
ឋ សាទប័នទងអស
ុំ ់ដនាះនឹងររូវការការដផរធ អណា
ុំ ចពីថាបក្់ក្ណា
ថ ល

ដៅថាបក្់មូលោឌន ដហើយររប់ររងសាទប័នរដឲ្
ឌ យផុរពីបណា
ថ ញបក្ស”។

ប នា ុំ
ដោក្ សុខ្ ឥសាន អក្ ក្យរណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជា
ព

បានានរបសាសន៍កាលពីមសលម
ិ ញថា
ិ ដោក្មនបារម
ិ ដា េ
ដទះបជារណបក្សសដន្តង្ហ
ី គ ះជារានយ
ិ ន ន្តសដថ បបណាដររៀមសរាប់ដបាះ
ុ េសា

ដនបរក្៏ដោយ ដរ ះដយងានយ
ើ ុ េសា
ន ន្តសល ា ង។“វាោមនដរឿងអីររូវភាញក្់ដផើល
ថ ជា ា

ានដរឿងអីររូវរពួយបារមា

រណបក្សរបជាជនានក្មវម ធ
ិ នដយាបាយរបស
ី ់ខ្ួ នដដលមហាសន
ល ិ បារអន
ប ុ ម័ររួ

ចដហើយ”។

ដោក្ដលើក្ដឡើងដេៀរថា ថាបក្់ដក្ ុំ ដីម នះរោ

ឹ នាង ឺ ម នអខ្
ីវ ុសដបក្
ល ដឡើយ។

ជ ក្់ថា “មនុសសដដដលដរើ ានយក្ពីណាដេ

ដោក្រូសបញ្ហ

វាដៅក្ុ ងន
ប ឹ ងដដដលហឹ ង។
ប ចានវាដៅក្ុ ងោវដដដលហ
ប ឹង
ប

រោន់ដរមង
ថ ដរបចានដោម
ើ មង
ថ ដរបចានទបដរប
ើ ៉ ឹ ង
ុណ ត វាោមនអដប
ី ក្
ល ដេ
”។

ដោក្ ន ុំ បុ ន
៊ ដងរ អក្
ប វភារនដយាបាយន
ិ ិ ងជាេីរបក្ាដផ
ឹ ក្
ប ដោលនដយាបាយរ

បស់រណបក្សរបជាធបដរយយម
ិ ូ លោឌនបានដធការក្រ
ើវ ់សាគល់ថាងីដវ បានការប
ើ

ញ្ុ ច ះបញ្ូ ច លឲ្យដរដជឿថាវាជាការផ្អលស់បូ រដបបរបជាធ

ថ ិបដរយយក្ីឋ

ក្៏ដដុំ ណើរការរបស់រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារិសរាប់ការដរជើសដរសថា
ើ ប ក្់ដឹក្នាង
ុំ ីរម ប

ស់ខ្ួ នោ ុំ
ល ម នការឯក្ភាពោបទងរសុ ងដដរ។

ដោក្ានរបសាសន៍អព
ុំ ី ការដបាះដនបរកាលពីមសលម
ិ ញថា
ិ “ដរបានសដរមចជា

មុនរួចដហើយ

ដហើយមនុសសរោន់ដរមក្េះថ្ដបុ ដ៉ ណាតះ។ដនាះជាចររនដយាបាយដៅក្
ិ ុ ងរបដេ
ប

សដនះ”។
ដទះជាយា៉ងណា ដោក្រសី មូរ សុខ្ហួរ ដដលជារបធានក្ច
ិ កា
ច រសាធារណៈថ្ន

រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារិ

បានការ រដដុំ ណើរការដបាះដនបរដរជើសដរសដនះ។

ើ ដោក្រសីដងង
ល ថា

“ដយងដធ
ើ ដយាងដៅតាមបេបញ្ហ
ើវ ជ ថ្ផក្
ធ ុ ងរបស
ប ់រណបក្ស។ដនះររ ុំ
ឺ ណា ងឲ្យររប់

ដខ្រទ ុំ
ថ ងអស”់ ៕ស៊ុខ៊ុម រាយការណ៍បន្ថែ មដោយ C o l i n M e y n

New CNRP Leadership Set to Be Approved at Party

Congress
BY COLIN MEYN

MARCH 2, 2017

CAMBODIA DAILY

អានជាភាសាខ្ំែរ(ខាងក្រោម)
Opposition leader Kem Sokha and his three deputies—Pol Ham,
Mu Sochua and Eng Chhay Eang—will go before an extraordinary
party congress today to make their new positions official, after
the CNRP‟s steering committee on Wednesday approved changes
to bylaws allowing for the new arrangement.
While the party‟s leadership will grow from two to four in the
aftermath of the resignation of Sam Rainsy—the CNRP‟s
founding president—the leadership is still split evenly between
members of Mr. Sokha‟s Human Rights Party (HRP) and Mr.
Rainsy‟s eponymous party, which merged in 2012.
Mr. Ham was a co-founder of the HRP along with Mr. Sokha,
while Mr. Chhay Eang and Ms. Sochua were longtime lawmakers
for the Sam Rainsy Party before the merger.
Ms. Sochua said on Wednesday that when it comes to major
party decisions, the new leadership would still be required to
reach a consensus, an arrangement that was central to the
agreement Mr. Rainsy and Mr. Sokha to join forces.
“It has to be agreed,” she said, adding that she did not expect it to
be difficult to find common ground. “I think we are used to a
cohesive type of leadership.”
She said two bylaws would be changed—one that stipulates how
the party is elects a new president, and another on who serves as
acting president when Mr. Sokha is out of the country.
The first change will allow the party to elect a leader during a
snap congress in Phnom Penh today in order to have a
permanent president to endorse commune councilor candidates,
which must be submitted this weekend.
The second change gives privilege to the oldest vice president,
Mr. Ham, to act as president in Mr. Sokha‟s stead, with Ms.
Sochua second in line and Mr. Chhay Eang third.
The alliance between Mr. Rainsy and Mr. Sokha led to massive
election gains for the opposition in the 2013 election, almost
doubling from 29 combined seats to 55 as a united opposition, in
what even the ruling party admitted was an eye-opening
performance.
Facing what many say is the greatest threat to its power since the
1993 U.N.-sponsored elections, Prime Minister Hun Sen and his
government—as well as the courts widely seen as being under his
control—have launched an assault on their political rivals.
Mr. Rainsy has both been officially exiled from the country and
sentenced to nine years in prison on two convictions that he says
are politically motivated. He resigned in response to
amendments to the Law on Political Parties that would allow the
courts to dissolve a political party over crimes committed by its
leaders. Already passed by the National Assembly and Senate
despite opposition boycotts, the law now needs approval from
the CPP-stacked Constitutional Council and Cambodia‟s
apolitical king.
Both the U.S. and E.U. have said that use of the amendments to
eliminate political parties could undermine the credibility of
commune elections in June and the all-important national
election in July next year.
ប្កសសក្គ្រ ុះជាត្ិក្្វើសមាជវិសាមញ្ញក្ដើមបីក្រជើសក្រើស
ក្មដឹកនាំថ្ែី
េ ោយ ខូលីន មុីយន៍

ៃថ៮រពែសបតិ៍ ទី 2 ែខមីនោ ឆនោាំ 2017

េលាក្ ក្ឹម សុខា របធានគណបក្ឝរបឆាាំង និងអនុរបធានបីរូបរបស់េលាក្រួមមានេលាក្

បុល ែាំម េលាក្រសី មូរ សុែែួរ និងេលាក្ េអង ៃឆហាង
នឹងរតូវបងឞាញវតតមានេ ាចាំេពាោះមុែសមាជវិឝាមញ្៴របស់បក្ឝ េដើមបីេធវឱ្
ើ យមុែតាំែណងថមរី
បស់ពួក្គាត់កលាយជាផលឡវការ
បនទាប់ពគ
ី ណៈក្មមាធិការនាយក្បានអនុមត
័ កាលពីមឝិលមិញនូវវិេឝាធនក្មមេលើបទប
ញ្៱ាៃផទក្នហងែដលអនុញ្៴ាតឱ្យមានការេរៀបចាំថមីេនោះ។

ែណៈថនាក្់ដឹក្នាាំបក្ឝនឹងេក្ើនេឡើងពីចាំនួនពីររូបដល់បួនរូបេដាយឝារការលាែលងរបស់
េលាក្ សម រងឝហី របធានឝថាបនិក្ៃនគណបក្ឝសេ្ង៬ាោះជាតិ
ថនាក្់ដក្
ឹ នាាំេនោះេ ាែតរតូវបានែបងែចក្េសមគ
ើ ាន រវាងសមាជិក្ៃនគណបក្ឝសិទម
ិធ នុសឝរបស់
េលាក្ ក្ឹម សុខា និងគណបក្ឝរបស់េលាក្ សម រងឝហី
ែដលបានរចបាច់បញ្៯ឡលគនាកាលពីឆនាាំ២០១២។
េលាក្ ក្ឹម សុខា េលាក្ បុល ែាំម េលាក្េអង ៃឆ ហាង និង េលាក្រសី មួរ សុែែួរ
(េឆវងេ ាឝតាាំ)។

េលាក្ បុល ែាំម គឺជាសែឝថាបនិក្ៃនគណបក្ឝសិទធិមនុសឝរួមជាមួយេលាក្ ក្ឹម សុខា

ចាំែណក្េលាក្ េអង ៃឆហាង និងេលាក្រសី មូរ សុែែួរ គឺជាតាំណាងរារសតគណបក្ឝ សម
រងឝហី យូរមក្េែើយ េ ាមុនេពលរចបាច់បញ្៯ឡលគនា។

េលាក្រសី មូរ សុែែួរ មានរបឝាសន៍កាលពីមឝិលមិញថា

េ ាេពលឈានដល់ការសេរមចធាំៗេ ាក្នហងគណបក្ឝ
ថនាក្់ដក្
ឹ នាាំេនោះនឹងេ ាែតរតូវបានតរមូវឱ្យយល់រសបគនាជាឯក្ច៰ន ទ ជាការេរៀបចាំមយ
ួ ែដល
មានឝារៈសាំខាន់ចាំេពាោះក្ិច៯រពមេរពៀងរវាងេលាក្ សម រងឝហី និងេលាក្ ក្ឹម សុខា
ក្នង
ហ ការរួមក្មលាង
ាំ គនា។

េលាក្រសីែថលងថា “មានការរពមេរពៀងគនារួចេែើយ” េែើយេលាក្រសីរំពឹងថា

វានឹងមិនមានការលាំបាក្េនាោះេទសរមាប់ថាន ក្់ដក្
ឹ នាាំទាាំងបួនរូបែសវងរក្ចាំណច
ុ រួម។
េលាក្រសីបនតថា “ែ៳គ
ាំហ ត
ិ ថា េយើងឝុាន
ាំ ង
ឹ ការដឹក្នាាំែបបឝាមគ៬ីភាពេ ាេែើយ”។

េលាក្រសីបានេលើក្េឡើងបែនថមេទៀតថា បទបញ្៱ាៃផទក្នហងចាំនួនពីរនឹងរតូវេធវើវិេឝាធនក្មម
េដាយបទបញ្៱ាមួយែចងអាំពីវិធីគណបក្ឝេបាោះេឆនាតេរជើសេរើសរបធានថមី
និងបទបញ្៱ាមួយេទៀតពាក្់ព័នធអនក្ែដលេធវើជារបធានស៵ីទី េ ាេពលេលាក្ ក្ឹម សុខា
េ ាេររារបេទស។

ការេធវវើ េិ ឝាធនក្មមទី១នឹងអនុញ្៴ាតឱ្យគណបក្ឝេនោះេបាោះេឆនាតេរជើសេរើសរបធានមួយរូប
អាំឡហងសមាជឥតរពាងទុក្មួយែដលនឹងេរៀបចាំេឡើងេ ារាជធានីភនាំេពញនាៃថ៮េនោះ
េដើមបីឱ្យរបធានអចិៃ្នតយអ
៍ នុមត
័ េបក្៫ភាពរក្ុមរបឹក្ាឃុាំ សង៪ាត់ ែដលនឹងរតូវដាក្់ជន
ូ េ ា
គ.ជ.ប. េ ាចុងសប៵ាែ៍េនោះ។

វិេឝាធនក្មមទ២
ី ផ៵ល់សិទធិដល់េលាក្ បុល ែាំម
អនុរបធានែដលចាំណាស់បផ
ាំ ត
ុ ឱ្យេធវជ
ើ ារបធានជាំនស
ួ េលាក្ ក្ឹម សុខា េដាយេលាក្រសី
មូរ សុែែួរ សថិតេ ាេលែេរៀងទី២ េែើយេលាក្ េអង ៃឆហាង សថិតេ ាេលែេរៀងទី៣។

ការចងសមពនធភាពរវាងេលាក្ សម រងឝហី និងេលាក្ ក្ឹម សុខា

បានេធវឱ្
ើ យគណបក្ឝរបឆាាំងេក្ើនសាំេឡងគាាំរទយាងេរចើនសនធក្
ឹ សនធាប់េ ាក្នង
ហ ការេបាោះ
េឆនាតឆនា២
ាំ ០១៣ ពីហាសនៈរួមចាំនួន២៩ដល់៥៥ហាសនៈក្នហងនាមជាគណបក្ឝរបឆាាំងរួប
រួមគនា ែដលសូមបីគណបក្ឝកាន់អាំណាចក្៏ទទួលឝ៬ាល់ថាជាលទធផលគួរឱ្យភ៳ាក្់េផសើល។

េដាយរបឈមនឹងអវីែដលមជ៲ដ៶ានជាេរចើននិយាយថា
ជាការគាំរាមក្ាំែែងធាំបផ
ាំ ត
ុ ចាំេពាោះអាំណាចរបស់ែន
អល ចាប់តាាំងពីការេបាោះេឆនាតឆនាាំ១៩៩៣
ែដលេរៀបចាំេដាយអង៬ការសែរបជាជាតិ េលាក្នាយក្រដ៶ម្នតី ែុន ែសន
និងរដ៶ាភិបាលរបស់េលាក្
រពមទាាំងតុលាការែដលមជ៲ដ៶ានភាគេរចើនេមើលេឃើញថាសថត
ិ េរកាមការរគប់រគងរបស់
េលាក្េនាោះ ែតងែតេធវើការវាយរបឞារេ ាេលើគូរបែជងនេយាបាយរបស់ែលអន។

េលាក្ សម រងឝហី រតូវបាននិរេទសជាផលឡវការេចញពីរបេទស

េែើយរតូវបានតុលាការផ៵នទាេទាសឱ្យជាប់ពនធនាគារ៩ឆនាាំ
េ ាក្នង
ហ ការផ៵នាទ េទាសចាំនន
ួ ពីរែដលេលាក្មានរបឝាសន៍ថា ជាេរឿងនេយាបាយ។
េលាក្បានលាែលងពីតាំែណងេដើមបីេឆលើយតបេ ានឹងការេធវើវិេឝាធនក្មមចាប់ស៵ីពីគណប
ក្ឝនេយាបាយ
ែដលនឹងអនុញ្៴ាតឱ្យតុលាការរមលាយគណបក្ឝនេយាបាយមួយបានក្នហងក្រណីថនាក្់ដឹក្នាាំ
របស់គណបក្ឝេនាោះរបរពឹតតបទេលមើសរពែមទណឌ។ េដាយរដ៶សភា
និងរពឹទស
ធ ភាបានអនុមត
័ រួចេ ាេែើយអាំឡង
ហ គណបក្ឝរបឆាាំងេធវព
ើ ែិការ បច៯ប
ហ បននចាប់
េនោះរង់ចាាំែតការអនុម័តពីរក្ុមរបឹក្ាធមមនញ្
ុ ែ៴ ដលេពញេ ាេដាយសមាសភាពម្នតគ
ី ណ
បក្ឝរបជាជនក្មពជ
ហ ា និងការសាយរពោះែសតេលខាពីរពោះមឞាក្ឝរតែដលមិនចាប់ហារមម
ណ៍េរឿងនេយាបាយបុេណណាោះ។

ទាាំងសែរដ៶ហាេមរិក្ និងសែភាពអឺរ៉ៃុបសុទធែតេលើក្េឡើងថា
ការេរបើរបាស់វេិ ឝាធនក្មមេដើមបីក្ម៯ាត់គណបក្ឝនេយាបាយ
ហាចេធវឱ្
ើ យបោះពាល់ដល់ភាពគួរឱ្យេជឿជាក្់បានៃនការេបាោះេឆនាតឃុាំ សង៪ាត់
ែដលនឹងរបរពឹតតេ ាេ ាែែមិថុនាឆនាាំេនោះ
និងការេបាោះេឆនាតេរជើសតាាំងតាំណាងរារសតដស
៏ ខ
ាំ ាន់ែដលនឹងរបរពឹតេត ាេ ាែែក្ក្៪ដា
ឆនាាំ២០១៨៕ សុែុម (រាយការណ៍បែនថមេដាយ ែបន សុែឞាន)

CNRP Vice Presidency Up for Grabs

BY COLIN MEYN

CAMBODIA DAILY

FEBRUARY 28, 2017

There is little doubt among observers that Kem Sokha will be

named as president of the CNRP at a snap party congress set for
Thursday, but who will replace him as the party‟s deputy leader
is either a closely guarded secret or remains up in the air.
It is unclear even whether a single person will take on the role or
if there will be multiple deputies, a change that former
opposition leader Sam Rainsy appeared to support in a
telephone call mysteriously leaked online.
“I just know the formula—the three vice presidents formula—is
good, Sovann,” a man who sounds like Mr. Rainsy is heard
telling another man, allegedly CNRP spokesman and executive
committee chairman Yim Sovann, who is among the leading
candidates for a vice president post.
Others well-positioned for the role include Eng Chhay Eang, one
of Mr. Rainsy‟s closest confidantes and deputy head of the
party‟s executive committee; Tioulong Saumura, Mr. Rainsy‟s
wife and a senior lawmaker; and Mu Sochua, the party‟s director
of public affairs.
In another recording leaked online this week, allegedly between
high-ranking opposition officials, Kong Korm, a longtime
associate of Mr. Rainsy who retired from politics last year saying
he was too old, was also identified as a possibility.
The party‟s current bylaws imply that there should be a single
president and vice president, and says they must agree on major
decisions. Appointing multiple deputies would likely require
amendments to these rules. If the consensus rule were to be
removed, it would drastically reduce the clout of vice presidents,
removing the veto power enjoyed by Mr. Sokha.
If there is only one vice president, it will almost certainly be a
loyalist to Mr. Rainsy, whose eponymous party merged with Mr.
Sokha‟s Human Rights Party (HRP) in 2012. However, if there
are multiple spots, that may make way for an official loyal to the
new president.
The top former HRP officials in the opposition are Pol Ham,
head of the CNRP‟s steering committee, and Yem Ponhearith, a
spokesman and head of party administration.
Opposition supporters gather outside the CNRP’s headquarters in Phnom Penh in May.
(Siv Channa/The Cambodia Daily)
All of the leading candidates, apart from Mr. Korm, are on the
CNRP‟s 25-member standing committee and are among the
party‟s 55 lawmakers.
Ms. Sochua, who was the women‟s affairs minister for Funcinpec
in the 1990s before joining Mr. Rainsy‟s opposition movement,
has a global profile for her work advocating for women‟s rights
in Cambodia. She declined to comment on Monday on the
leadership changes, as have all party officials since Mr. Rainsy
resigned two weeks ago.
Mr. Rainsy‟s shock resignation was spurred by the ruling CPP‟s
decision to push through amendments to the Law on Political
Parties that would ban convicted criminals from party
leadership positions—Mr. Rainsy is currently facing nine years
in prison for convictions widely viewed as being political in
nature and has been exiled from Cambodia. The law, which has
drawn public statements of concern from the U.S. and E.U.,
would also allow the Interior Ministry and the courts to suspend
or dissolve parties over a vaguely worded list of infractions.
The CNRP initially planned to allow Mr. Sokha to serve as acting
president until April next year, when its quinquennial
convention was planned. However, fearing that the government
would not accept a candidate list for June‟s commune elections
that was not endorsed by a permanent president, the party
decided to hold a congress this week to appoint new leadership.
Commune council candidate lists must be submitted over the
weekend.
Ms. Sochua said the standing committee would meet today to
settle on a proposal for new leaders, and then send the list to the
110-member steering committee for approval on Wednesday
before it goes before the full party congress of about 1,000
members.
Ms. Sochua said she did not know what would be discussed at
today‟s standing committee meeting apart from the leadership,
but said “anything” might be on the table.
“There are so many rumors,” she said. “I am not commenting.
We take this very seriously.”
Among those rumors—perpetuated by what the CNRP says are
fake letters released on Facebook—is that Mr. Rainsy has been
pushing for his wife, who spends much of her time with him in
Paris, to receive a leadership position. Mr. Rainsy has declined
to comment on the changes, while Ms. Saumura did not respond
on Monday to an emailed request for comment.
Mr. Sovann, Mr. Chhay Eang and Mr. Ponhearith have all been
embroiled in a series of leaked phone conversations—all
mysteriously recorded and posted to Facebook, raising privacy
concerns shrugged off by the government—purporting to expose
them speaking with mistresses.
Mr. Chhay Eang, who stepped down from a leadership position
in the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) more than a decade ago due in
part to a gambling problem, saw the problem come back to bite
him last month when photographs of him placing bets at
NagaWorld casino in Phnom Penh were leaked online.
Mr. Ham, 70, was the third- ranking member of the CNRP
behind Mr. Rainsy and Mr. Sokha and has deep ties to the
resistance against Prime Minister Hun Sen, having worked in the
1980s as the radio director for Son Sann‟s pro-democracy
movement based out of refugee camps on the Thai border.
Mr. Korm, 75, was most recently president of the legacy SRP, and
a longtime lawmaker with the party whose son is now a CNRP
parliamentarian. He briefly served as foreign minister in the
1980s under the socialist government led by Mr. Hun Sen. Upon
retiring from politics last year, opposition senator Chep Kim
Eang said it was time for new people to step into leadership
roles.
“The reason for his retirement is firstly due to his old age and
secondly that he wants to give a chance to the younger
generation who are full of energy,” he said.
Cham Bunthet, a political analyst and consultant, said he would
be disappointed to see a politically safe pick like Mr. Korm put
into such an important role in the opposition. But he said that
whoever was placed in the position—or positions—was unlikely
to make any major changes to the CNRP.
“They don‟t want to change the structure, just change the face,”
he said, adding that he believed Mr. Rainsy would continue to
hold silent sway within the party. “I don‟t see changes in
leadership.”
(Additional reporting by Ben Sokhean)
Acting Cambodia National Rescue Party president Kem Sokha (third left) attends a parliamentary session at the National
Assembly in Phnom Penh in 2015. Facebook

CNRP mulls new leadership as names bandied in leaks

Mon, 27 February 2017

Phnom Penh Post

Meas Sokchea

As the Cambodia National Rescue Party prepares for an extraordinary

congress on Thursday to select new leaders in the wake of Sam
Rainsy‟s resignation, a covertly recorded conversation of a lawmaker
discussing his preferred candidate for the deputy president role has
been leaked online.
Yet again raising questions of phone-tapping of government
opponents, the purported conversation between CNRP lawmaker Lim
Kim Ya and Sam Rainsy Party official Hing Yoeun suggests party
spokesman Yim Sovann and former SRP president Kong Korm, who
retired in 2015, are among contenders for the party‟s number-two role.
Acting CNRP president Kem Sokha is presumed to be named leader.
However, reached yesterday, CNRP lawmaker Mu Sochua said no
decision on final candidates would be made until Wednesday, when
the party‟s permanent committee meets to put forward a list.
She said the names would then be sent to the steering committee on
the same day before a decision was made at the party congress.
“Anybody can talk about who he or she thinks should be a candidate,
that‟s totally fine; that shows you how many of us us are available or
credible or electable or could be on the list,” Sochua said.
“It‟s not a party of one or two people; that‟s healthy that people talk,
but to say this person has been proposed officially, no, there isn‟t
such a thing.”
Sochua declined to discuss the leak, though noted such “tactics”
showed the party was considered a credible threat as elections
approached.
In the audio, released by Facebook user “Seiha” – a page also
responsible for leaking several other covertly recorded conversations
attempting to tie opposition politicians to affairs – Kim Ya discusses
meeting with and encouraging Korm to throw his hat in the ring,
suggesting he would be a better fit than Sovann, who he says would
have “no influence on [Kem Sokha]”.
Reached yesterday, Kim Ya, who did not deny it was his voice on the
recording, confirmed his preference for Korm, citing his “political
experience”, adding that he would put his name forward.
“He is well known by people, they respect him and he is clever when
it comes to solving political problems,” Kim Ya said.
The politician said he was not troubled by the leak personally, but
added that what it represented was concerning.
“This is not called a country with the rule of law, is not a democratic
country. This is a wild country,” Kim Ya said. “So I worry for citizens,
but for me there is no problem.”
Reached yesterday, Korm said he would accept the role of deputy
president if he was chosen.
“If acting president Kem Sokha, who will become the president at the
upcoming congress, and most of the permanent committee propose
me, according to the statutes, I would not reject [the post],” he said.
Speaking yesterday, a CNRP official, who wished to remain
anonymous, suggested party spokesman Sovann, who was
unreachable yesterday, would indeed be nominated for the number-
two role.
He also dismissed a previous report in local media that the party
would name three deputy presidents. “According to the spirit of
Manila, there should be only one president and only one deputy
president,” he said, referring to the meeting in the Philippines where
Sam Rainsy‟s SRP and Sokha‟s Human Rights Party first announced
their merger in 2012.
Living abroad since 2015 to avoid arrest, Rainsy resigned this month
to avoid his convictions being used to dissolve the party under a
controversial legal amendment passed by the National Assembly last
week.
Though the party initially said it would formalise its leadership at a
congress next year, Sochua said it needed to select a president in
order to submit its candidate lists for commune elections this month.
The legislative change and Rainsy‟s convictions are widely believed
to be political attacks to weaken the opposition ahead of upcoming
elections.

Hun Sen’s ‘Dictatorship’ Has Transcended

CPP, Researcher Says
BY BEN PAVIOUR

CAMBODIA DAILY

FEBRUARY 24, 2017

He makes all the big decisions, has friends and family in all the
right places, and personally controls armed forces larger than
Senegal‟s national army. Supplicants and diplomats alike refer
to him as Samdech—or “The Greatest.”
Such is the portrait painted by Australian political scientist Lee
Morgenbesser, who argues in a new paper that Prime Minister
Hun Sen runs a “personalist dictatorship” and has nearly
unassailable control over the Cambodian state and ruling party.
Prime Minister Hun Sen holds an impromptu news conference at Pochentong
International Airport in Phnom Penh in December 1998. (Reuters)
In “Misclassification on the Mekong: The Origins of Hun Sen‟s
Personalist Dictatorship,” published on Tuesday on the journal
Democratization‟s website, Mr. Morgenbesser contends that Mr.
Hun Sen has slowly co-opted the ruling coalition that initially
gave him authority.
“The overall picture to emerge is of an authoritarian regime
characterized by Hun Sen‟s personal control of the political
system (including members of the ruling coalition),” he writes.
Mr. Morgenbesser, a research fellow at Australia‟s Griffith
University, says that past pundits have mistaken the state for a
limited multiparty government, “electoral autocracy” or civilian
dictatorship.
Instead, the paper asserts, Mr. Hun Sen has used his more than
three decades in power to steadily nudge the state from single-
party rule to a “party-personalist regime” in which the CPP
serves as an election-time vehicle for votes and legal legitimacy.
Mr. Hun Sen‟s political career effectively began in a Vietnamese
prison, when the defected Khmer Rouge commander charmed
his minders and was plucked to lead the successful invasion of
his country. In 1985, Mr. Hun Sen was chosen by the Vietnamese
for the role of prime minister for the government it had installed
six years earlier.
Beset by external enemies and feuding elements of his own
party, Mr. Hun Sen‟s path to power was hardly assured.
“At the February 1997 [CPP] party congress, for example, Hun
Sen‟s selfishness and outspokenness was openly criticized by
senior party and military officials, who urged him to work more
with the party ahead of commune and national elections,”
according to Mr. Morgenbesser.
The academic contends that the young leader turned to
“neopatrimonialism”—dishing out patronage to keep elites and
voters happy—and repression to halt the rise of rivals and
rabble-rousers. The arrangement helped reduce the risk of a
coup by stocking key positions with well-paid loyalists who have
little incentive to shake the status quo.
The aftermath of the 2003 national election exemplified Mr. Hun
Sen‟s habit of mixing aggression and appeasement.
When now-deceased CPP President Chea Sim opposed a 2004
coalition deal with Prince Norodom Ranariddh in the aftermath
of contested election results, Mr. Hun Sen had riot police,
commanded by his ally and National Police Commander Hok
Lundy, “surround Chea Sim‟s residence, escort him to the
airport and put him on a plane to Thailand.”
The deal with the royalist Funcinpec party drew from a well-
worn page of Mr. Hun Sen‟s playbook, the academic says, with
the prime minister overseeing the appointment of several
hundred party officials into lucrative senior positions that
effectively neutered his rival party in later elections.
In the case of his own party, Mr. Hun Sen often responded to
rivals by expanding key party organs and stuffing them with his
allies, he says.
The CPP‟s executive committee has swollen from 45 to 545
members during Mr. Hun Sen‟s rule, with loyalists
overwhelming factions formerly allied with Chea Sim. The
party‟s standing committee has also more than tripled in size,
stocked with heads of security apparatuses often accused of the
regime‟s worst abuses, the paper says.
Meanwhile, Mr. Hun Sen consolidated his control over key units
of the armed forces.
Following an alleged coup attempt in 1994, for example, Mr. Hun
Sen reorganized what was a small security detail into groups of
specialized, loyalist forces that included his Bodyguard Unit,
Brigade 70, and National Counterterrorism Special Forces, now
led by his son Hun Manet.
CPP members attend a meeting of the party’s 40th Congress in Phnom Penh last year.
(Fresh News)
“Ultimately, the most definitive marker of how Hun Sen has
personalized power is the wanton transformation of his security
detail, which numbered around 60 bodyguards in the mid-1990s,
into a paramilitary architecture equivalent in size to the national
militaries of Senegal, Somalia, or Zambia,” Mr. Morgenbesser
writes.
The strength of those forces allowed Mr. Hun Sen to override the
objections of CPP factional foes Chea Sim and Interior Minister
Sar Kheng, as well as Defense Minister Tea Banh, to bring
together forces to fight against Prince Ranariddh and the
Funcinpec party in 1997, according to Mr. Morgenbesser.
The prime minister‟s family ties are another key source of
personal power, the paper says.
“It constitutes a sprawling network consummated by a web of
politically auspicious marriages” rooted in the upper echelons of
the CPP, military, police and the business world. Especially
notable are the premier‟s well-placed sons, who Mr.
Morgenbesser says are being primed to replace their father—“a
rare event for personalist dictators,” he notes in the paper.
Leadership change is generally a challenge in such regimes
because they are organized around a single individual, he
explains.
“Personalist dictators such as Hun Sen are far more likely to end
up being killed, jailed, or exiled than the leaders of strictly
military or party regimes, regardless of whether regime change
occurs,” he says.
However, Mr. Morgenbesser wrote in an email on Thursday that
in Cambodia‟s case, Mr. Hun Sen appeared to have established a
strong enough coalition to make succession feasible.
“Hun Sen cannot be threatened via a coup. This makes the task
of succession far smoother because the incumbent business,
military and political elites stand to still gain from his
successor,” he said.
“The more immediate concern in the Cambodian context is not
whether to undertake a succession, but when to do so.
…Immediately after winning the 2018 national election offers an
ideal window of opportunity.”
Late CPP President Chea Sim, center, stands between National Assembly President
Heng Samrin
left, and Prime Minister Hun Sen during an election rally in Phnom Penh in June 2008.
(Reuters)
Coming elections will be a critical moment for the prime
minister, whom Mr. Morgenbesser says still relies on the CPP‟s
patronage networks to deliver projects and goods that garner
votes that, in turn, provide the prime minister with legitimacy.
“The moment the CNRP is dissolved, however, the validity of
Hun Sen‟s claim to be popular will become somewhat ludicrous
because it cannot be verified in any meaningful way,” Mr.
Morgenbesser said in the email, referring to new legislation that
would allow the courts to dissolve political parties.
CPP spokesman Sok Eysan on Thursday dismissed the paper,
saying that only Mr. Hun Sen‟s opponents stoop to calling the
prime minister a dictator.
“Ordinary people do not call him dictator,” he said.
“When it comes to political issues, he is at the top and without
challengers, but the platform of the CPP does not come from him
alone. It comes from the permanent committee of the party, and
the permanent committee takes its platform from the congress
of the whole party across the country.”
Sophal Ear, an associate professor of diplomacy and world
affairs at Occidental College in Los Angeles, assessed the paper
before publication and said its findings rang true.
“I don‟t think anyone can dispute the personalist nature of
Cambodian politics,” he wrote in an email on Thursday. “Yes,
there are factions in the ruling party, but the argument is always
that one man, and one man alone, holds them together.”
“Vietnam and China figured out long ago that there needed to be
regular changes in leadership…but, obviously, not every
Politburo got the memo,” he added.
(Additional reporting by Khuon Narim)
Comfrel head Koul Panha (centre) discusses the organisation's annual report on National
Assembly affairs at a conference in Phnom Penh yesterday. Pha Lina

NA ‘more dictatorial’: Comfrel chides

legislature in report on Cambodia’s democracy
Wed, 22 February 2017

Phnom Penh Post

Lay Samean and Erin Handley

Cambodian electoral watchdog Comfrel has released a damning new

report on the state of democracy in the Kingdom, saying political
dialogue has dwindled to detrimental levels and describing the
National Assembly as “dysfunctional”.
Comfrel executive director Koul Panha said the report, which
analysed political activity between November 2015 and October 2016,
said the parliamentary body was “more dictatorial than the previous
year”.
“The National Assembly is very much a majority rule, but they do not
respect the rights of the minority to have a voice to be heard, to have
access to information and their [parliamentary] protection,” he said,
citing the arrest of opposition members despite their constitutionally
mandated parliamentary immunity.
“This majority controls all, everything; there is no multi-party spirit.”
The timely report comes a day after the National Assembly swiftly
passed widely criticised amendments to the Law on Political Parties –
ones that could theoretically empower the ruling party to dissolve the
opposition – in a session boycotted by the Cambodia National Rescue
Party on Monday.
He added that the slew of legislation passed without debate was also
cause for concern – of 32 agenda items, 11 were passed without
discussion and 21 were passed unilaterally by the ruling Cambodian
People‟s Party.
However, CPP spokesman Sok Eysan said he was not interested in
Comfrel‟s findings.
“The CPP has never considered that Comfrel is the boss who needs
to be reported to,” he said. “They are not independent, and they take
the opposition‟s side completely . . . They want to raise up the
opposition party and discredit the ruling party.”
Eysan further defended the legal measures taken against opposition
lawmakers Um Sam An and Hong Sok Hour – both of whom were
jailed, despite their parliamentary immunity, for remarks made on
social media – saying their arrests were “not a violation of the
national constitution, but [because] the individual violated the law”.
CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann, however, agreed parliamentary debate
had been stifled.
“Before, we were allowed to speak when we submitted names to the
National Assembly, but . . . since the beginning of 2016, most of us
submitted to the National Assembly, but we were not allowed to
speak. This is the reality.”
Sovann acknowledged that his party had been a no-show for votes on
contentious laws, but maintained it was because they were not
permitted to debate potential changes.
“Sometimes we did not attend the National Assembly when the law is
against the democratic principle,” he said.
Comfrel‟s report also found a spike in the number of visits to local
communes made by parliamentarians – CPP lawmakers made 617
field trips, compared with 1,184 by 45 CNRP lawmakers.
Panha said the “remarkably high” number of visits was no doubt to
galvanise support heading into commune elections in June.
Political analyst Lao Mong Hay, a former adviser to opposition leader
Kem Sokha, said the current situation boiled down to the will and
word of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Referring to several recent speeches in which the premier‟s
seemingly off-hand remarks were quickly acted upon by others in the
party – including his suggestion to amend the Political Party Law and
his calls for the arrest of analyst Kim Sok – Mong Hay said “Hun
Sen‟s mouth is the magic mouth”.
“Recently when he screamed out, [authorities] carried out the task
and managed to arrest the person,” he said
Party-Busting Bill Passed in ‘Final Blow’ to
Democracy
BY BEN SOKHEAN AND ZSOMBOR PETER

FEBRUARY 21, 2017

CAMBODIA DAILY

អានជាភាសាខ្ំែរ(ខាងក្រោម)
In what some are calling one of the most significant threats to
democracy that Cambodia has faced in a generation, the CPP-
controlled National Assembly on Monday voted to give the
government and courts sweeping new powers over political
parties.
Unhindered by an opposition that chose to boycott the vote, CPP
lawmakers, pausing only to correct a few spelling errors,
rammed through amendments to a 20-year-old law, giving its
government the facility to suspend and dissolve its political
rivals over vaguely worded offenses.
Prime Minister Hun Sen, center, attends a session of the National Assembly in Phnom
Penh on Monday for a vote on amendments to the Law on Political Parties. (Siv
Channa/The Cambodia Daily)
Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has ruled the country for more
than three decades, has made clear that the changes are aimed at
the CNRP, which nearly defeated his party in national elections
four years ago and continues to pose the greatest threat to the
CPP‟s power since it first won democratic elections in 1998.
“Once it comes into effect, the Interior Ministry will have full
ability to implement it and sweep out any political parties that do
not fulfill their functions and duties as political parties,” CPP
lawmaker Chheang Vun said on Monday on the parliament floor
after the vote.
The CPP claims Cambodia needs the amendments to keep the
country from falling apart at the hands of irresponsible parties.
The CNRP says the amendments are the real threat, giving the
ruling party unconstitutional new powers to do away with its
rivals at will and rob voters of the representatives of their choice.
Lacking the Assembly seats to block the changes, the opposition
party stayed away from the vote to avoid lending it any
legitimacy.
“This law is not just about us. It‟s unconstitutional…. It violates
the rights of the people,” CNRP lawmaker Mu Sochua said
afterward. “Democracy as a whole is being attacked.”
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch,
said the amendments extinguished any hope of the free and fair
multiparty democracy promised by the 1991 Paris Peace Accords,
which helped drag Cambodia out of decades of war.
“It‟s no exaggeration to say that these amendments are like a gun
aimed straight at the heart of the opposition CNRP, leaving only
the question of when and on what grounds this political
execution will take place.”
He said they were the culmination of Mr. Hun Sen‟s efforts to
consolidate absolute power, tipping the country distinctly
toward one-party states like Vietnam.
“The CPP‟s lesson from its failures in the 2013 election appear to
be that if the people don‟t like Hun Sen, well then offer them no
real alternative. Cambodia will become a sham democracy going
forward, perhaps a bit better than Vietnam but not by much,
with laws enforced by lap dog courts under the control of the
CPP,” he said. “Hun Sen has chipped away at the foundation of
democracy in Cambodia for years, and today he struck the final
blow.”
Mr. Robertson criticized the democratic governments and aid
donors helping prop up the country with their money for staying
largely quiet since the prime minister proposed the amendments
more than three weeks ago.
The U.S. Embassy issued its first unsolicited remarks on the
amendments only on Monday, after they were passed.
It said the U.S. was concerned about the powers they gave the
government “to restrict freedom of expression and the legitimate
activities of political parties and, under vaguely defined
circumstances, to dissolve them.”

Prime Minister Hun Sen attends a session of the National Assembly in Phnom
Penh on Monday for a vote on amendments to the Law on Political Parties. (Siv
Channa/The Cambodia Daily)

It called on the government to ensure that all parties have the

chance to compete as equals in June‟s local elections and the all-
important national vote next year.
“Any government action to ban or restrict parties under the new
amendments would constitute a significant setback for
Cambodia‟s political development and would seriously call into
question the legitimacy of the upcoming elections,” it said.
Last week, the chairman of the Asian Parliamentarians for
Human Rights, Malaysian opposition lawmaker Charles
Santiago, called the changes “the death knell for democracy in
Cambodia.”
The government has dismissed all criticism of the amendments.
“[The court] can dissolve parties if they violate the law. If they do
not violate the law, how can it dissolve them?” National
Assembly spokesman Leng Peng Long said on Monday. “If we let
them do whatever they want, is it democracy or anarchy?”
The amendments were sent to the rubber-stamp Senate on
Monday afternoon and will head to the Constitutional Council
after perfunctory reviews and a vote.
Assuming they are signed by the king, who has never challenged
a CPP-backed bill, the amendments will give the Supreme Court
the power to dissolve any party over a list of vague offenses
including “incitement that would lead to national disintegration”
and “subverting liberal multi-party democracy.”
The Interior Ministry will also be able to suspend a party for the
same reasons indefinitely.
The amended law bars anyone with a conviction and non-
suspended prison sentence from holding a party leadership post
and lets the Supreme Court block the leadership of a dissolved
party from engaging in any political activity for up to five years.
Sam Rainsy, the longtime figurehead of Cambodia‟s democracy
movement, resigned as CNRP president just over a week ago in
hopes of saving his party—he lives in exile in Paris facing a two-
year prison sentence for a defamation conviction widely seen as
politically motivated.
The amendments require a party that loses its president to refill
the post within 90 days. After Monday‟s vote, CPP spokesman
Sok Eysan said the 90 days for the CNRP would start as soon as
the king signs the bill, which he expected to happen soon.
The CNRP named its vice president under Mr. Rainsy, Kem
Sokha, as acting president since the resignation on February 11
and plans to hold a party congress in April next year to pick a
permanent president. Mr. Sokha, who merged his opposition
party with Mr. Rainsy‟s in 2012 to form the CNRP, is likely to
take the top job, although he remains under investigation in a
corruption case, also widely seen as being politically motivated,
involving an alleged mistress.
If the CNRP indeed has to find a permanent new president
within 90 days of the king‟s signature, it could force a legally
vulnerable Mr. Sokha into the post as soon as May, just ahead of
commune elections on June 4.

េទ្ធិរប្ជា្ិប្ក្ត្យយរង “ោរវាយសំរងផ្លាច់ររ័រត្
” ក្រេប្កសោន់អំណាចអនុម័ត្វិក្សា្នកមែ
ដោយ បែន សុខហ៊ាន និង ហសមែ៊ា ភ្ីធឺ ៍

ថ្ងៃ អ្រ ទី 21 បខក្ុមភៈ ឆ្នាំ2017

កាលពីមសលម
ិ ញ
ិ

ឌ ភាដដលររប់ររងដោយរណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជា
រដស ឋ ់ អ ុំ
ព បានដបាះដនបរផល

ណាចងីដម លើសលប់ដល់រោឌភបាល
ិ

និងរុោការដដើមផររបដល
ី ើរណបក្សនដយាបាយ ជាអដដលមជឈោ
ីវ ល ចារ់េុក្
ឌ នខ្ះ

ុំ មក្ដុំ ហងធប
ថាជាការរោ ុំ ផ
ុំ ុ រមួយចដុំ ះលេិរបជាធ
ន ិបដរយយដដលក្មុ ជា
ព  បាន

ុំ ន់មនុសស។
របឈមមួយជនា
ដទះបជារណបក្សរបន
ី ុំ
ងសដរមចដធពហ
ើវ ិ ការការដបាះដនបរដនះក្ីឋ

ក្៏រក្ុមរណា
ុំ ងោន្តសរ ព  បានអនុម័រយា៉ងរលូននូវសដុំ ណើ
ថ ណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជា

ដធើវវ ដសាធនក្ម
ិ ដម លើចាប់មួយដដលានអាយុកាល២០នប ុំ

ដដម
ើ ផផ ឋ ់ អណា
ី ល ុំ ចឲ្យរោឌភបាលានស
ិ ិេិពយ
ន ួរ

ឬរាលយរណបក្សរបដជងរបស់ខ្ួ នដដលជាប
ល ់ ក្់ពន
័ ប
ន េដលើសដចងម
ម នចាស
ិ ់

ោស់ ដោយរង់ចាដរដក្ក្
ុំ ហុំ ុ សអក្ោ
េ វរិ ុេប
ន និ ចបន
ថ ថ ុ ដ៉ ណាតះ។
ួ ចប

ព្ក្ ុមអន ក្ស្ន រ័រ៌មានផ្តិរ ូែភារដចញរីផ្ទង

ាំ ក្ញ្ច ក្់ទូ ទសសន៍ដៅ ដឋ សភាក្នុងោជធានីភ្នាំដរញ
ខណ្ៈរាំណ្តងោគសត ដ ះដឆ្នរអនុម័រដលើ វ ិដស្នធនក្មម ចាែ់សតីរីគណ្ែក្សនដយា យ កាលរីមសិ
លមិញ ។ ូែងរៈ សីុុវ ចាន់ណ្ត/ឌឹ ដខមែូ ឌា ដដលី

ឌ ន្តនី ថ ហ៊ុន ដសន

ដោក្នាយក្រដម

ដដលដក្ ុំ
ឹ នារបដេសអស់រយៈដពលជាង៣េសវរសរ ៍

ជ ក្់យា៉ងចាស់ថា ការដធវើវ ដសាធនក្ម

បានបញ្ហ ិ ទ ុំ
ម ងដនះានបណុំ ងររមង់ដោល

ដៅដៅរក្រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារ ដដលដស
ិ ើរដរផ
ធ ួ លរណបក្សរបស
ឋ ់ដោក្បាន

ដៅដហើយដៅក្ុ ងការដបាះដន
ប ប រដរជស ុំ ណា
ើ តាងរ ុំ ងោន្តសកា ុំ ុ ននិងដដ
ថ លពី៤នបម

លដៅដរបនប
ថ ងកា ុំ មក្ដុំ ហងធប
ា ររោ ុំ ផ
ុំ ុ រដល់ការកាន់អណា
ុំ ចរបស់រណបក្សរប

ព ចាប់តាងព
ជាជនក្មុ ជា ុំ ី រណបក្សកាន់អណា
ុំ ចបានឈះ
ប ការដបាះដនបរតាមដប

បរបជាធបដរយយដល ុំ ូ ងរបស់ខ្នដៅក្
ើក្ដប ុំ
ិ ួល ុ ងន
ប ប ១៩៩៨មក្។

ដោក្ ឈាង វុន

ុំ
រណា ងោន្តសរ ព បានានរបសាសន៍ដៅក្ុ ងសភាបនា
ថ ណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជា ប ធ ប់

ពីការដបាះដនបរដនះថា “ដរកាយពីចាប់ដនះចូលធរាន

រក្សួងមហាថ្ផា ន ពររប់ដបបយា៉ងដដម
ធ នលេភា ើ ផយក្ចាប
ី ់ដនះដៅអនុវរថ

ដបាសសាាររណបក្សនដយាបាយដដលមនបានប
ិ ដុំ ពញភារក្ច
ិ ច រួនាេី
ុំ
និងការង្ហរទងឡាយឱ្យសមជារណបក្សនដយាបាយ”។

រណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជាអះអាងថា
ព

ក្មុ ជាររូ
ព វការវដសាធនក្ម
ិ ទ ុំ
ម ងដនះដដម ី ់សាារ់ក្ុឲ្
ើ ផេប ុំ យរបដេសដបក្បាក្់ដោយ

សារសាបថ្ដរណបក្សដដលោមនការេេួលខ្ុសររូវ។

រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារន
ិ ិ យាយថា
ការដធវើវ ដសាធនក្ម
ិ ដម នះរជាការរ
ឺ ោុំ មក្ដុំ ហងយា៉ងពិររបាក្ដ

ឋ ់ អណា
ដោយផល ុំ ចងីម
ម ិនរសបតាមរដធ
ឌ មន ដ យរណបក្សកាន់អណា
ម ុ ញ្ឲ្ ុំ ចដដលក្

ាចរ់រូរបដជងរបស់ខ្ួ នតាមអ
ល ដុំ ពើចិរថដហើយបន
ល ់អក្ ុំ
ប ដបាះដនបរពីរណា ងឱ្យសដុំ ឡ

ងរបស់ពួក្ដរ។

ដោយខ្ះ
វ អាសនៈសភាដដម
ើ ផោោ ុំ ដសាធនក្ម
ី ងវ ិ ទ ុំ
ម ងដនះ

ុំ
រណបក្សរបនងបានដធពហ
ើវ ិ ការការដបាះដនបរដនះដដម
ើ ផដចៀសវាងការផ
ី លថ ់ ភាព

រសបចាប់ដល់វា។

ដោក្រសី មូរ សុខ្ហួរ

ុំ
រណា ងោន្តសរ
ថ ណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារបានានរបសាសន
ិ ៍តាមដរកាយថា

“ចាប់ដនះមនររ
ិ មដរន
ឹ ុំ ី ដយងដេ។
ិ យាយអព ើ

វាផុ យព
ធ ី រដធ
ឌ មន ុំ
ម ុ ញ្ដ វារដោភសិេិមន
ន ុ សស។ លេិរបជាធ
ន បដរយយទ
ិ ុំ ូ លក្ព
ងម ុំ ុ ងរ

ងការវាយរបហារ”។

ដោក្ ហី ល ៉ រស
វ រូប ឺ ុ ន អនុរបធានអងកា ុំ លស
គ រឃ្លដម ើ ិេិមន
ន ុ សស(HRW)

ុំ ប
របចារ ុំ ន់អាសុីបានានរបសាសន៍ថា

វដសាធនក្ម
ិ ុំ ល ញក្សងឃ
ដម នះបានបផ្អ ីឋ មថាន
ឹ ឹ ងេេួលបានលេិរបជាធ
ន បដរយយដសរ
ិ ី

ពហុបក្សដូចានដចងក្ុ ងក្
ប ច
ិ រច ពមដរពៀងសនិ ភាពេ
ថ ីរក្ុងបា៉រស ុំ
ី នប១៩៩១

ព ឱ្យដងើបផុរពីសន្តង្ហគមោប់េសវរសរ។៍
ដដលបានទញរបដេសក្មុ ជា

ដោក្ដលើក្ដឡើងដេៀរថា “វាមនដមនជាការប
ិ ដុំ ផើស
ល ដេដដលនិយាយថា

វដសាធនក្ម
ិ ទ ុំ
ម ងដនះដរបៀបបានន ុំ ងភ
ឹ ងកាដភ ើល ជ ់ររមង់ដៅរក្ដបះដូងរបស់រណ
ង
បក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារិ ដោយបនសល់េុក្ដរសណ
ុំ ួ រថា ដរដពលណា
ើ

ដហើយឈរដលើដហរុផលអីដដលការអន
វ ុ វរន
ថ ដយាបាយដបបដនះនឹងដក្ើរដឡើង
”។
ដោក្នាយក្ ដឋ មគនត ី ហ៊ាុន បសន ដៅឯ ដឋ សភាក្នុងោជធានីភ្នាំដរញ កាលរីមសិលមិញ ។ ូែងរៈ
សីុុវ ចាន់ណ្ត/ឌឹ ដខមែូ ឌា ដដលី
ដោក្បានបនថា
ថ វាជាការរបងដរបងរបស
ឹ ់ដោក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន

ដដើមផរបម
ី ឋុំ ណា
ូ លផុ អ ុំ ច ដោយទញរបដេសដនះឱ្យកាលយជារបដេសានរណប

ក្សដរមួយដូចរបដេសដវៀរណាម។ “ដមដរៀនដដលរណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជា
ព េេួ

លបានពីបោជ័យរបស់ខ្ួ នដៅក្
ល ុ ងការដបាះដន
ប ុំ
ប រនប២០១៣រថា
ឺ របសិនដបរបជា
ើ

ជនមនច
ិ ិ ដថ ោក្ ហ៊ុន
ូ លចរ

ដសន រម
ឺ នផ
ិ លថ ់ ជដរមសព
ើ ិ ររបាក្ដដល់ពួក្ដរដឡើយ។ក្មុ ជាន
ព ឹ ងកាលយជារបជា

ធបដរយយដក្
ិ ងល កាលយដដលក្ព ុំ នដនពះដៅមុខ្
ុំ ុ ងដបាះជហា

របដហលជារោន់ដបជាងដវៀរណាមបន
ើ ិច
ថ

បុ ដ៉ នម
ថ នដរច
ិ នដេដោយសារចាប
ើ ់ររូវបានអនុវរដថ ោយរុោការដដលសិរដរកាម
ទ

ការររប់ររងទងរស
ុំ ុ ងរបស់រណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជា។
ព ដោក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន

បានដធឱ្យម
ើវ ូ លោឌនថ្នលេិរបជាធ
ន បដរយយដៅក្ម
ិ ុ ជា
ព ចុះដខ្ាយជាដរចនន
ើ ុំ
ប មក្

ដហើយ ដហើយថ្ងដង នះោរ់បានវាយសព

ុំ ងផ្អឋច់រពរ័ រ”។

ដោក្ ហី ល ៉ រស
វ រូប ឺ ុ ន បានរះរន
ិ ់រោឌភបាលរបជាធ
ិ បដរយយ
ិ
ុំ ួ យនានាដដលជួយផល
និងាចស់ជន ឋ ់ ហិរញ្វដ រុ ដល
ទ ់ របដេសដនះចដុំ ះការដៅសាង

រ់ដសៀង មចាប់តាងព
ុំ ី នាយក្រដម
ឌ ន្តនី បានដស
ថ ើវប ដសាធនក្ម
ិ ទ ុំ
ម ងដនះកាលពី ជាង៣

សបាឋហ៍មុន។

សាទនេូរសហរដអា
ឌ ដមរក្ដេ
ិ ើបដរដធការដល
ើវ ុំ ូ ងកាលពីមសលម
ើក្ដឡើងជាដប ិ ញស
ិ ីថ

ពីវដសាធនក្ម
ិ ដម នះ បនាធប់ពីវាររូវបានដបាះដនបរអនុម័រ។

ការដលើក្ដឡើងដនះានខ្ឹមសារថា
ល
សហរដអា
ឌ ដមរក្រពួ
ិ យបារមអ ុំ ី អណា
ា ព ុំ ចដដលវដសាធនក្ម
ិ ថ ់ ឲ្យរោឌភបា
ដម នះផល ិ

ល “ដៅក្ុ ងការោក្
ប ់ក្ហ
ុំ ិ រដល់ដសរភាពបដញ្
ី ច ញមរិ

ម ពរសបចាប់នានារបស់រណបក្សនដយាបាយ
និងសក្មភា

និងរាលយរណបក្សនដយាបាយដចាល

ដរកាមលក្ខ្ ុំ
េ ណឍក្ណ រ់មនចាស
ិ ់ោស់ “។

ការដលើក្ដឡើងដនះបានអ ុំ វនាវឲ្យរោឌភបាលធានាថា
ិ

ររប់រណបក្សទងអស
ុំ ់ានឱ្កាសរបក្ួររបដជងដសើភាពោ
ម ប ដៅក្ុ ងការដបាះដន
ប ប

រ ុំ ង្ហារ់ដៅដខ្មង
ុស ិ ៏សខា
ិ ុ នា និងការដបាះដនបរជារដ ុំ ន់ដៅនបដរកាយ។
ុំ

ការដលើក្ដឡើងដនះានខ្ឹមសារបដន
ល មទ ថា

ម ពណាមួយរបស់រោឌភបាលដដលបានហាមឃ្រ
“សក្មភា ិ ់

ឬររបន
ឹ ឹ ងរណបក្សនដយាបាយដៅដរកាមវ
ថ ដសាធនក្ម
ិ ចម ាប់ងីដម នះ

រឺជាការដដើរងយដរកាយមួយយា៉ងខាលងច
ុំ ដុំ ះដដុំ ណើរវវឌ្ណថ្នសា
ិ ទ នភាពនដយាបា

យដៅក្មុ ជា ុំ
ព ដហើយនឹងនាឲ្យានសណុំ ួ រដចាេដឡើង

ពីភាពរសបចាប់ក្ុ ងការដបាះដន
ប ប រ នាដពលខាងមុខ្”។

កាលពីសបាថហ៍មុន ដោក្ នលស៍ ដស៊នេីដអដហាគ (Charles

ិ សភាអាសា៊នដផក្
Santiago)  របធានសាជក្ ប សិេិមន
ន ុ សស (APHR)

ុំ
និងជារណា ងោន្តសរ ុំ
ថ ណបក្សរបនងដៅា៉ ដឡសុីបានចារ់េុក្វដសាធនក្ម
ិ ដម នះ

ុំ ល ញលេិរបជាធ
ថា ជា “ការបផ្អ ន បដរយយ
ិ ដៅក្មុ ជា
ព ”។

រោឌភបាលបានរចានដចាលោល
ិ ់ ការរះរន
ិ ់ទងអស
ុំ ់មក្ដលើវដសាធនក្ម
ិ ដម នះ។
ដោក្ ដឡង ដប៉ងឡុង អក្
ប នា ុំ ឌ ភាបានានរបសាសន៍កាលពីមសលម
ក្យរដស ិ ញ
ិ

ថា “រឺរាលយដរក្ុ ងក្រណ
ប ី បេដលើស
ម ដបើមិនដលើសានអ
ម ីររូវរាលយ”។ ដោក្បាន

បដនម
ទ ថា “ដបើដយងេ
ើ ុក្ឲ្យដធើអ
វ ុ ីចឹងតាមចិរថអុីចឹងដរើរបជាធិបដរយយ

ឬអនាធបដរយយ?”។វ
ិ ដសាធក្ម
ិ ដម នះររូវបានបញ្ូ ជ នដៅរពឹេស
ន ភាកាលពីរដសៀល

មសលម
ិ ញ
ិ ដហើយនឹងបញ្ូ ជ នបនដថ ៅកាន់រក្ុមរបក្ាធម
ឹ ន ដ នាធប់ពីពិនិរយ
ម ុ ញ្ប

និងដបាះដនបររួច។

ដោយសនរ
ម ថា

វាររូវបានឡាយរពះហសដថ លខាដោយរពះមហាក្សររដដលមនដដលជ
ិ ទុំ ស់ទ

ល់ដរដសាះចដុំ ះចាប់ដដលោរេដោយរណបក្សរបជាជនក្ម
ុំ ុ ជាដនាះវ
ព ដសាធ
ិ

ថ ់ អណា
នក្មដម នះនឹងផល ុំ ចដល់រុោការក្ព
ុំ ូ លក្ុ ងការរា
ប ល យរណបក្សណា

មួុួយទក្់េិនការរបរពឹរប
ថ េដលើសនានាដដលម
ម នានដចងចាស
ិ ់ោស់

ក្ុ ងដនាះរ
ប ួមានដូចជា “ការញុះញង់ដដលអាចនាឲ្យានការដបក្បាក្
ុំ ់ជារ”ិ និង

“ការដធវើវ េ
ិ ង ុំ ឹ ងរបបរបជាធបដរយយ
ន សនារបនងន ិ ដសរ ី

ពហុបក្ស និងរបបោជានិយមអារស័យរដធ
ឌ មន
ម ុ ញ្”ដ

ធ ៏នឹងអាចផ្អាក្សក្មភា
ជាដដើម។ រក្សួងមហាថ្ផក្ ម ពរណបក្សនដយាបាយណា

មួុួយសរាប់ដហរុផលដូចោបដនះដដរ។

ចាប់ដដលបានដធវើវ ដសាធនក្ម
ិ ុំ ុ រល
ដម នះ ុ ោងប គ ជាប់ដទស

និងានដទសជាប់ពននា
ន ោរដដលមនររូ
ិ វបានពយួរ

មនឲ្យកាន
ិ ់រដុំ ណងជាថាបក្់ដក្ ុំ
ឹ នាបក្សដឡើយ
 ុំ ូ លោោងថា
ដហើយអនុញ្ហដរឲ្យរុោការក្ព ុំ ប ក្់ដឹក្នាថ្នរណបក្សនដយាបាយដដ
ុំ

លររូវបានរាលយមិនឲ្យ ក្់ពន
័ ដន ៅក្ុ ងសក្ម
ប ភា
ម ពនដយាបាយណាមួយរយៈដព

លរហូរដល់៥នប។
ុំ

ដោក្ សម រងសុ ី ដដលជាអក្

ប ដក្ ុំ
ឹ នាចលនារបជាធបដរយយជាយ
ិ ូ រមក្ដហើយដនាះ

ដេើបដរោដលងពីរដុំ ណងជារបធានរណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជាររយៈដពលជាងម
ិ ួយ

សបាថហ៍បុ ដ៉ ណាតះដោយសងឃមថា
ឹ នឹងអាចសដន្តង្ហគះរណបក្សរបស់ដោក្បាន។

ដោក្សម រងសុ ី រស់ដៅក្ុ ងេ

ប ីរក្ុងបា៉រសក្
ី ុ ងលក្
ប ខ្
េ ណឍនិរដេសខ្ួ នឯង
ល

ដោយរបឈមនឹងដទសជាប់ពននា ុំ ី បេបរហារដក្រ
ន ោរពីរនបព ិ ិ៍ថ
ដដលមជឈោឌ នេូ

ដៅដជឿជាក្់ថា ានជាប់ ក្់ពន

័ ដន រឿងនដយាបាយ។

វដសាធនក្ម
ិ ដម នះររមូវឲ្យរណបក្សដដលបារ់បង់របធានរបស់ខ្ួ នប
ល ដុំ ពញរដុំ ណ

ងដនះក្ុ ងរយៈដពល៩០ថ្ង
ប ។ង បនាធប់ពីការដបាះដនបរអនុម័រកាលពីមសលម
ិ ិញ

ដោក្

ប នា ុំ
សុខ្ ឥសាន អក្ ក្យរណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជាបានដល
ព ើក្ដឡើងថារយៈដពល

ង រាប់រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារន
៩០ថ្ងស ិ ឹ ងចាប់ដផម
ើថ ភាលមបនាធប់ពីរពះមហាក្សររ

ឡាយរពះហសដថ លខា ដលើចាប់ដនះដដលដោក្រព

ុំ ឹ ងថា នឹងដក្រាននប
ើ ់ៗ។

រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារបានដរងតា
ិ ុំ
ងអន ុ របធានរបស់ខ្ួ នជារបធានស
ល ថ ីចាប់តា ុំ
ីេ

ងពីដោក្ សម រងសុ ី បានោដលងពីរដុំ ណងកាលពីថ្ងេ

ង ី១១ ដខ្ក្ុមៈា មក្

ដហើយានរដរាង

ដបក្សាជបក្សដៅដខ្ដមសាន
ើ ុំ
ប ២០១៨ដដើមផដរជ
ី ើសដរសរបធានអច
ើ ថ្ន្តន
ិ យថ ៍ ។ដោ
ក្ រម
ឹ សុខា

ដដលរចបាច់បញ្ូ ច លរណបក្សរបនងរបស
ុំ ់ដោក្ជាមួយរណបក្សរបស់ដោក្

ុំ
សម រងសុ ី កាលពីនប២០១២ដដើមផបដង
ី ើរ
ា ជារណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារិ

ុំ ងជាេេួលបានរដុំ ណងក្ព
េន ុំ ូ លដនះ បុ ដ៉ នថ

ដោក្ដៅជាប់ទក្់េិននឹងការដសើុុបអដងរ ុំ ុ ុំ ដរឿងពុក្រលួយដដលមជឈ
ា ដលើសណ

ោឌនេូដៅដមលដ
ើ ើញថា

ជាប់ ក្់ពន
័ ដន រឿងនដយាបាយ ទក្់េិននឹងរសីក្ណា
ុំ ន់ាបក្់ដៅដឡើយ។

របសិនដបរណបក្សសដន្តង្ហ
ើ គ ះជារររូ
ិ វដរជស
ើ ដរសរបធានង
ើ អ
ីម ចថ្ន្តន
ិ យថ ៍ ក្ុ ងរយៈដព
ប

ល៩០ថ្ងង បនាធប់ពីរពះមហាក្សររឡាយរពះហសដថ លខារួចដមនដនាះ

េុំ
វាអាចបងឲ្យដោក្ ក្ម
ឹ សុខា ដដលរងបណឹថ ងផូ វចាប
ល ់

េេួលរដុំ ណងដនះយា៉ងយូរររមដខ្ឧសភាដ
ឹ លរដៅម
ឺ ុ ខ្ការដបាះដនបរ ុំ ង្ហា
ុស

រ់ដដលនឹងដធដឡ
ើវ ើងដៅថ្ងេ
ង ី ដខ្មង
ិ ុ នា៕ ស៊ុខ៊ុម ថិងស៊ុយឈាង

Letter to the Editor: Rainsy Quits Amid

Threats, But CNRP Still in Danger
BY READER

CAMBODIA DAILY

FEBRUARY 20, 2017

As the article “Rainsy Quits Amid Threats, But CNRP Still
inDanger” (February13) notes, Sam Rainsy resigned as president
of the CNRP to save his party from dissolution at the hands of
Prime Minister Hun Sen—with commune elections coming in
June and the national election next year.
—Letter to the Editor—
Academics see Mr. Hun Sen‟s non-stop obsession to divide and
weaken the CNRP as a pre-emptive tactic before the elections,
ensuring his preferred outcome.
His activities have surpassed all efforts to reform and destroyed
what good might have come of it. Mr. Rainsy has laid out an
inclusive policy to include Cambodians overseas, especially
millions of migrant workers, to be able to vote, as opposed to
Mr. Hun Sen who has advocated excluding them.
Apart from his personal integrity and genuine patriotism, Mr.
Rainsy is clear and intelligent in handling political truces with
Mr. Hun Sen.
With more than 23 years of experience leading the opposition
party, his efforts paid off in 2013. Seas of people gathered in a
tsunami-like crowd to welcome him back home at the airport a
few days prior to the national election, which the CNRP nearly
won.
From now on, Mr. Rainsy will be an icon of change and idealistic
pragmatism in Cambodia. His political career is not over. As long
as Cambodian people, especially younger voters, remain
supportive of his decades long struggle, his vision for Cambodia
will cease to be a dream.
Opposition acting president Kem Sokha walks past a portrait of former president Sam Rainsy
yesterday at the party headquarters in Phnom Penh. Heng Chivoan

With gov’t poised to use convictions against

CNRP, Rainsy exits ‘for good of party’
Mon, 13 February 2017

Phnom Penh Post

Meas Sokchea, Mech Dara and Shaun Turton

Reshaping Cambodia‟s political landscape ahead of looming

elections, opposition leader Sam Rainsy on Saturday resigned as
president and left the Cambodia National Rescue Party, explaining
yesterday that his decision was to “protect the party” from
dissolution.
The decision by the longtime opposition leader followed threats by
Prime Minister Hun Sen to pass laws that would bar convicts from
political leadership and disband parties led by people convicted of
crimes in Cambodian courts.
In a video posted on Facebook yesterday, the 67-year-old, who faces
two widely criticised convictions carrying seven years in prison as
well as several other lawsuits, said he was resigning from the party so
it could contest upcoming elections.
“If I was still the president, and the party gets dissolved, is there a
benefit? It only damages our interests, the party‟s interests and the
nation‟s interest,” Rainsy said from France.
“So what [do we] want? We want the election. We want changes
through the election. But they want to dissolve our party, and if it is
dissolved, our party cannot compete and the election is meaningless.
Then we lose a historical opportunity to bring the changes that
Cambodian people want.”
His resignation from the party, labelled the “end of an era” by one
analyst, was formally accepted by the opposition permanent
committee yesterday, which named acting president Kem Sokha as
interim leader until a replacement is formally selected at a 2018 party
congress.
A letter which circulated yesterday, suggesting Rainsy had asked
Sokha to appoint his wife Tioulong Saumura as president in his place,
was dismissed by Rainsy, Saumura and party spokespeople as
“fake”.
Via email, Rainsy said he now “no longer had any responsibility in the
party”, but continued to “support it and its current leadership”.
He did not, however, discount a return to politics, claiming he was
still the “national and international symbol of resistance to the Hun
Sen regime”.
“For the rest, you will see,” said Rainsy. “A politician‟s career is likely
to last as long as he has the popular support to fulfill his mission as
assigned by the majority of his nation.”
CNRP spokesperson Yim Sovann speaks to the press after a party meeting following Sam
Rainsy‟s resignation, yesterday in Phnom Penh. Heng Chivoan

The recent proposal by Hun Sen to amend the 1997 Law on Political
Parties to block convicts from political leadership and allow parties to
be dissolved if a leader is convicted of a crime was widely seen as the
latest in a string of political attacks on the CNRP by the ruling
Cambodian People‟s Party.
There was doubt in some quarters, however, whether the CPP would
follow through and disband their main political rivals.
Speaking yesterday, CPP spokesman Sok Eysan reiterated the claim
that the proposed amendments were not targeting any specific party
and added that the National Assembly‟s permanent committee would
meet today to select a day to vote.
At a press conference yesterday at the CNRP headquarters,
spokesman Yim Sovann applauded Rainsy‟s decision, saying the
party‟s “mistreatment” and “difficulties” had presented an
opportunity.
“This is a very good opportunity for Mr president Sam Rainsy to
present an example of patriotism for all politicians in Cambodia that
positions and titles are not important,” he said.
Opposition Senator Seng Mardi said he also supported the decision,
calling it a “good strategic move”.
“Now instead of focusing on the national issues, it‟s come down to
individuals having a playground fight,” he said. “It has put everything
else at risk. I think this shows that Rainsy is a mature enough
politician to back out and let it cool down.”
Rainsy, a former investment banker and founding member of
the royalist FUNCINPEC party in 1981, has been the leading
opposition figure in Cambodia for the past 20 years, though he has
spent several years abroad to avoid arrest.
Appointed finance minister after the 1993 elections saw the royalists
and CPP enter a coalition government, he formed his own Khmer
Nation Party in 1995 after being kicked out of Funcinpec following his
criticism of state graft.
In 1997, he survived a deadly grenade attack on a party rally, and in
1998 he changed the party‟s name to the Sam Rainsy Party, after a
splinter group attempted to take the group‟s name.
Electorally, the party remained unable to challenge the CPP‟s
dominance until merging with Kem Sokha‟s Human Rights Party in
2012 to create the CNRP which, the following year, won 55 of the
parliament‟s 123 seats.
It‟s this threat, analysts say, that‟s sparked the latest crackdown by
Hun Sen against his rival and his party, which has seen opposition
members and government critics charged and jailed in widely
criticised cases.
Rainsy has not stepped foot in Cambodia since 2015, when he elected
not to return to face prison time after a long-dormant defamation and
incitement conviction, widely thought to be quashed by a royal
pardon, was revived. Last year, he was barred from the country
officially.
In his absence, analysts have often questioned the strength of
Rainsy‟s and Sokha‟s partnership and that of their followers,
particularly after Sokha was granted a royal pardon for a
“prostitution”-related conviction last December, which freed him from
effective house arrest.
Reached yesterday, CNRP official and Sokha‟s daughter Kem
Monovithya said the resignation followed consultation between the
opposition‟s top leaders, though she didn‟t respond to questions
about stability in the party.
“The elections will not have any legitimacy if CNRP cannot compete,”
she said.
“[Rainsy] remains the symbol of the opposition movement to
supporters, that‟s unchanged.”
Most analysts yesterday broadly viewed the move as positive,
allowing Rainsy to draw fire away from the party.
Some, though, questioned if there were more reasons for his surprise
exit and whether it was permanent or temporary.
Political commentator Ou Virak said there would be “unease” among
Rainsy‟s allies in the party about losing sway, but noted the short
time frame until the June commune elections meant “they don‟t have
time to fight”.
Virak said he expected that Rainy‟s public rationale was not “the
whole picture”, saying it was “unreasonable” to “give up the fight” in
the face of a legislative threat. “I think there must be other reasons
and it could be that there needs to be that transition,” he said. “There
could be some . . . personal reasons for why he no longer wants to be
in the midst of the fight.”
However, another well-informed political commentator, who wished to
remain anonymous, said he considered the move advantageous,
saying Rainsy, seen as making a sacrifice, would protect the party,
while placing the burden on Hun Sen to make the next move.
“For me, this resignation will force the CPP to have a serious
discussion internally,” he said.
“Members of the CPP can rationally ask the PM „what is next? If we
move ahead to amend the law, it would still result in negative public
opinion, but if we don‟t, people would see our attempt to change was
aimed at one person‟.”
Transparency International director Preap Kol applauded the move,
saying it showed Rainsy as “unselfish”, and laid bare the CPP‟s
undemocratic strategy.
Prominent activist monk But Buntenh, meanwhile, said the decision
could pave the way for fresh leadership.
Reached yesterday, author of Hun Sen‟s Cambodia Sebastian
Strangio said the loss of an “iconic” leader could take a toll on the
party, though noted that the move would give CNRP members
“breathing room” to prepare for elections.
“I wouldn‟t rule out Rainsy‟s return to politics at some point, but at
the moment it does seem to mark the end of an era, in which he has
been the primary opposition leader,” said Strangio. “I‟m assuming
this marks Kem Sokha‟s step onto the main stage . . . the 2018
election is shaping up as a battle between Hun Sen and Kem Sokha,
which in many ways is a more interesting clash.”

Sam Rainsy Resigns as Opposition Party President

BY KUCH NAREN

CAMBODIA DAILY

FEBRUARY 11, 2017

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy resigned on Saturday as president

of the CNRP in the face of threats by Prime Minister Hun Sen to
pass a law barring convicts from political leadership and
dissolving parties led by individuals convicted of crimes by
Cambodia‟s courts.
Mr. Hun Sen promised late last month to draft and pass legal
amendments that would make the CNRP vulnerable to
dissolution with Mr. Rainsy as its president, given his legal
convictions and numerous cases still in the pipeline.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy speaks during a press conference in 2013. (Siv Channa/The Cambodia Daily)

In a letter posted to his Facebook page on Saturday, Mr. Rainsy

said that he was resigning as the official opposition leader but
still embodied the resistance to Prime Minister Hun Sen.
“Objective: Notice of my resignation from the position as
president and member of CNRP for personal reasons,” a signed
letter reads.
“As stated in the above objective, I would like to inform the
permanent committee and steering committee directors about
my decision, and consider the decision coming into force from
the date of my signature,” says the statement, signed on
Saturday.
“Please, permanent committee and steering committee directors
as well as all former colleagues in the CNRP, accept deep regrets
and friendship from me.”
In a message on Twitter, Mr. Rainsy wrote: “I resign as CNRP
leader for the sake of the party. In all circumstances I cherish
and uphold the CNRP‟s ideals in my heart.”
Whether Mr. Hun Sen would actually follow through on his
threats to dissolve parties led by individuals convicted by
Cambodia‟s courts—widely viewed as politicized and corrupt—
has been a matter of debate.
Mr. Rainsy‟s resignation appears to be an effort to make sure his
own legal issues will not be used as a pretext to erase his party.
The united opposition party was formed with his deputy, Kem
Sokha, who has served as its acting president, with Mr. Rainsy
banned from returning to Cambodia and living in Paris.
CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann confirmed that Mr. Rainsy had
resigned as the party‟s president but referred further questions
to Mr. Rainsy, who could not be reached.
The ruling party on Friday said that it was pushing through a
new law on political parties, proposed by Mr. Hun Sen earlier
this month. The premier said it would be drafted in the model of
similar laws in Thailand that have seen parties dissolved after
leaders became convicts, often in politically charged cases.
Mr. Rainsy decided not to return to the country after a years-old
conviction for defaming Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong
was reactivated despite many believing that he had been
pardoned of that conviction, along with others. He has since
been the target of numerous defamation suits, most related to
claims on his Facebook page about the ruling party.

Analysts Warn of Violence if Political Status Quo

Continues
BY COLIN MEYN

CAMBODIA DAILY

FEBRUARY 8, 2017

អានជាភាសាខ្ំែរ(ខាងក្រោម)
Unless there are fundamental changes to the dynamics of politics
in Cambodia—with the government suppressing dissent and the
opposition often relying on racially charged attacks—
disenchantment following next year‟s election is likely to lead to
violence, a think tank warned in a political analysis released on
Tuesday.
Noting that the government has largely returned to old tactics of
oppression rather than aggressively pursuing the reform agenda
promised after the 2013 national election, the Future Forum
public policy think tank says the country‟s fragile political
climate could easily erupt if voters feel silenced.
A woman pays her respects to those killed in a March 1997 grenade attack on a protest led by opposition leader
Sam Rainsy during the 19th anniversary commemoration at the site in Phnom Penh last year. (Siv Channa/The
Cambodia Daily)

“Unless risks are acknowledged, strategies recalibrated, and

policy platforms established, the groundswell of public opinion—
particularly among urban dwellers and the youth—could very
likely mean another wave of protests, political upheaval and
violence around the 2018 elections,” the analysis says.
“Almost inevitably, anger leads to violence, especially in a
country like Cambodia, where the authorities have proven
themselves willing to use force, both officially by security forces
and unofficially,” it adds.
“Another risk is that the public and any protesters resort to
violence. That is precisely why it is in the interests of the
government not to keep the lid on the situation for too long, as
pressure will eventually build to a dangerous level.”
Following the 2013 election, mass protests led by the CNRP
remained peaceful for months. However, in January 2014, when
military police moved to break up a protest by garment
workers—whose campaign for higher wages was supported by
the opposition—they were pelted with stones and responded by
indiscriminately firing their rifles at demonstrators, killing at
least five and injuring dozens.
The government quickly moved to suppress all protests,
deploying men in civilian clothes with sticks and metal bars to
clear out CNRP supporters from Phnom Penh‟s Freedom Park.
The opposition agreed to join parliament in a deal that was
hurriedly hammered out in July 2014 after six lawmakers were
imprisoned over a protest that turned violent.
Cham Bunthet, a political analyst and policy adviser to the
Grassroots Democracy Party, said there was little hope that the
government would change its ways, but the opposition could be
doing much more to set the stage for a nonviolent post-election
period.
He said the CNRP should focus on promoting popular policies
rather than attacking the ruling party, and should present a road
map for a peaceful transition of power if it wins next year‟s
election.
“Build trust with the government—this doesn‟t mean working
together. Make sure they are safe if they lose,” he said. “If [the
CPP] remain fearful, they will fight to their last breath to hold
onto their power and safety.”
In December, opposition leader Sam Rainsy said that after the
CNRP wins the 2018 election “what will remain from Hun Sen‟s
CPP will just be a bunch of rebels who will be crushed by the
legitimate government.”
Responding to criticism that his remarks suggested a
continuation of Cambodia‟s violent politics, he said that they did
not represent the CNRP‟s post-election plans.
“After the July 28, 2018 national elections, a smooth and
peaceful transition remains my objective and, I would say, my
obsession,” he wrote in a letter to The Cambodia Daily.
“There will be no political retributions and no witch-hunts
whatsoever. The new and legitimate CNRP-led government will
treat with dignity all CPP members or former members and will
offer them real opportunities to participate in the achievement
of a true, inclusive and equitable development for Cambodia.”
CPP spokesman Sok Eysan said on Tuesday that the government
had done enough work since the last election to ensure that the
next one did not result in the same sort of public anger.
“I think that next election will not be as severe as 2013,” he said.
“Because both parties spent months negotiating to amend the
election law…so just implementing that law will be enough to
ensure stability around the upcoming election.”
“So I can confirm that power will be peacefully transferred,” he
added. “I mean the transfer of power from the fifth mandate of
government ruled by the CPP to the sixth mandate of CPP
government.”
(Additional reporting by Kuch Naren)

អងរោរក្វទ្ិោអនាគត្ររមានថានឹងក្កើត្មានអំក្រើ
ហិងា ក្ប្ើសាថនភារនក្យាបាយក្ៅខ្ត្ប្នតខ្ប្ប្ក្នុះ
េ ោយ ខូលីន មុីយន៍

ៃថ៮ពុធ ទី 8 ែខកុមភៈ ឆនោាំ 2017

េ ាក្នង
ហ បទវិភាគនេយាបាយមួយេចញផាយកាលពីមឝិលមិញ
អង៬ការេវទិកាអនាគតបានេធវក
ើ ាររពមានថា
របសិនេបើឝថានភាពនេយាបាយក្នហងរបេទសក្មពហជា
គមានការផលាស់បរឡ៵ ែដលចាាំបាច់េទ េដាយរដ៶ាភិបាលគាបសង៪ត់អនក្របឆាាំង
េែើយជាញឹក្ញាប់គណបក្ឝរបឆាាំងពឹងែផសក្េលើការវាយរបឞារពូជឝាសន៍េនាោះ  ការែ
ក្ចិតតេរកាយការេបាោះេឆនាតឆនាាំ២០១៨ទាំនងជានាាំេ ារក្អាំេពើែង
ិ ា។

េដាសគូសបញ្៱ាក្់ថា ភាគេរចើនរដ៶ាភិបាលបានងាក្េ ាេរបើេសនៀតចាស់

េពាលគឺការគាបសង៪ត់ជាជាងការបនតយាងសរឝាក្់សរឝាាំនូវរេបៀបវារៈក្ាំែណទរមង់ែដ
លែលអនបានសនាេរកាយការេបាោះេឆនាតេរជើសតាាំងតាំណាងរារសតឆនាាំ២០១៣េនាោះ
អង៬ការេនោះនិយាយថា
បរិយាកាសនេយាបាយដ៏ផុយរសួយេ ាក្នហងរបេទសហាចងាយនឹងផទហោះេឡើង
របសិនេបើអនក្េបាោះេឆនាតយល់ថាែលអនរតូវេគបាំបិទមាត់។

បទវិភាគេនាោះមានែលម
ឹ ឝារដូេចនោះថា “េបើគាម នការទទួលឝ៬ាល់ឞានិភយ
័
គមានការផលាស់បរឡត យុទឝ
ធ ារសត
និងគមានការបេង៪ត
ើ ក្មមវធ
ិ េី គាលនេយាបាយេទេនាោះ ការេក្ើនេឡើងភលាមៗនូវមតិឝាធារណ
ជន ជាពិេសសក្នហងចាំេណាមរបជាពលរដ៶រស់េ ាក្នហងទីរក្ុង និងយុវជន
របាក្ដជាហាចកលាយជារលក្ៃនការតវ៉ៃា
ចលាចលនេយាបាយ និងអាំេពើែង
ិ ាមួយេទៀតេ ាជុវាំ ញ
ិ ការេបាោះេឆនាតឆនាាំ២០១៨។ េសទើរ
ែតមិនហាចេចៀសរួច
ក្ាំែឹងនាាំេ ារក្អាំេពើែិងា  ជាពិេសសេ ាក្នហងរបេទសមួយដូចក្មពហជាជាេដើម ែដលហាជ៳ា
ធរបានបងឞាញថាែលន
អ មានឆនទៈេរបើរបាស់ក្មលាង
ាំ ទាាំងផលវឡ ការេដាយក្ងសនតិសែ
ុ
ទាាំងេររាផលវឡ ការ។ ឞានិភយ
័ មួយេទៀតគឺថា
ឝាធារណជន និងអនក្តវ៉ៃាងាក្េ ាេរបើអេាំ ពើែង
ិ ា។
េនាោះជាមូលេែតុបងឞាញយាងចាស់ថា
រដ៶ាភិបាលចាាំបាច់មន
ិ រតូវទុក្ឲ្យឝថានភាពេនោះេ ាយូរេពក្េឡើយ ពីេរពាោះេ ាទីបាំផុតសមពា
ធនឹងេក្ើនេឡើងដល់ក្រមិតមួយែដលេរគាោះថនាក្់”។
រសរីមនោក់េគោរពវិញ្ដោណក៫នធជនរងេរគោោះែេលឝលោប់កនហងេែតុកោរណ៍គប់រគោប់ែបកែខមីនោ ឆនោាំ ១៩៩៧
មកេលើបោតុកមមរបស់គណបកឝរបឆោាំង កនហងពិធីរំឭកខួបេលើកទី១៩ កោលពីឆនោាំមុន។ រូបថតៈ សុីវ ចោន់ណោ/ឌឹ េខមបូឌោ េេលី

េរកាយការេបាោះេឆនាតឆនាាំ២០១៣
មឞាបាតុក្មមដឹក្នាាំេដាយគណបក្ឝសេ្ង៬ាោះជាតិបានេធវើេឡើងេដាយសនតិវិធីរយៈេពលរា
ប់ែែ។ េទាោះជាយាងណា េ ាែែមក្រា
ឆនាាំ២០១៤  េ ាេពលក្ងរាជហាវុធែតថចាត់វិធានការបាំែបក្ការតវ៉ៃារបស់ក្មមក្រក្មមការិនី
េរាងចរក្កាត់េដរ
ែដលយុទធនាការទាមទារដាំេឡើងរបាក្់ែែរបស់ែលអនទទួលបានការគាាំរទពីគណបក្ឝរបឆាាំង
 ពួក្េគរតូវបានឝវាគមន៍េដាយដុថ
ាំ ម
េែើយពួក្េគបានតបតេ ាវិញេដាយការបាញ់រោះមិនេរើសមុែេ ាេលើបាតុក្រ
បណតាលឱ្យមនុសឝហយាងតិចរបាាំនាក្់បាត់បង់ជីវិត និងរាប់សិបនាក្់េទៀតរងរបួស។

រដ៶ាភិបាលបានចាត់វធ
ិ ានការជាបនទាន់េដើមបីប្ង៪ាបការតវ៉ៃាទាាំងអស់
េដាយបញ្៱ឡនរក្ុមបុរសេសលៀក្ពាក្់សុីវិលរបដាប់េដាយដាំបងេឈើ
និងែដក្េដើមបីបែាំ បក្រក្ុមអនក្គាាំរទគណបក្ឝសេ្ង៬ាោះជាតិេចញពីទល
ី ានរបជាធិបេតយយ។
គណបក្ឝរបឆាាំងបានយល់រពមចូលសភាេ ាក្នហងក្ិច៯រពមេរពៀងមួយែដលបានសេរមច
យាងតក្់រក្ែល់េ ាែែក្ក្៪ដា  ឆនាាំ២០១៤  េរកាយតាំណាងរារសតរបាាំមួយរូបរតូវបានឃុាំែលអ
នទាក្់ទន
ិ ការតវ៉ៃាមួយែដលផទោះហ េ ាជាអាំេពើែង
ិ ា។

េលាក្ ឆាាំ បុនេថត អនក្វិភាគនេយាបាយ

និងជាទីរបឹក្ាេគាលនេយាបាយរបស់គណបក្ឝរបជាធិបេតយយមូលដ៶ានមានរបឝាសន៍
ថា មានសង៭ឹមតិចណាស់ែដលរដ៶ាភិបាលផលាស់ប៵ឡរវិធីរបស់ែលអន បែុ នតគណបក្ឝរបឆាាំងហា
ចេធវប
ើ ានេរចើនេដើមបីេរតៀមសរមាប់រយៈេពលេរកាយការេបាោះេឆនាតែដលអែិងា។

េលាក្េលើក្េឡើងថា
គណបក្ឝសេ្ង៬ាោះជាតិគួរែតេផ៵ាតេលើការេលើក្ក្មពស់េគាលនេយាបាយរបជានិយម ជា
ជាងេធវក
ើ ារវាយរបឞារេ ាេលើគណបក្ឝកាន់អាំណាច
េែើយគួរែតផ៵ល់ែផនទីចងសហលផលឡវសរមាប់ការេផទរអាំណាចេដាយសនតិវិធ ី របសិនេបើែលអនឈនោះ
ការេបាោះេឆនាតឆនា២
ាំ ០១៨។

េលាក្បនតថា “ការបេង៪ត
ើ ការេជឿទុក្ចិតជ
ត ាមួយរដ៶ាភិបាល
មិនមានន័យថាេធវក
ើ ារងារជាមួយគនាេនាោះេទ។ េធវឱ្
ើ យរបាក្ដថា ពួក្េគមានសុវតថភ
ិ ាព
េបើពក្
ួ េគចាញ់។ េបើ
[គណបក្ឝរបជាជនក្មពហជា] េ ាែតមានហារមមណភ
៍ យ
័ ខលាច ពួក្េគនឹងតសល
ូ ុោះដេងឞម
ើ ចុង
េរកាយេដើមបីរក្ាអាំណាច និងសុវតថិភាពរបស់ែលអន”។

កាលពីែែធនឡ េលាក្ សម រងឝហី របធានគណបក្ឝរបឆាាំងមានរបឝាសន៍ថា

បនទាប់ពគ
ី ណបក្ឝសេ្ង៬ាោះជាតិឈោះន ការេបាោះេឆនាតឆនាាំ២០១៨
“អវីែដលបនឝល់ពីគណបក្ឝរបជាជនក្មពហជារបស់េលាក្ ែុន ែសន
គឺឧទទាមមួយក៵ាប់តច
ូ ែដលនឹងរតូវបានប្ង៪ាបេដាយរដ៶ាភិបាលរសបចាប់”។

េឆលើយតបេ ានឹងការរិោះគន់ថា
ការេលើក្េឡើងរបស់េលាក្បងឞាញពីការបនតេក្ើតមាននេយាបាយែិងាេ ាក្មពហជា
េលាក្បានមានរបឝាសន៍ថា ការេលើក្េឡើងទាាំងេនាោះមិនតាំណាងឱ្យែផនការេរកាយការ
េបាោះេឆនាតរបស់គណបក្ឝសេ្ង៬ាោះជាតិេឡើយ។

េលាក្បានសរេសរក្នហងលិែិតមួយចាប់េផ៳ើមក្កាែសត េែមបូឌា េដលី ថា

“េរកាយការេបាោះេឆនាតេរជើសតាាំងតាំណាងរារសតេ ាៃថ៮ទី២៨ ែែក្ក្៪ដា ឆនាាំ២០១៨
ការេផទរអាំណាចេដាយរលូន និងេដាយសនតិវិធីេ ាែតជាបាំណងរបស់ែ ៳ហាំ េែើយែ៳ហាំហាចនិយា
យបានថា វាជាក្ងវលរ់ បស់ែ។
ាំហ៳
គមានការសងសឹក្ខាងនេយាបាយេទ េែើយក្៏គមានការេសុើបរក្េដើមបីដាក្់េទាសែដរ។
រដ៶ាភិបាលថមី និងរសបចាប់ែដលដឹក្នាាំេដាយគណបក្ឝសេ្ង៬ាោះជាតិ
នឹងរបរពឹតដ
ត ាក្់សមាជិក្
ឬអតីតសមាជិក្ទាាំងអស់របស់គណបក្ឝរបជាជនក្មពហជា េដាយេសចក្៵ីៃថលថនឡរ េែើយនឹងផ៵
ល់ឱ្កាសពិតរបាក្ដឱ្យពួក្េគចូលរួមេ ាក្នង
ហ ការសេរមចការអភិវឌ្ឍពិតរបាក្ដ
របក្បេដាយបរិយាប័ន និងសមធម៌សរមាប់ក្មពជ
ហ ា”។

េលាក្ សុែ ឥឝាន

អនក្នាាំពាក្យគណបក្ឝរបជាជនក្មពជ
ហ ា បានមានរបឝាសន៍កាលពីមឝិលមិញថា
រដ៶ាភិបាលបានេធវក្
ើ ច
ិ ក
៯ ាររគប់រគាន់េែើយចាប់តាាំងពីការេបាោះេឆនាតេលើក្ចុងេរកាយមក្
េដើមបីេធវឱ្
ើ យរបាក្ដថា ការេបាោះេឆនាតេលើក្េរកាយនឹងមិនេធវើឱ្យឝាធារណជនផទហោះក្ាំែឹងដូច
េនោះេទៀត។

េលាក្គូសបញ្៱ាក្់ថា
“ែ៳គ
ាំហ ត
ិ ថា ការេបាោះេឆនាតេលើក្េរកាយនឹងមិនធ៮ន់ធ៮រដូចឆនាាំ២០១៣េទ។ េដាយឝារគណ
បក្ឝទាាំងពីរបានចាំណាយេពលចរចាគនារាប់ែែ េដើមបីេធវវើ េិ ឝាធនក្មមចាប់េបាោះេឆនាត
ដូេចនោះរគាន់ែតអនុវតតតាមចាប់េនាោះេ ាគឺរគប់រគាន់ហាចធានាសថរិ ភាពជុវាំ ញ
ិ ការេបាោះេឆនាត
េ ាេពលខាងមុែបានេែើយ។ ដូេចនោះ
ែ៳ហ
ាំហ ាចបញ្៱ាក្់បានថា នឹងមានការេផទរអាំណាចេដាយសនតវិ ធ
ិ ។
ី
ែ៳ច
ាំហ ង់នយ
ិ ាយថា  ការេផទរអាំណាចពីរដ៶ាភិបាលហាណតតទ
ិ ី៥ ែដលដឹក្នាាំេដាយគណបក្ឝ
របជាជនក្មពជ
ហ ា មក្ឱ្យរដ៶ាភិបាលហាណតតិទី៦របស់គណបក្ឝរបជាជនក្មពហជា”៕ សុែុម

Sam Rainsy (left) and Prime Minister Hun Sen shake hands after sealing a deal to end a yearlong parliamentary boycott in
2014. Heng Chivoan

Hun Sen mulls rules to dissolve parties for individual’s wrongdoing

Fri, 3 February 2017

Phnom Penh Post

Lay Samean and Ananth Baliga

Drawing inspiration from now-defunct articles of the Thai
constitution, Prime Minister Hun Sen said yesterday he was looking to
introduce punitive measures that would dissolve political parties for
any wrongdoing committed by individual members.
During a marathon speech at a graduation ceremony on Koh Pich,
Hun Sen said he wanted to amend the 1997 Law on Political Parties,
asking relevant government officials to hastily convene a meeting
yesterday and deliberate changes that would punish an errant party‟s
leadership and “teach them a lesson”.
“I think that we should follow Thailand. If one has committed a
serious crime, the party must be dissolved so that the one will not be
so troublesome anymore,” he said.
Hun Sen was referring to Thailand‟s 2007 constitution, which was
voided after the 2014 coup. That document stipulates that if a member
of a political party commits an illegal act, and there is proof that the
party‟s executive committee was aware, the party is to be dissolved
and all committee members banned from politics for five years.
Hun Sen also reiterated a desire to introduce restrictions on
convicted individuals from holding any party posts, a thinly veiled
reference to exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy that he first floated
in a speech on Tuesday.
“I am not kidding, I will do it. Look at it and then make the decision [at
the meeting],” he said. “After that, make a petition and propose it to
the National Assembly.”
Cambodian People‟s Party spokesman Sok Eysan confirmed that a
meeting was underway yesterday evening, adding that government
lawyers, representatives from the ministries of justice and interior, as
well as the Constitutional Council were looking into Hun Sen‟s
request.
“If we think about the time, it has been 20 years [since the 1997 Law
on Political Parties was passed],” he said. “There are problems that
happened recently, so we need to include the recent the problems
into the meaning of the law for it to be effective.”
Eysan denied that the amendments were solely directed at Sam
Rainsy and the opposition, saying it was applicable to all political
parties. “He [Rainsy] is guilty, but the change of the law is not solely
for him, but for other directors or deputy directors of parties,” he said.
CNRP lawmaker Eng Chhay Eang said he expected the Cambodian
public to see the move for what it was, and that the premier was free
to do whatever he pleased. “There is no point in worrying. In short, it
is useless, because we can do nothing to prevent it,” he said.
Chhay Eang added that if the amendments were to be made to the
Political Party Law, it would only be a “backward step” for Cambodian
democracy.
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch in
Bangkok, said that if the prime minister introduced legislation similar
to Thailand‟s “rotten apple” law, the “days of real democracy in
Cambodia” would be numbered.
“Every day it appears that the way that Hun Sen intends to win the
2018 elections is by intimidation and abuses designed to clear the
field of any challengers before the election campaign even starts,” he
said.
In the past 12 months, five members of the CNRP – Rainsy, Um Sam
Ath, Hong Sok Hour, Thak Lany and Kem Sokha – have been
convicted, with Robertson maintaining the premier‟s proposed
changes were directed directly at the CNRP.
“Quite clearly, Hun Sen‟s take away from the 2013 election was to
leave nothing to chance next time around, and in his world view that
apparently means using the laws to obliterate the opposition,” he
said.

CPP: Rule to Eliminate CNRP Could be Approved in

April
BY KUCH NAREN

CAMBODIA DAILY
FEBRUARY 3, 2017

A law that could eliminate the opposition CNRP ahead of

upcoming elections is expected to be approved at the National
Assembly in April, a CPP spokesman said on Friday.
Prime Minister Hun Sen announced plans on Thursday to
drastically alter the law governing political parties so that
“anyone committing serious mistakes would cause their party to
be dissolved,” in a blatant reference to opposition leader Sam
Rainsy, who faces a slew of criminal charges widely perceived as
politically motivated.
CPP lawmakers and the party‟s legal experts met on Friday to
discuss the proposed amendment and decided to do everything
possible to pass it when the National Assembly returns in April,
party spokesman Sok Eysan said.
“Because the National Assembly will return to session in April so
we have two months left — February and March — and then we
will have enough time to draft the amendment and submit the
petition for a proposed amendment with the National
Assembly,” he said.
“We hope that we can pass the proposed amendment in April as
the National Assembly will return to work on the first of April,”
he added.
Mr. Eysan defended the proposal and labeled Mr. Rainsy a
criminal, but claimed it was not just aimed at removing the
CNRP — the CPP‟s only realistic threat in upcoming commune
and national elections.
“He is a convict who was sentenced to two years in prison but he
has never acknowledged it and then flees abroad,” he said of Mr.
Rainsy, who is currently exiled in Paris.
“Even if the law is not amended, he has no qualification to be
opposition leader as he has no right to not only stand as prime
ministerial candidate, but he does not even have the right to vote
like other ordinary voters,” he said.
“This law is going to be amended for all parties, not just to target
the opposition.”
Senior CNRP lawmaker Eang Chhay Eang cut a frustrated tone
on Friday, resigning himself to the fact that the opposition were
powerless to prevent the ruling party passing the amendment.
The CPP holds 68 seats in the National Assembly — more than
the required number to pass the amendment.
“Whatever the CPP wants to do, it can do,” he said. “If they want
to pass it tomorrow, they can just approve it tomorrow.”
Despite his admission that the opposition had no way of
preventing the CPP moves, he said the public would ultimately
judge the ruling party‟s behavior.
“We all know clearly that all things today are under the fist of the
CPP so whatever they are doing and going to do, let the public
consider and judge it.”
naren@cambodiadaily.com

ក្ោក ហុន ខ្សន ោរពារចំណាត្់ោរដកឋានៈរកុ

មសំក្ឡងភាគត្ិចរប្ស់ CNRP
ដោយ គុច ណ្តដ ៊ន

ថ្ងៃ រុធ ទី 1 បខក្ុមភៈ ឆ្នាំ2017

 ុំ
រណា ងោន្តសរ
ថ ណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជាក្
ព ពុំ ុ ងកាន់អណា
ុំ ចបានដធតាមការដរោង
ើវ

េុក្ដៅក្ុ ងការដក្ឋានៈរក្ុ
ប មសដុំ ឡងភាររិចក្ុ ងសភារបស
ប ់រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះ

ជារិកាលពីមសលម
ិ ឌ ន្តនី ថ ហ៊ុនដសន
ិញ ខ្ណៈដោក្នាយក្រដម
ុំ ដលើរណបក្សរបនងម
បានបដនាធសចៗ ុំ ួ យដនះចដុំ ុំ
ះការរដោភប ុំ នបេបញ្ហ
ជ

ថ្ផក្
ធ ុ ងថ្នរដ
ប សឌ ភា។

រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារដដលដធ
ិ ពហ
ើវ ិ ការសម័យរបជុដុំ នះដដម
ើ ផជាការរវា
ី ៉ របនង
ុំ

នឹងការដបាះដនបរសដរមចដនាះ

ុំ
បានរចានដចាលចណា រ់ការដនះថា “មនសមរសប”
ិ និងដធឲ្យខ្
ើវ ូចរបដយាជន៍។
ែុ សមានក្់ងរ ូែដោក្នាយក្ ដឋ មគនត ី ហ៊ាុន បសន
រីដអព្ក្ង់ទូ ទសសន៍ដៅក្នុង ដឋ សភាអាំ ុ ងសម័យព្ែជុាំកាលរីមសិលមិញ ក្នុងោជធានីភ្នាំដរញ។
ូែងរៈ ព្រីង សាំោង
ាំ /ឌឹ ដខមែូ ឌា ដដលី

ដោយសារខ្ួ នានស
ល ដុំ ឡងភារដរចនដៅក្
ើ ុ ងសភាដនាះ
ប

រណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជាបានដបាះដន
ព ប រសដរមចជាឯក្ចន
ឆ ដធ ៅក្ុ ងការដធ
ប វើវ ដសាធ
ិ

នក្មប
ម េបញ្ហ
ជ ថ្ផក្
ធ ុ ងថ្នរដ
ប សឌ ភាដដម
ើ ផល ុំ
ី ុ បដចាលការក្ណ រ់ឲ្យានរណបក្សសុំ

ើ និងសដុំ ឡងភាររចជាផ
ដឡងភារដរចន ិ ូ វការដដលររូ
ល វបានសនរ
ម ថាជាការពរងឹ

ងឥេិពលរបស
ន ់រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារតាមរយៈការបដង
ិ ើរ
ា យនកា
ថ រផូ វការសរា
ល

ប់រណបក្សទងព
ុំ ី រពិភាក្ាោបដលើបញ្ហ ុំ ន់ៗរបស់របដេសជារ។
ា សខា ិ រណបក្ស
របជាជនក្មុ ជាបានយល
ព ់ រពមផល
ថ ់ ឋានៈរក្ុមសដុំ ឡងភាររចជាផ
ិ ូ វការឲ្យរណ
ល

បក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារិក្ុ ងន
ប ុំ
ប ២០១៤

ជាដផក្
ប ថ្នក្ិចរច ពមដរពៀងមួយដដើមផ បញ្
ី ច ប់ការដធើពហ
វ ិ ការមិនចូលសភារបស់រ
ុំ ួ យដនះជុវុំ ញលេ
ណបក្សរបនងម ិ ផន លដ៏ចរមូងចរាសថ្នការដបាះដនបរដរជស
ើ

ុំ ណា
តាងរ ុំ ងោន្តសន ុំ
ថ ប ២០១៣។

ដពលដឡើងដងង ុំ ុ ងសម័យរបជុដុំ ដម
ល អឡ ើ ផដបាះដន
ី ប រសដរមចកាលពីមសលម
ិ ញ
ិ

ដោក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន

បានអះអាងដដដលថា រណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជាោ

ព ម នជដរមសដរៅព
ើ ី ដធវើវ ដសាធន
ិ

ក្មប
ម េបញ្ហ
ជ ថ្ផក្
ធ ុ ងដនះដឡ
ប ើយ ដរ ះរណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារបានរ
ិ ុំ
ដោភប ុំ នប

េបញ្ហ
ជ ថ្ផក្
ធ ុ ងដនះដដ
ប ើមផោក្
ី ់សាពធឲ្យានការដោះដលងរណា
ុំ ងោន្តសន
ថ ិ ងមន្តនី ថ

សិេិមន ុំ ួ នដដលរណបក្សរបនងម
ន ុ សសមួយចន ុំ ួ យដនះចារ់េុក្ថាជាអក្
ប ដទសន

ដយាបាយដនាះ។

ដទះបជារណបក្សរបជាជនក្ម
ី ុ ជាដរងដរដោះដលងអ
ព ក្
ប ដទសពីពននា
ន ោរដដើ

មផដោះរសាយជដា
ី ល ះនដយាបាយនាដពលក្នង ុំ ៏
ល មក្ជាមួយរណបក្សរបនងក្

ដោយ

ដរដពលដនះរណបក្សកាន់អណា
ុំ ចមួយដនះបានអះអាងថាខ្ួ នោ
ល ម នសិេិអ ុំ
ន ណា

ចដធដ
ើវ ូ ដចះ
ប មង
ថ ដេៀរដនាះដឡើយ។
ដោក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន បានដលើក្ដឡើងថា រណ បក្សរបជាជនររូវដរ

“បញ្ចប់វបផធម៌សដុំ ឡងភាររិចយក្សដុំ ឡងភារដរចើនដធើជាច

វ ុំ
ណា ប់ខាមងខាងន
ុំ

ដយាបាយដដលទមទរមិនដចះចប់ឲ្យដោះរសាយតាមផូ វនដយាបាយ
ល ”។

ដោក្ក្៏បានអះអាងផងដដរថា

ដោក្ ក្ម
ឹ សុខា អនុរបធានរណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារបានក្ផរ
ិ ់ ក្យសនោកាលពី

ដខ្ធូ ប ដៅក្ុ ងការជ

ប នុំ ួ សរដុំ ណងជារបធានរក្ុមសដុំ ឡងភាររចផ
ិ ូ វការ
ល របស់

ដោក្ សម រងសុ ី របធានរណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារដដលររូ

ិ ុំ នឲ្យច
វបានោោងម ិ ូ លរប

ដេសក្មុ ជាវ
ព ញកាលព
ិ ុំ ុ នបនាធប់ពីនិរដេសខ្ួ នឯងដៅរស
ី នបម ល ់ដៅដរៅរបដេសដដើ

មផដរចព
ី ថ ធ ដទសឲ្យជាប់ពននា
ី ការផនា ន ោរពីបេបរហារដក្រ
ិ ។ិ៍ថ សូមផបនា
ី ធ ប់ពីដោ
ក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន បានចារ់េុក្ដោក្ ក្ម
ឹ សុខា

ជាថ្ដរូដ៏សខា
ុំ ន់ងីស
ម រាប់ទក្់េងជាមួយរណបក្សរបនងដៅដខ្ដនាះ
ុំ

៉ ម នថ្ងប
បុ នា ង នាធប់ពីានការដរៀបចឲ្
ុំ យានការរពះោជទនដលើក្ដលងដទសអនុរប

ុំ ូបដនះពីបេដចាេរបកាន់ដៅក្ុ ងស
ធានរណបក្សរបនងរ ប ណុំ ុ ុំ ដរឿង“សញ្ចរក្ម”ម

ក្់ពន
័ ន ុំ
ន ឹ ងរសីក្ណា ន់ដដលដរដចាេថា ជារបស់ដោក្ក្៏ដោយដរដោក្ សម

រងសុ ី

ដៅដរដលើក្ដឡើងពីដរៅ របដេសមក្ថា ដោក្ដៅដរជារបធានរក្ុមសដុំ ឡងភារ

ិ បុ ដ៉ នេ
រច ុំ ុ រដោក្បានដលើក្ដឡើងថា រដុំ ណងដនះមនស
ថ ីបផ ិ ុំ ន់ដេ។
ខា
ដោក្ សុន វ័យ រាំណ្តងោគសត គណ្ែក្សព្ែឆ្ាំង បងែងអាំ ុ ងសនន ិសីទកាបសរដៅឯស្ននក្់កា ក្ណ្ត
ត
លគណ្ែក្សសដគ្រះជារិកាលរីថ្ងៃរុធ។ ូែងរៈ H a n n a h H a w k i n s /T h e
C a mb o d i a D a i l y

ដោក្នាយក្រដម
ឌ ន្តនី បានដល
ថ ើក្ដឡើងដេៀរថាដោក្ក្៏បានសដរមចឲ្យានការដធើវ

វដសាធនក្ម
ិ បម េបញ្ហ
ជ ថ្ផក្
ធ ុ ងថ្នរដ
ប សឌ ភាដដើមផការ
ី ់បនយ ុំ
ទ ការចណា យដលើរបធាន

រក្ុមសដុំ ឡងភារដរចន
ើ និងរបធានរក្ុមសដុំ ឡងភាររចផ
ិ ូ វការ
ល

និងដោយសាររណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារិមិនឈប់ដចាេរបកាន់រណបក្សរបជាជន

ក្មុ ជាថា
ព ោមនឆនៈធ ក្ុ ងការចរចា។
ប
ដៅឯសនិ ស
ប ីេកាដសរមួយដដលដធដឡ
ើវ ើងកាល ពីរពឹក្មសលម
ិ ញ
ិ

ដៅេីសាបក្់ការក្ណា
ថ លរបស់រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារិក្ុ ងោជធាន
ប ី ភដបុំ ពញដោក្

សុន ឆ័យ

ុំ
រណា ងោន្តសរ ុំ
ថ ណបក្សរបនងបានរចានដចាលការពនយល់ របស់ដោក្នាយក្រ

ដម
ឌ ន្តនី ។
ថ

ដោក្បានានរបសាសន៍ថា

ុំ
“មូលដហរុទង៥ានលក្ណេ ៈមនសមរសបដេ
ិ ដរ ះារតាដនះមនដមនដចងស
ិ

រាប់បុរល
គ ដេ

រដចងសរាប
ឺ ់ផលរបដយាជន៍របដេសជារិផលរបដយាជន៍សាទប័នរដស
ឌ ភា

និងសរាប់របដយាជន៍ សរាប់អនាររដវងនងយ”។

ដោក្បានានរបសាសន៍បដនម
ទ ថា

“រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារិដជឿជាក្់ដលើការជដជក្ោប…

ការជដជក្ោបរឺជាជដរមើសដ៏លប ុំ ុ រដៅក្ុ ងការររប

ា ផ ប ់ររងរបដេស។រណបក្សន

ុំ
ដយាបាយទងអស់ររូវដចះដោះរសាយជាមួយោប”។ ដោក្បានបដនម
ទ ដេៀរថា

“ដយងានដផនការដផសងោ
ើ ប

ានេាលប់ដធការង្ហរខ្
ើវ ុសោប បុ ដ៉ នថ ោល់បញ្ហ
ា ជារិ ោល់បញ្ហ
ា សងម
គ

វាររូវានយនកា
ថ រជដជក្ោប។ ដបដយ
ើ ងម
ើ នជដជក្ោ
ិ ប ដេ

ដយងម
ើ នអាចធានាន
ិ ូ វការឯក្ភាពោប

ធានានូវសនិ ភាពយ
ថ វ របស់សងម
ូ រអដងង គ ជារដេ
ិ ”។
ក្ញ្ហដ ក្ម
ឹ មដនាវេោ
ិ អនុរបធានដផក្
ប ក្ច ច រសាធារណៈរបស់រណបក្សស
ិ កា

ដន្តង្ហគះជារិ និងជាក្ូនរសីរបស់ដោក្ ក្ឹម សុខា ដនាះបានដលើក្ដឡើងថា

ការដធើវវ ដសាធនក្ម
ិ ដម នះរឺជាសញ្ហដថ្នការភ័យរក្់សុ ររបស
ល ់រណបក្សរបជាជនក្

មុ ជាដដលកាន
ព ់អណា
ុំ ចជាយូរមក្ដហើយដៅមុនការដបាះដនបរ ុំ ង្ហារ់ និងការ
ុស

ដបាះដនបរជារនាដពលខាងម
ិ ុ ខ្ ក្ុ ងការរបឈមជាម
ប ុំ
ួ យរណបក្សរបនងដដល

ដ រដពញដៅដោយការរួបរួមសាមរោ
ីគ ប ។

ុំ
ក្ញ្ហដបាននិយាយថា “ចណា រ់ការតាមដរអដុំ ពើចរ
ិ ដថ នះោមនអដរៅព
ីវ ី ថា

រណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជាក្
ព ពុំ ុ ងអស់សងឃមដនាះដេ
ឹ

ថ ់ នូវភាពរសបចាប់ដនាះដឡើយដៅក្ុ ងការរបក្
ដហើយោមនការផល ប ួ ររបដជងសរា

ប់ការដបាះដនបរ”។

ដោក្ សម រងសុ ី បានដចាេរបកាន់រណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជាថា

ព បានពោយាមមិ

នបានសដរមចដៅក្ុ ងការដរប
ប ើរបាស់រដុំ ណងរបធានរក្ុមសដុំ ឡងភាររិចក្ុ ងស
ប

ី ដុំ បក្បបា
ភាដនះដដើមផប ុំ ក្់រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារិ

ដដលដក្រដចញព
ើ ី ការរចបាច់បញ្ូ ច លោបរវាងរណបក្សសមរងសុ ី

ន ុ សសរបស់ដោក្ ក្ម
និងរណបក្សសិេិមន ឹ សុខា ដៅក្ុ ងន
ប ុំ
ប ២០១២។

យុេនា
ន ការដដម ី ដុំ បក្ប ុំ
ើ ផប ក្់ដោក្ សម រងសុ ី ពីដោក្ ក្ម ុំ ងជាមនទ
ឹ សុខា េន ិ

ន់បញ្ចប់ដេ។ដោក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន ក្៏បានដសើឲ្យានការដធ

ប វើវ ដសាធនក្ម
ិ ចម ាប់សីព
ថ ីរ

ណបក្សនដយាបាយផងដដរកាលពីមសលម
ិ ញ
ិ

ដដើមផឲ្យអ
ី ក្
ប ដដលានដទសមនអាចដ
ិ ុំ
ឹក្នារណបក្សនដយាបាយបាន
ជាចាប់មួយដដលនឹងបដណថញដោក្ សម រងសុ ី ដចញរដុំ ណងរបស់ដោក្

ប ឌ ន រឺេុក្វាសរាប់ដោក្ក្ឹម សុខា៕ ស៊ុយឈាង

ដហើយដបើតាមការសនិ ោ
(រាយការណ៍បន្ថែ មដោយ ន្បថ ស៊ុខហថ ថិង M i c h a e l D i c k i s o n )

Kem Sokha speaks at the office of the Cambodia National Rescue Party in Phnom Penh last
year. Heng Chivoan

CNRP may sit out rules change

Fri, 27 January 2017

Phnom Penh Post

Meas Sokchea
Cambodia National Rescue Party lawmakers are considering
boycotting next week‟s extraordinary plenary session vote to strip
away their role as the National Assembly‟s minority group, saying the
ruling party-backed proposal highlight‟s the parliament‟s weakness.
The party‟s stance came after a meeting of the National Assembly‟s
permanent standing committee yesterday, which formally set Tuesday
for a session to amend Article 48 of the parliament‟s internal
regulations.
The change, proposed by Prime Minister Hun Sen, will strip CNRP
acting president Kem Sokha of his title of “minority” leader in the
parliament.
Speaking after the meeting, Ho Vann, the only CNRP lawmaker to
attend, said the decision to go forward with the meeting was
regrettable, adding the party would consider boycotting the vote.
“It will be difficult for us to go to the meeting,” Vann said.
“I told the committee that this shows the weakness of our parliament.
The mechanism was created not yet two years ago, and now [it will
be] cancelled.”
Meanwhile, the premier‟s lawyer yesterday appeared at Phnom Penh
Municipal Court to submit further evidence for a defamation case
against exiled CNRP President Sam Rainsy.
The case concerns comments suggesting the premier bribed social
media personality Thy Sovantha $1 million to undermine the
opposition.
Hun Sen‟s lawyer Ky Tech said he produced pictures and audio from
Facebook for the court.

CPP Sets Date to Relieve CNRP of ‘Minority

Party’ Status
BY BEN SOKHEAN

JANUARY 24, 2017

CAMBODIA DAILY

In what it described as an effort to quiet their political

opposition and its calls for negotiations over alleged political
prisoners, the CPP on Monday pushed ahead with its plans to
remove an article from the National Assembly‟s internal rules
granting the CNRP “minority group” status.
Following a meeting of the Assembly‟s CPP-controlled
permanent committee, which decided that the amendment
would be put before a full session of parliament this month, CPP
spokesman Chheang Vun compared the move to turning down a
radio.
Opposition lawmakers, seated in the front two rows, attend a session of the National
Assembly in Phnom Penh last year. (Siv Channa/The Cambodia Daily)
“It‟s like a radio: If we turned up the volume and we could not
listen to it, we must turn it down,” he said, adding that it was the
CNRP‟s fault for trying to secure the release of imprisoned
human rights workers in talks with the CPP.
“If we continued a dialogue that pushed the CPP to violate the
law, we could not do that,” he said.
Though largely symbolic, the establishment of an official
minority group during post-election talks in 2014 was heralded
by the CNRP as a positive step for democracy, institutionalizing a
two-party system in a country long ruled by one.
The suggestion that the CPP is not willing to negotiate the release
of prisoners contradicts numerous examples of the party doing
exactly that, most recently releasing an opposition commune
chief last month, the day after talks between acting CNRP
President Kem Sokha and Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Mr. Hun Sen also personally requested a pardon for Mr. Sokha
last month after he was sentenced to five months in prison for
refusing court summonses over a “prostitution” case. Four
officers for rights group Adhoc and a senior election official have
been imprisoned for 270 days for allegedly bribing his mistress
to deny the affair.
Mr. Hun Sen prompted the move to amend Article 48 of the
internal rules on his way to the World Economic Forum in
Switzerland last week, telling the government-aligned Fresh
News service that the so-called “culture of dialogue” between the
two parties was making it “difficult to work.”
CPP lawmakers have quickly pushed ahead with his directive,
and, with a majority of seats in the National Assembly, will be
able to pass the measure unilaterally.
CNRP spokesman Yem Ponhearith, who was one of two
opposition lawmakers to attend Monday‟s meeting in
parliament, said he was in disbelief over the situation.
“I don‟t understand this because we had moved ahead, but now
we are moving backward,” he said, adding that he “extremely
regretted” the CPP‟s decision.
He said the party had not decided whether it would attend the
full session of parliament to vote on the amendment next
Tuesday.
“In principle, the CNRP will not support this decision,” he said.
“Our position is we still support solving the issues between
Khmers and Khmers and we still believe we will be able to solve
this issue.”
Hun Sen Files $1 Million Lawsuit Against
Rainsy
BY KHY SOVUTHY AND GEORGE WRIGHT

JANUARY 19, 2017

CAMBODIA DAILY

អានជាភាសាខ្ំែរ(ខាងក្រោម)
Prime Minister Hun Sen filed a lawsuit against opposition leader
Sam Rainsy on Wednesday over comments accusing him of
offering $1 million to a young political provocateur to attack the
CNRP, and demanded the same sum of money in damages, which
he promised to use for charity.
The complaint comes a day after Thy Sovantha, who rose to
social media stardom as a CNRP supporter before turning on the
party last year, filed a defamation lawsuit against Mr. Rainsy
seeking $250,000 in compensation for the same comments
accusing her of colluding with the prime minister.
Prime Minister Hun Sen delivers a speech in Siem Reap province last year defending the
arrest of opposition lawmaker Um Sam An, in this still image from a video recording.
“I would like to inform Your Excellency prosecutor that, as
Samdech Techo Hun Sen‟s lawyer, I would like to sue Sam
Rainsy for his words spoken at a public forum in Paris, France,
on January 14, 2017,” reads the complaint, which was signed by
attorney Ky Tech and submitted to the Phnom Penh Municipal
Court.
The lawsuit then cites remarks Mr. Rainsy made at the event in
Paris.
“At that forum, Sam Rainsy said, „How about when Hun Sen
bribed Thy Sovantha with $1 million? Why did nobody find fault
with Hun Sen too? $1 million, we talk about that money, corrupt
money…bribing a person to do bad things—to attack, to make
trouble for the CNRP, to stage demonstrations.‟”
The complaint demands that Mr. Rainsy be charged with
defamation and pay 4 billion riel, or about $1 million, in
damages to Mr. Hun Sen.
Mr. Rainsy‟s comments appeared to refer to screenshots of
conversations apparently between two users of the Line
smartphone app, who affectionately call each other “grandpa”
and “grandchild,” and were posted to Ms. Sovantha‟s Facebook
page in November before being quickly removed.
The leaks referenced events and individuals close to the prime
minister, including his cabinet chief, Ho Sothy, leading many
Facebook users to conclude that the conversation was between
Mr. Hun Sen and Ms. Sovantha.
“In the past, I wanted to break apart Sam Rainsy from Kem
Sokha in 2018, but I see grandpa has deposed Kem Sokha. I see
many more chances to break the two of them apart,” says a
message from “grandchild.”
“Now there are many chances,” reads the reply. “This is the
reason I want grandchild to take this money to keep in your
hands.”
“Grandpa sent a telegram to uncle Ho Sothy to have him give
grandchild $600,000 more,” it continues. “Total
$400,000+$600,000=$1,000,000+you.”
The conversation also included musings on the importance of
Mr. Hun Sen‟s leadership in ensuring peace in Cambodia.
“The issue of terrorism can‟t be underestimated. I understand
citizens‟ psychology. Even though some of them don‟t like the
CPP, they believe in me for maintaining peace. If I take a rest,
anything can happen, so it‟s difficult,” one message said.
Ms. Sovantha filed her defamation suit against Mr. Rainsy on
Tuesday, claiming he had infringed on her “honor, fame and
reputation.”
Contacted after submitting the lawsuit, Mr. Tech, the prime
minister‟s lawyer, said Mr. Rainsy‟s accusation was baseless.
“This accusation is an exaggeration of the truth and slanders
Samdech Techo [Mr. Hun Sen] because Samdech has no
relationship with Thy Sovantha,” Mr. Tech said.
The prime minister would use the $1 million compensation to
build houses for the disabled in Cambodia, he added.
Mr. Rainsy stood by his statement on Wednesday and said he
welcomed the added attention that the prime minister‟s
complaint would bring to his corruption.
“I welcome Hun Sen‟s judicial complaint before Cambodia‟s
Kangaroo court because any discussion on the substance of the
complaint will generate more publicity for Hun Sen‟s shameful
acts,” he said.
The opposition leader, who has faced numerous charges during
his latest stint in exile, said the new complaint did not amount to
a denial by Mr. Hun Sen.
“For me the complaint cannot be considered now as a denial: it
should have been lodged a long time ago,” he said.
“Too late, too little and too easy!”

ក្ោក ហុន ខ្សន ដាក់ពាកយប្តឹងក្ោក សម រងសុី

ទារសំណងជំងឺចិត្តចំនួន១ោនដុោារពាក់រ័នធករណី
កញ្ញញ ្ី សុវណណ ថា
ដោយ ឃី សុវុឌឍី និង ហច ច ោ៊យរ៍

ថ្ងៃ ព្រហសបរិ៍ ទី 19 បខមក្ោ ឆ្នាំ2017

កាលពីមសលម
ិ ញ ដោក្នាយក្រដ
ិ មឌ ន្តនី ថ

ហ៊ុន ដសន បានោក្់ ក្យបឹងដោក្ សម រងស
ថ ុី
ុំ ដុំ
របធានរណបក្សរបនងច ះសមីដដលដចាេរបកាន
ថ ់ដោក្ថាបានផល
ថ ់ របាក្់

១ោនដុោលរដៅឲ្យអក្
ប បងប
ា ញ្ហ
ា ដផក្ ័
ប នដយាបាយវយដក្ងម ាបក្់ដដម
ើ ផឲ្យវាយរប
ី
ុំ
ហាររណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារិ ដហើយបានទមទរសណ ុំ ឺចរ
ងជង ិ ក្
ថ ុ ងច
ប នុំ ួ នេឹក្របា

ក្់ដូចោបដនះ ដដលដោក្សនោថា នឹងដរបរបាស

ើ ់សរាប់អដុំ ពើមនុសសធម៌។

ក្យបណឹថ ងដនះដធដឡ ង នាធប់ពីក្ញ្ហដ ធ ស

ើវ ើងមួយថ្ងប ី ុ វណតថា ដដលបានកាលយជា

តាោតាមបណា ុំ ក្់េន
ថ ញេនា ុំ ងសងម
គ ក្ុ ងនាមជាអ
ប ក្ ុំ
ប ោរេរណបក្សសដន្តង្ហ
គ ះជារិ

មុនដពលង្ហក្មក្វាយរបហាររណបក្សដនះវញកាលព
ិ ុំ ុ នដនាះ បានោក្់
ី នបម

ក្យបងដោក្
ឹថ សម

រងសុ ី ពីបេបរហារដក្រ
ិ ិ៍ថ
ដោយទមទរសណុំ ុំ ឺចរ
ងជង ថ ៥០.០០០ដុោលរចដុំ
ិ ២ ះស

មដដដលដនះ ដដលដចាេរបកាន
ីថ ់នាងថា បានសមរន
ុំ ិ រជាមួយដោក្នាយក្រដម
ឌ

ន្តនី ។
ថ

ក្យបណឹថ ងដដលចុះហរដទ លខាដោយដមធាវ រ ី ច ន

ី  រិ ុំ ូ ងោ
ិ ងោក្់ជូនសាោដប

ជធានីភដបុំ ពញដនាះ ានខ្ឹមសារដ

ល ូ ដចះ
ប ថា

ុំញ េសូមជរាបជូនឯក្ឧរម
“ខ្ុ បា ថ រពះោជអាជាញដមតាថរជាបថា

ក្ុ ងនាមជាដមធាវ
ប រ ុំ
ី ណា ងដោយអាណររបស
ិថ ់សដមច
ថ

ដរដជា ហ៊ុន ដសន ខ្ុ ស

ុំញ ុ ប
ុំ ងដឈា
ឹថ ម ះ សម រងសុ ី ចដុំ ះសមរបស
ីថ ់ោរ់ដដលបាននិយា
យដៅក្ុ ងដវេ
ប ិកាជាសាធារណៈមួយ នាេីរក្ុងបា៉រស
ី
ុំ
របដេសបាោងកាលពី ថ្ងេ ុំ
ង ី១៤ ដខ្មក្ោ នប២០១៧ក្នងល ដៅ”។

បនាធប់មក្

ក្យបណឹថ ងដនះបានដក្រសង់សមរបស
ីថ ់ដោក្សម រងសុ ី ដដលនិយាយដៅក្ុ ងដវ
ប

ប ីរក្ុងបា៉រស។
េិកាក្ុ ងេ ី

ក្យបណឹថ ងដនះានខ្ឹមសារបន
ល ដថ ូ ដចះ
ប ថា

“ដៅក្ុ ងដវេ
ប ិកាដនាះដឈាមះ សម រងសុ ី បាននិយាយថា „ចុះ ហ៊ុន ដសន សូក្ ធី សុវ

ណតថា ១ោនដុោលរ ដម៉ចអាណាដធអ

ើវ ី ហ៊ុន ដសន ផង?…១ោនដុោលរ
និយាយលុយដនាះ លុយពុក្រលួយ…សូក្ឲ្យមនុសសដធអារក្ក្
ើវ ់ ថាឲ្យវាយរបហារ

ឲ្យរក្ដរឿងរណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារិឲ្យដធើបារ
វ ុ ក្ម”។
ម

ក្យបណឹថ ងដនះ ទមទរឲ្យដចាេរបកាន់ដោក្ សម រងសុ ី ពីបេបរហារដក្រ

ិ ិ៍ថ និង

ុំ ឺចរ
ឲ្យសងជង ថ ល់ដោក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន ក្ុ ងច
ិ ដ ប នុំ ួ នេឹក្របាក្់៤ ន់ោនដរៀល

ឬរបដហល១ោនដុោលរ។

សមរបស
ីថ ់ដោក្ សម រងសុ ី សដុំ ៅយា៉ងចាស់រក្ដឡរដល់រូបភាពផ្អធងន្តស
ុំ ីនថ្នកា
គ

រសននា
ធ ដឆយឆ
ើល ល ោបយា៉ងចាស់រក្ដឡររវាងអក្
ង ប ដរបរបាស
ើ ់ក្មវម ធ
ិ Line
ី

ពីរនាក្់ដដលដៅោបដៅវញដៅមក្ថា
ិ “តា” និង

ុំ រ័ ដហស
“ដៅ” ដហើយររូវបានបដង្ហាះតាមេព ៊ របស់ក្ញ្ហដធី សុវណតថា កាលពី
វ បុ ក្

ដខ្វច
ិ កា
ិឆ មុនដពលររូវបានដក្ដចញវញយា
ិ ៉ ងនប់រហ័ស។

ការសននា ុំ
ធ ដដលដបក្ធាលយទងដនាះដលើក្ដឡើងពីការដឆើយឆ
ល ងល ោបនិងបុរល
គ ដដ

លសិេ
ប ន
ន ឹ ងនាយក្រដម
ឌ ន្តនី ថ ក្ុ ងដនាះរ
ប ធ ល័យរបស់ដោក្
ួមាននាយខ្ុេកា

ហ៊ុនដសន រដោក្
ឺ ហូ សុេី ន ដោយដធឲ្យអ
ើវ ក្
ប ដលងដហស ៊ ជាដរចនសន
វ បុ ក្ ើ ិោ
ប ឌ នថា

ការសននា
ធ ដឆយឆ
ើល ង
ល ោបដនាះររវាងដោក្
ឺ ហ៊ុន ដសន និង ក្ញ្ហដ ធស
ី ុ វណតថា ។

សារមួយពី “ដៅ”

ានខ្ឹមសារដ
ល ប ថា “កាលពីមុនដៅចង់បដុំ បក្ សម រងសុ ី ក្ម
ូ ដចះ ឹ សុខា ឲ្យបានដជា

រជ័យមុននប២០១៨
ុំ ដរដរកាយពីតាេាលក្់ ក្ម
ឹ សុខា ដៅដមលដ
ើ ើញឱ្កាសដរចើ

នដេៀរបដុំ បក្ោរ់ទងព
ុំ ី រ”។
សារដឆយរបព
ើល ី “តា” ានខ្ឹមសារដ
ល ូ ដចះ
ប ថា

“ដពលដនះឱ្កាសានដរចើនជាងមុន។ ដៅអាចជរុំ ុញការង្ហរដនះមុនការក្ណ

ុំ រ់។

ដោយដហរុដនះដេើបតាចង់ឲ្យដៅយក្ងវកាេ
ិ ុក្ក្ុ ងថ្ដឲ្យដហ
ប ើ យ”។

សារដឆយរបដនះានខ្
ើល ឹមសារបន
ល ថ “តាដផដើញ រដលរកាមដៅអុ ៊ុំ៊ ហូ សុេី ន ឲ្យដបក្ជ
ថា ើ ូ

នដៅ

៦០០.០០០ដុោលរដេៀរ។សរុប៤០០.០០០ដុោលរ+៦០០.០០០ដុោលរ=១.០០០.០

០០ដុោលរ+ដៅ”។

ការសននា
ធ ដឆយឆ
ើល ល ោបដនះក្៏ាននិយាយ
ង

ុំ ី ដរោះថាបក្់ថ្នអដុំ ពើដភរវក្មន
ពីការរពានអព ុំ ន់ថ្នការដឹក្នារបស
ម ិ ងសារៈសខា ុំ ់

ដោក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន ដៅក្ុ ងការធានាសន

ប ិ ភាពដៅក្ម
ថ ុ ជាផងដដរ។
ព

សារមួយានខ្ឹមសារដ
ល ូ ដចះ
ប ថា ”បញ្ហ
ា ដភរវក្មម
ម ិនអាចដមើលរសាលបានដេ។ តា

ដង
ឹ ពីចរ ថ ន្តសរថ បស់របជាពលរដ។
ិ សា ឌ ដទះបជាពលរដ
ី ខ្
ឌ ះ
ល មនច
ិ ូ លចរ
ិ រ
ថ ណបក្ស

របជាជន ក្៏ដោយ

ដរពួក្ោរ់ដជឿជាក្់ដលើតាដៅក្ុ ងការរក្ាសន
ប ិ ភាព។
ថ  របសិនដបតាសរាក្ អ
ើ ៗអា
ីវ

ចដក្រដឡ
ើ ើង ដហរុដូដចះ
ប វាពិបាក្”។

ក្ញ្ហដ ធី សុវណតថា ោក្់ ក្យបងដោក្

ឹថ

សម រងសុ កាលព
ី ី ថ្ងអ
ង ង្ហគរ ដោយអះអាងថា

ដោក្បានដធឲ្យប
ើវ ៉ះ ល់ដល ”ក្
់ រ ិ យស
ិថ ដក្រ ិ៍ថ

ដឈាមះនិងដសចក្ថ្ង
ីថ ងល ូ ររបស
ប ់នាង”។
អងភា ុំ ដុំ ពើពុក្រលួយរបស់រោឌ ភបាលធា
គ ពរបនងអ ិ ល ប់បានដលើក្ដឡើងថា

ខ្ួ នោ
ល ម នរដរាងដសើុុបអដងរ ុំ
ា ដលើសារទងដនះដឡើយដោយវាផុ យព
ធ ី េដងើរវ បស់ខ្ួ ល

នដដលធាលប់តាមដធើបាបដោក្
វ ុំ
ក្ឹម សុខា អនុរបធានរណបក្សរបនង ក្់ពន
័ ន

ុំ
ការសនោេិញកាដូឲ្យរសីក្ណា ន់ាបក្់ដៅក្ុ ងដខ្សអារ
ប ់សដុំ ឡងដដលដបក្ធាលយ។

ដពលទក្់េង

បនាធប់ពីោក្់ជូន ុំ ូ ងដោក្ រី រច
ក្យបណឹថ ងដៅសាោដប ិ ដមធាវរបស
ី ់ដោក្

ហ៊ុន ដសន បានដលើក្ដឡើងថា

ការដចាេរបកាន់របស់ដោក្ សម រងសុ ី ោមនមូលោឌន។

ិ បានានរបសាសន៍ថា “ការដចាេរបកាន់ដុនះរជាការប
ដោក្ រី រច ឺ ដុំ ផើស
ល ការ

ពិរ និងជាការនិយាយមួលបង្ហាច់សដមច
ថ ដរដជា[ដោក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន] ដរ ះសដមថ

ុំ ក្់េន
ចោមនេនា ុំ ងជាមួយ ធី សុវណតថា ដេ”។

ដោក្បានានរបសាសន៍ដេៀរថា “វារបដហលជា

ានដរដហុ៊ក្រណនីដហស ៊ [របស់ក្ញ្ហដ ធី សុវណថា

វ បុ ក្ ត ] ដដម
ើ ផបដង
ី ើរ
ា ឲ្យាន

ក្រណីដនះដឡើង”។ដោក្បានបដនម
ទ ថា នឹងាន ក្យបណឹថ ងបងអ
ឹថ ប ចូលដហ៊ក្ប
ក្

ដនម
ទ ដេៀរ របសិនដបព ុំ
ើ ួ ក្ដរររូវបានក្ណ រ់អរស
ថ ញ្ហដណ។

ដោក្បានបដនម
ទ ដេៀរថា ដោក្នាយក្រដម
ឌ ន្តនី ថ នឹងដរបរបាស
ើ ់សណ
ុំ ុំ ឺចរ
ងជង ិ ១
ថ

ោនដុោលរដនះដៅសាងសង់ផះ
ធ ជូនជនពិការដៅក្មុ ជា។
ព

ដោក្ សម រងសុ ី

បាននិយាយការ រការដលើក្ដឡើងរបស់ដោក្កាលពីមសលម
ិ ញ
ិ ដហើយថា
ដោក្សាវរមន៍ ក្យបណឹថ ងរបស់ដោក្នាយក្រដម
ឌ ន្តនី ដដលដធ
ថ ឲ្យដរចាប
ើវ ់អារមម

ណ៍បដនម
ទ ដេៀរដលើអដុំ ពើពុក្រលួយរបស់ដោក្។

ី ដម៉លមួយថា
ដោក្បានដលើក្ដឡើងតាមរយៈអុុ

ុំញ ូ មនិយាយបញ្ហ
“ខ្ុ ស ជ ក្់ថា ហ៊ុន ដសន ផល
ថ ់ លុយ១ោនដុោលរដៅឲ្យដក្ង
ម រសីាបក្់

ដនះដផក្
ា ដលើអដដលោរ
ីវ ់បានសរដសរដោយខ្ួ នឯងដៅក្
ល ុ ងសារដរដ
ប ឹ ឮររប់ោប
ង

តាមអុុ ឺ ិ រ ដដលោរ់ ឬបរវាររបស

ី នធណ ិ ់ោរ់មនបានបដ
ិ ដិ សធដនាះ”។

ុំញ វ រមន៍
ដោក្ សម រងសុ ី បានដលើក្ដឡើងដេៀរថា“ខ្ុ សា ក្យបណឹថ ងរបស់ដោក្

ហ៊ុន ដសន ដៅចដុំ ះមុខ្រុោការអាយ៉ងក្ុ ងរបដេសក្ម

ប ុ ជា
ព

ដរ ះោល់ការពិភាក្ាដលើ ក្យបណឹថ ងដនះនឹងដធឲ្យសាធារណជនដ

ើវ ឹងកាន់ដរ

ដរចនអ
ើ ពុំ ី េដងើដ
វ ៏អាា៉ស់របស់ដោក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន “។

ុំ
ដមដឹក្នារណបក្សរបន ុំ ូបដនះ ដដលរបឈមការដចាេរបកាន់មួយចន
ងរ ុំ ួ ន

ុំ ុ ងដពលនិរដេសខ្ួ នដល
អឡ ល ើក្ចុងដរកាយដៅរស់ដៅដរៅរបដេសដនាះ

បានដលើក្ដឡើងថា ក្យបណឹថ ងងដីម នះ

មនេ
ិ ុក្ថាជាការបដដិ សធរបស់ដោក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន ដេ។

ដោក្បានានរបសាសន៍ថា “សរាប់ខ្ុ ុំញ ឥឡូវ

ក្យបណឹថ ងដនះមនអាចចារ
ិ ់េុក្ថា ជាការបដដិ សធដេ

ឺ ួ រដរបានោក្់បងជាយ
រវារ ឹថ ូ រមក្ដហើយ។ វាយរដពលដហ
ឺ ើយ

គ ះសាទនការណ៍បានដេ”៕ស៊ុយឈាង
មនអាចសដន្តង្ហ
ិ
PM Makes Move to End Future Talks With
CNRP
BY BEN SOKHEAN

JANUARY 17, 2017

CAMBODIA DAILY

អានជាភាសាខ្ំែរ(ខាងក្រោម)
Prime Minister Hun Sen announced through a government
mouthpiece on Monday that he intends to rewrite the National
Assembly‟s internal rules so that there will be no mechanism to
hold formal political discussions with the opposition party.
The move to alter Article 48 of the Assembly‟s internal rules,
which the parties originally agreed to during negotiations after
the 2013 election, would strip the CNRP of its parliamentary
standing as the “minority group,” strip acting CNRP President
Kem Sokha of his title of “minority leader” and eliminate the
framework for political negotiations.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, left, shakes hands with Prime Minister Hun Sen after the
National Assembly approved the composition of the new National Election Committee.
(Siv Channa/The Cambodia Daily)
“If the mechanism that was just set up through new Article 48
(III) makes it difficult to work, including the attempts to use it
for negotiating for the release of prisoners involving judicial
power, we have to amend the new Article 48 (III) and return to
using Article 48 (II) of internal regulation of the National
Assembly,” Mr. Hun Sen was quoted as saying in an exclusive
interview with the CPP-aligned website FreshNews.
Article 48 (II) made no mention of a minority group, currently
defined as the nongoverning party with the most seats in the
National Assembly, instead saying that a group of 10 lawmakers
are able to come together to raise an issue during a plenary
session of parliament.
“Doing like this is quick to end the issue because no agendas of a
meeting needs to be set up, because this mechanism disappears
through an already made amendment,” Mr. Hun Sen was quoted
as saying, reportedly from Zurich where he landed on the way to
the World Economic Forum in Davos.
CPP spokesman Sok Eysan said the message was clear: there will
be no negotiations between the CPP and CNRP. Mr. Sokha and
Interior Minister Sar Kheng were in the process of arranging a
discussion, but had yet to set a date.
“Previously, we were discussing the agendas between each other,
but now Samdech [Mr. Hun Sen] said if it is extremely difficult,
please close it. It will finish and there won‟t be complicated
issues anymore,” Mr. Eysan said.
“Don‟t let it get more complicated,” he added. “The CPP has
provided a grand concession to amend the Assembly‟s internal
regulation to create a minority group and leaders of
parliamentary groups, but they [the CNRP] still cause trouble.”
Amending a law requires only a simple majority vote in
parliament, meaning the CPP can make the change with or
without CNRP approval.
In proposed agendas for discussion, which were exchanged over
the weekend, Mr. Sokha said the CNRP would like to discuss an
amendment to the election law that would allow Cambodians to
vote from overseas, and more generally the political situation
ahead of commune elections in June. The opposition party
indicated that the latter topic might include discussions of rights
workers and an election official jailed over a scandal involving
Mr. Sokha.
Mr. Sokha was pardoned from a related five-month prison
sentence early last month, and within weeks moved into the
minority leader position, replacing opposition leader Sam
Rainsy as the official dialogue partner for discussions with the
prime minister.
However, what appeared to be a restoration of the “culture of
dialogue” between the parties—Mr. Sokha met with both Mr.
Hun Sen and Mr. Kheng on December 7—quickly broke down
after the acting CNRP president allegedly refused to sign a letter
drafted by the CPP that would have pledged to kick out members
of the party who claimed that Mr. Hun Sen‟s son, Hun Manet,
was in fact the child of first lady Bun Rany and a Vietnamese
general.
The letter was seen as offering a pretext to kick out Mr. Rainsy,
who claimed that the CPP had already arranged for opposition
party members to make the move to oust him.
The CPP has denied the claims, though Mr. Hun Sen‟s sudden
willingness to meet with Mr. Sokha, whom months earlier he
threatened to “imprison forever,” was widely seen as part of a
campaign to split the CNRP‟s leadership.
Coming out of their meeting late last year, the CNRP said the CPP
had agreed to secure the release of four officers from rights
group Adhoc and a senior election official—all imprisoned for
allegedly bribing Mr. Sokha‟s mistress to deny an affair—by the
end of last month.
Last week, the CPP said that constant heckling from Mr. Rainsy,
who is exiled and living in France, was undermining efforts to
create a political atmosphere conducive to dialogue.
Mr. Rainsy said on Monday that “Hun Sen‟s zigzagging moves
reflect his disarray following his many failures to divide the
opposition CNRP.”
The opposition leader said it was in fact his idea to officially
appoint a “leader of a shadow cabinet,” which became the
minority leader, and that Mr. Hun Sen‟s repeated efforts to use
the position to split him and Mr. Sokha had failed.
“Hence Hun Sen‟s disarray leading to his decision to simply
suppress that minority leader position altogether,” he said.
“For me the minority leader position is important in that its
creation represents an institutionalization of the opposition in a
country like Cambodia where a one-party system had been the
norm for a long time and the opposition could be any time
subject to elimination,” he added.
“Hun Sen‟s latest decision is therefore another serious setback
for democracy in Cambodia.”
The Author Note:
THIS IS DICTATORSHIP To The Bones…This Is The END OF
DEMOCRACY In CAMBODIA. Why Bother To Have Election? This Is
The Trail of Ferdinand Marcos, Muammar Gaddafi, Hosni
Mubarak
...

ក្ោក ហុន ខ្សន ក្សនើឲ្យខ្កខ្រប្ប្ទ្ប្ញ្ញាផ្ទទកនុងរដឋ

សភាប្ញ្ចប្់កិចចរិភាកាក្រេអនាគត្ជាមួយ CNRP
ដោយ បែន សុខហ៊ា ន

ថ្ងៃ អ្រ ទី 17 បខមក្ោ ឆ្នាំ2017

ដោក្នាយក្រដម ី ថ ៊ុ ន ដសន បានរបកាសកាលពីមសលម
ឌ ន្តន ហ ិ ញតាមរយៈសា
ិ ទ ប័ន

័ ៌ានដដលចុះផាយអព
ពរ ុំ ី េសសនរបស់រោឌភបាលថា
ិ ុំ
 ដោក្ានបណ ងតាក្់ដរ

ងដឡើងវញន
ិ ូ វបេបញ្ហ
ជ ថ្ផក្
ធ ុ ងថ្នរដ
ប សឌ ភាដដើមផក្ ុំ យានយនកា
ី ុ ឲ្ ុំ ច
ថ រដរៀបចក្ ិ ព
ច ិ ភា

ក្ានដយា បាយផូ វការជាម

ល ុំ
ួ យរណបក្សរបនងដេៀរ។

ុំ
ចណា រ់ការដដើមផដធ
ី ើការដក្ដរបរបការ៤៨ថ្នបេបញ្ហ
វ ជ ថ្ផក្
ធ ុ ងថ្នរដ
ប សឌ ភាដដលរ

ុំ ូ ងដឡើយបានរពមដរពៀងអឡ
បក្សនីមួយៗដប ុំ ុ ងក្ច
ិ ព
ច ិ ភាក្ាចរចាដរកាយការដបាះ
ដនបរដនាះ នឹងដក្ឋានៈក្ុ ងសភារបស
ប ់រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារក្
ិ ុ ងនាមជា
ប

“រក្ុមមរិភាររិច “ដក្ដោក្ ក្ឹម សុខា

របធានសីេ
ថ ីរណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារិពីរួនាេីជា“របធានរក្ុមមរិភាររិច”

ដហើយនឹងលុបដចាលរដរាងសរាប់ការចរចាដផក្
ប នដយាបាយ។

ដោក្នាយក្ ដឋ មគនត ី ហ៊ាុន បសន ដឹក្នាាំគណ្ៈព្ែរិភ្ូក្មពុជាវែ ងការ់អកាសយានោឋន ហស

ួ ុ៊ា ើក្
ែនាទែ់រីដៅដល់ព្ែដទសសេ ីស សព្មាែ់ដវទិកាដសដឋ ក្ិចចរិភ្រដោក្ដៅទីព្ក្ ុងោវ ូស
ដៅក្នុង ូែភារែដ្ហះដលើទាំរ័ ដហេ សែ៊ាុក្ ែស់ដោក្។ ដហេ សែ៊ាក្ុ

ដោក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន ររូវបានដក្រសង់សមដៅក្

ីថ ុ ងក្
ប ច ច ាាសោច់មុខ្ជាមួយដរហ
ិ ស
ុំ រ័ ពរ
េព ័ ៌ាន Fresh News
 ុំ ក្់េន
ដដលានេនា ុំ ងជាមួយរណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជាមក្ថា
ព “ដបយន
ើ កា
ថ រដដល

ដេើបបដងើរ
ា ដឡើងតាមរយៈរបការ៤៨ងីម (បី)

វាពិបាក្ដធើការដោយរ
វ ុំ
ួមទងការបុ ៉នប៉ងដរបើរបាស់វា

ដដម
ើ ផចរចាដោះដលងអ
ី ប ដទសដដលប ុំ
ក្ នដល់អណា
ុំ ចរុោការផងដនាះ

ដយងររូ
ើ វដរដធវើវ ដសាធនក្ម
ិ រម បការ៤៨ងីម (បី) ដហើយវលដៅដរប
ិ របការ
ើ ៤៨ (ពីរ)

ថ្នបេបញ្ហ
ជ ថ្ផក្
ធ ុ ងថ្នរដ
ប សឌ ភាវញ។
ិ ដោយសាររបការ ៤៨ងីម (ប)ី

ុំ ិ រផួ ចដផ
ជារន ថ ើថ របស់ខ្ុ ុំញ ដេើបខ្ុ ដុំញ សើស
ម ុំ យដធការដក្ដរបតាមរយៈ
ប ុ ឲ្ ើវ

សាជក្
ិ សភារណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជា
ព និងរណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជាវ
ព ញ
ិ ”។

របការមុនមនបានដល
ិ ុំ ី រក្ុមមរភាររ
ើក្ដឡើងអព ិ ចដដលបច
ិ ុ បផន
ច ុំ
រប រូវបានក្ណ រ់

ថា

ជារណបក្សដរៅរោឌភបាលដដលានអាសនៈដរច
ិ នប
ើ ផុំ ុ រដៅក្ុ ងសភាដនាះដឡ
ប ើ

យ ដរផុ យដៅវ
ធ ញបានដល
ិ ើក្ដឡើងថា
ុំ
រណា ថ ួ យរក្ុមានោប១០នាក្់អាចរួមោបដលើក្ដឡើងពីបញ្ហ
ងោន្តសម ា មួយបានអ ុំ

ុំ ភាដពញអង។
ឡុងសម័យរបជុស គ

ដោក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន ររូវបានដក្រសង់សមីឋ បដនម ើវ ូ ចដនះនប់ចប់ដរឿង

ទ មក្ថា“ដធដ

ដរ ះមនបាច
ិ ់ពិបាក្ដរៀបចរុំ ដបៀបវារៈថ្នការរបជុដុំ េៀរដេ

ដរ ថ រដនាះវារោយបារ់តាមរយៈវដសាធនក្ម
ះយនកា ិ ដម ដលនឹងររូវដធរើវ ួចដៅ

ដហើយ”។
 ប នា ុំ
ដោក្ សុខ្ ឥសាន អក្ ក្យរណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជាបានដល
ព ើក្ដឡើងថា

សារដនះបង្ហាញឲ្យដ ើញយា៉ងចាស់ថា

នឹងមិនានការចរចារវាងរណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជា
ព

និងរណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារដនាះដឡ
ិ ើយ។ដោក្ ក្ម
ឹ សុខា និងដោក្ ស ដខ្ង រដឌ

មន្តនី រក្ស
ថ ួ ងមហាថ្ផក្
ធ ពុំ ុ ងសិរក្
ទ ុ ងដ
ប ដុំ ណើរការថ្នការដរៀបចកា
ុំ រពិភាក្ាបុ ដ៉ នដថ ៅ

មនទន
ិ ់បានក្ណ
ុំ រ់កាលបរដច
ិ េឆ ដៅដឡើយដេ។

ដោក្ សុខ្ ឥសាន បានានរបសាសន៍ថា “ក្នង

ល ដៅានការពិភាក្ាដៅវញ
ិ

ដៅមក្ដលើរដបៀបវារៈ ឥឡូវសដមច
ថ ថា ដបព
ើ ិ បាក្ដពក្ឲ្យបេររ
ិ មហ
ឹ ឹ ងហ
ប ង
ម ដៅ

អាហឹ ងវាចប
ប ់ដហើយ ដលងានបញ្ហ
ា សុ រសា
ម ម ញដៅដេៀរដហើយ”។

ដោក្បានបដនម
ទ ថា

ុំ យសុ រសា
“ក្ុឲ្ ម ម ញដរចន។
ើ រណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជាបានដធ
ព សមផទនដរច
ើវ ន
ើ

រហូរដល់ការដធើវវ ដសាធនក្ម
ិ បម េបញ្ហ
ជ ថ្ផក្
ធ ុ ងឲ្យានរក្ុ
ប មភាររិច

ុំ
និងរបធានរក្ុមរណា ថ ររិច បុ ៉ដនដថ ៅដរបដងើរ
ងោន្តសភា ា បញ្ហ
ា សុ រសា
ម មញ

ុំ ុំចរចារវាររូវោក្់បញ្ហ
េហ ា ដនះ បញ្ហ
ា ដនះ”។

ការដធវើវ ដសាធនក្ម
ិ ចម ាប់ររមូវឲ្យានររមដរការដបាះដន
ឹ ប រសដុំ ឡងភារដរចនធ
ើ

មតា
ម ដៅក្ុ ងសភាប
ប ុ ដ៉ ណាតះ ានន័យថា រណ

បក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជាអាចដធ
ព ការដក្ដរបដោយាន
ើវ

ឬោមនរណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារបាន។
ិ
ដៅក្ុ ងរដបៀបវារៈដស
ប ប ើងសរាប់ការពិភាក្ា
ើដឡ

ដដលររូវបានផ្អលស់បូ រោ
ថ ប កាលពីចុងសបាថហ៍ដនាះដោក្ ក្ឹម សុខា បានដលើក្ដឡើ

ងថា

រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារចង
ិ ់ពិភាក្ាអព
ុំ ី ការដធវើវ ដសាធនក្ម
ិ ចម ាប់ដបាះដនបរដដល

នឹងអនុញ្ហដរឲ្យពលរដដឌ ខ្រម ដបាះដនបរពីដរៅរបដេសបានដហើយដលើសពីដនះដេៀ

ររសា
ឺ ទ នភាពនដយាបាយមុនការដបាះដនបរ ុ -ុំ

សង្ហារ់ដដលនឹងដធដឡ
ើវ ើងដៅដខ្មង ុំ
ិ ុ នា។រណបក្សរបនងដនះបានបង្ហ
ា ញថា
ការពិភាក្ាពីសាទនភាពនដយាបាយដនះ

ុំ ី មន្តនី ស
របដហលរួមបញ្ូ ច លការពិភាក្ាអព ថ ិេិមន
ន ុ សសនិងមន្តនី ដរៀបច
ថ ុំ រដបាះដនប
កា

រដដលររូវបានចាប់ោក្់ពននា
ន ោរ ក្់ពន
័ ដន រឿងអារសូវទក្់េិននឹងដោក្ក្ឹម

សុខា ។

ឹ សុខា ររូវបានដលើក្ដលងពីដទសជាប់ពននា
ដោក្ ក្ម ន ោររយៈដពល៥ដខ្កាល

ពីដដម
ើ ដខ្ធូ ប

ដហើយដៅក្ុ ងប ៉ ម នសបាថហ៍ដរកាយមក្បានឈានដៅកាន់មុខ្រដុំ ណងជារបធាន

ប ុ នា

រក្ុមមរភាររ
ិ ច ុំ ួ សដោក្ សមរងស ី របធានរណបក្សរបនង
ិ ដោយជន ុំ
ុ
ក្ុ ងនាមជាថ្ដរ
ប ូ ពិភាក្ាផូ វការសរាប
ល ់ការពិភាក្ាជាមួយដោក្នាយក្រដម
ឌ ន្តនី ។
ថ

ដទះជាយា៉ងណា អដដលេ
ីវ នុំ ងជាការសាថរដឡើងវញថ្ន
ិ “វបផធម៌សននា
ធ ”

ុំ ី រ
រវាងរណបក្សទងព

ដដលក្ុ ងដនាះដោក្
ប ុំ
ក្ឹម សុខា បានជួបជាមួយទងដោក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន និងដោក្

ស ដខ្ង កាលពីថ្ងេ
ង ី៧ដខ្ធូ ដនាះ
ប

បានបោជ័យភាលមៗបនាធប់ពីរបធានសីេ
ថ ីរណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជាររិ ូបដនះបានបដិ

ដសធមនរពមច
ិ ុ ះហរដទ លខាដលើលិខ្ិរមួយរ ងដោយរណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជា
ព

ដដលសនោថា

ិ រណបក្សដនះដដលអះអាងថាដោក្ ហ៊ុន ា៉ដណរ ក្ូន

នឹងបដណថញសាជក្

របុសរបស់ដោក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន តាមពិរជាក្ូនរបស់ន្តសីេ

ថ ី១រដោក្រស
ឺ ៊ ោ៉នី
ី បុ ន

ថ ដសនីយ៍ដវៀរណាមមួយរូប។
និងឧរម
លិខ្ិរដនះររូវបានដរដមលដ
ើ ថ ់ ដលសដដើមផបដណ
ើញថា ជាការផល ី ថ ញដោក្

សម រងសុ ី ដដលអះអាងថា

រណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជាបានដរៀបច
ព រុំ ួចដហើយសរាប់សាជិក្រណបក្សរបន ុំ

ងដដម
ើ ផចារ
ី ់វធានការបដណ
ិ ថ ញរូបដោក្។

រណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជាបានបដ
ព ដិ សធចដុំ ះការអះអាងដនះបុ ដ៉ នឆ
ថ នៈធ ភាលមៗរ

បស់ដោក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន ដៅក្ុ ងការជ

ប ួ បជាមួយដោក្ ក្ម
ឹ សុខា
៉ ម នដខ្មុនដោក្បានរោ
ដដលកាលពីបុ នា ុំ ម“ចាប់ោក្់រុរមួយជវី រ”
ិ ដនាះ

ររូវបានមជឈោឌនេូដៅដមលដ
ើ ើញថា ជាដផក្
ប ថ្នយុេនា
ន ការដដម
ើ ផដធ ប ក្់ដក្
ី ឲ្យថា
ើវ ឹ

ុំ
នារណបក្សសដន្តង្ហ
គ ះជារដបក្ដខ្
ិ ក្
ញ ោប។

ដពលដចញពីក្ច ុំ លពីចុងនបម
ិ រច បជុកា ុំ ុ នរណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារបានដល
ិ ើក្ដឡើង

ថា រណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជាបានរពមដរពៀងដោះដលងមន្តន
ព ី សារមស
ថ ិេិមន
ន ុ

សសបួនរូបនិងមន្តនី ដរៀបច
ថ ុំ រដបាះដនបរជាន់ខ្ស
កា ុំ
ព ់មួយរូបដៅមុនដណា ច់ដខ្ធូ ។
ប

អក្ ុំ
ប ទង៥រូបដនះសុេដន រររូវបានចាប់ោក្់ពននា
ន ោរពីបេដដលតាមដចាេថាបា

នសូក្បា៉ន់រសីក្ណា
ុំ ន់របស់ដោក្ ក្ម
ឹ សុខា

ប លួចោក្់។
ឲ្យបដដិ សធដរឿងដសហា

កាលពីសបាថហ៍មុន

រណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជាបានន
ព ុំ
ិ យាយថាការរខានឥរឈប់ឈររបស់ដោក្ ស

ម រងសុ ី ដដលនិរដេសខ្ួ នឯងដៅរស

ល ់ដៅក្ុ ងរបដេសបាោ
ប ុំ
ងដនាះក្ពុំ ុ ងដធឲ្យខ្
ើវ ូចការ
ខ្ិរខ្រុំ បងដរបងដដ
ឹ ើមផបដង
ី ើរ
ា បរយាកាសនដយាបាយដដលនា
ិ ុំ
ដៅរក្ការពិ ភាក្ាោប

ដោក្ សម រងសុ ី បានដលើក្ដឡើងកាលពីមសលម

ិ ញថា
ិ ”

ុំ
ចណា រ់ការដដលបរ់ដបនចុះដឡើងៗរបស់ដោក្ហ៊ុន ដសន ឆុ ះបញ្ហ
ល ុំ ី ភាពរច
ច ងព

បូក្រចបល់របស់ដោក្ដរកាយដពលដោក្េេួលបោជ័យជាដរចនដល
ើ ើក្ដរចនសា
ើ

ក្ុ ងការប
ប ដុំ បក្បបា
ុំ ក្់រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារ”។
ិ

ុំ
ដមដឹក្នារណបក្សរបន ុំ ូបដនះបានដលើក្ដឡើងដេៀរថា ការដរងតាងជាផ
ងរ ុំ ូ វការ
ល

ុំ
នូវ “ដមដឹក្នាថ្នរណៈរដមឌ ន្តនី រសដាល
ថ ”

ដដលបានកាលយជារបធានរក្ុមមរភាររ
ិ ច
ិ
ុំ ិ ររបស់ដោក្ ដហើយថា ការខ្ិរខ្ម
តាមពិរជារន ុំ ង ថ ដេៀររបស់ដោក្
ថ ដហើយមង

ហ៊ុន ដសន ក្ុ ងការការដរប

ប ើរបាស់មុខ្រដុំ ណងដនះដដើមផប
ី ដុំ បក្បបា
ុំ ក្់ដោក្

ឹ សុខា ដនាះបានេេួលបោជ័យ។
និងដោក្ ក្ម

ដោក្បានានរបសាសន៍ថា “ដហរុដូដចះ
ប ភាពរចបូក្រចបល់របស់ដោក្

ហ៊ុន ដសន

ុំ
បាននាឲ្យដោក្សដរមចោក្់រនា
ុំ បដលើមុខ្រដុំ ណងរបធានរក្ុមមរភាររ
ិ ចដនាះ
ិ

ដរមង
ថ ”។

ល ថា”សរាប់ខ្ុ ម
ដោក្បានដងង ុំញ ុ ខ្រដុំ ណងរបធានរក្ុមមរភាររ
ិ ចរ
ិ ានសារៈស
ឺ ុំ

ខាន់ ដោយសារការបដងើរ
ា មុខ្រដុំ ណងដនះដឡើងបង្ហាញពីការេេួលសាគល់រណ

ុំ
បក្សរបនងជាសាទ ប័នមួយដៅក្ុ ងរបដេសម
ប ួ យដូចរបដេសក្មុ ជាដដលរបព
ព ័ ឯ
ន ន ក្
បក្សានជាយូរមក្ដហើយ

ុំ
ដហើយរណបក្សរបនងអាចរងការរ ុំ
ោយដចាលររប់ដពលដវោ”។

ដោក្បានបដនម
ទ ដេៀរថា “ការសដរមចងប ុំ ុ ររបស់ដោក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន រជាដ
ីម ផ ឺ ុំ

ដណើរងយដរកាយដ៏ធន
ង ់ធរង មួយដេៀរសរាប់លេិរបជាធ
ន បដរយយដៅក្ម
ិ ុ ជា៕
ព ស៊ុ

យឈាង

កំណត់អ្នកផ្សាយ:
ក្នុះជាអំណាចផ្លាច់ោរដេ់ឆ្អឹង។ក្នុះជាោរប្ញ្ចប្់ដ
េ់េទ្ធិរប្ជា្ិប្ក្ត្យយរប្ស់កមពុជា។ចំបាច់ក្បាុះក្នន
ត្ក្្វើអី។ក្នុះជាជំហានក្ដើររប្ស់មា៉ាកុស
គា ដាហវីមុមបារ៉ាក់។
A line of VN4 personnel carriers on display at the military games on Phnom Penh’s Koh Pich last week. Mech Dara

Military police machines

Thu, 12 January 2017

Phnom Penh Post

Mech Dara and Shaun Turton

Cambodia's National Military Police last year acquired three armoured

personnel carriers from China equipped with tear-gas cannons, an
acquisition made with an eye to maintaining “public order”, a military
official confirmed yesterday.
The APCs were photographed recently at the military “sports day” on
the capital‟s Koh Pich.
Military police spokesman Eng Hy yesterday said the equipment had
been supplied by China mid-year, though could not say if they were a
gift or had been purchased.
Hy referred questions about their acquisition to the Defence Ministry,
whose spokesman was unreachable.
“We will [use] them for public order and to protect security,” Hy said,
before hanging up.
Of the vehicles photographed in Phnom Penh, Jon Grevatt, Asia-
Pacific industry reporter for defence analyst IHS Janes, said they
were definitely VN4s, a light armoured vehicle manufactured in China
by the China North Industries Corporation (Norinco).
Spokespeople from the Chinese Embassy, and the embassy‟s
defence attaché section, did not respond to queries about the supply
of the vehicles by press time.
Grevatt said the VN4s were likely second-hand and donated by China,
one of the Kingdom‟s largest donors of military aid.
“China would donate the vehicles and Cambodia would pay for
shipping. China is recapitalising all its major platforms, so it has
hundreds of vehicles to spare and it makes sense for them to ship a
few over to Cambodia.”
Grevatt said the model was relatively new, with the first batch of more
than 100 sent in 2012 to Venezuela where, according to online reports,
it was used by security forces in a crackdown against anti-
government protests in 2014. The government of Kenya also acquired
30 of the vehicles last year, according to an IHS Janes article.
The 9-tonne 4x4s were fitted with a 12.7mm heavy machine gun and
smoke grenade launchers, according to armyrecognition.com.
Grevatt said the vehicles pictured in Cambodia appear “optimised for
internal security”, citing the mesh covered windows.
“That means obviously insurgency and the like and internal unrest,”
he said.
A military police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said
he believed the three APCs which he said were acquired in June or
July – would be used to confront demonstrations. “These can fire
about 500 metres and would be used to crack down on protesters,” he
said.
“It is easy for military police to use them because they do not have to
come face to face with protesters and rocks.”
Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said the
fact that the gendarmerie saw a need for “heavy crowd suppression
vehicles” was “profoundly disturbing”.
“This clearly looks like overkill when considering the vast majority of
protests over the past 5 years have been entirely peaceful,” he said,
via email. “There‟s no escaping the serious questions this
procurement raises about the government‟s perception of the political
situation going into national elections scheduled for 2018. What
exactly do they think they are preparing for?”

The Author Note: TO PROTECT CORRUPTION

POLICIES TO DEMORALIZE DEMOCRACY Hun Sen
DO THIS…THIS IS A THREAT TO ALL CAMBODIAN
PEOPLE!

Leaked Letter Purports to Show CPP’s Bid

to Divide CNRP
BY MICHAEL DICKISON AND KHY SOVUTHY

CAMBODIA DAILY

JANUARY 9, 2017

អានជាភាសាខ្ំែរ(ខាងក្រោម)
Politicians of both major parties on Sunday distanced
themselves from a leaked draft statement that appears to have
been formulated by the ruling CPP in order to be signed by acting
CNRP President Kem Sokha.
The statement, a copy of which was sent to reporters by CNRP
President Sam Rainsy, condemns any insults against Prime
Minister Hun Sen‟s family, particularly any suggestion that his
oldest son, Hun Manet, was conceived during an affair between
first lady Bun Rany and a Vietnamese general.

Opposition leaders Sam Rainsy, left, and Kem Sokha, right, arrive at Phnom Penh
International Airport in 2015. (Siv Channa/The Cambodia Daily)
Spokesmen for the CPP, opposition CNRP and Interior Ministry
all denied knowledge of the statement.
The leaked statement, dated December 7, is prefaced with the
words: “Last night, Samdech Hun Sen asked Kem Sokha to issue
another statement…. The draft is as follows.”
“On behalf of the CNRP and myself,” it continues, anyone who
insults Mr. Hun Sen‟s family is condemned as “comparable to
thugs, worse than animals.”
“In case those ill-intentioned persons are found to be members
of the CNRP, the party has the right to expel them,” the
statement says.
Mr. Rainsy, exiled by the government and living in France, said
he suspected that the government was looking for a way to have
him kicked out of the party, even claiming that Mr. Hun Sen had
“bought” some members of his party to point the finger at him.
If Mr. Sokha signed the statement, those members would claim
he had insulted Mr. Hun Sen‟s family, Mr. Rainsy said.
“We have the names of the CNRP members Hun Sen has bought
and who are set to defame Sam Rainsy but we are not going to
name them at this time,” he said.
The statement‟s leak comes as a backroom deal to secure the
release of five prisoners appears to have stalled. The prisoners,
four from rights group Adhoc and one from the National
Election Committee, were caught up in a case brought against
Mr. Sokha last year that was widely considered politically
motivated.
As part of a surprise political detente last month, Mr. Sokha was
granted a royal pardon at the request of Mr. Hun Sen with the
expectation that the five would be released by the end of the
year. But the CNRP has been left waiting for further meetings
with government officials.
“We want them to be released,” said party spokesman Yim
Sovann, adding that the CNRP was waiting for a meeting. “The
people who can do it are the CPP.”
In an attempt to kickstart negotiations over the prisoners, Mr.
Sokha last week requested a meeting with Interior Minister Sar
Kheng. Mr. Kheng tentatively agreed, according to a letter posted
to Mr. Sokha‟s Facebook page, but without setting a date or
agenda.
CPP spokesman Sok Eysan denied that talks had broken down
between the two main parties.
“There‟s no problem with the culture of dialogue,” Mr. Eysan
said. “The culture of dialogue is still alive.”
េិំិត្ខ្ប្កធាាយប្្ា ញថា ប្កសរប្ជាជនរាយាម
ប្ំខ្ប្កប្ំបាក់ប្កសសក្គ្រ ុះជាត្ិ
ដោយ M I C H A E L D I C K I S O N និង ឃី សុវុឌឍី

ថ្ងៃ ច័នទ ទី 9 បខមក្ោ ឆ្នាំ2017

កាលពីមសលម
ិ ញ អ
ិ ក្ ុំ ទងព
ប នដយាបាយមក្ពីរណបក្សធៗ ុំ ី រដលើក្ដឡើងថា

ពួក្ដរមនជាប
ិ ់ ក្់ពន
័ ន
ន ឹ ងដសចក្រីឋ ងដសចក្ដង ល ការណ៍ដបក្ធាលយមួយ
ីថ ង
ុំ ងជាររូវបានដរៀបចដុំ ឡើងដោយរណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជាក្
ដដលេន ព ពុំ ុ ងកាន់អ ុំ

ណាចដដម
ើ ផឱ្យដោក្
ី ក្ម
ឹ សុខា

របធានសីេ
ឋ ីរណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារច
ិ ុ ះហរដទ លខាដនាះដឡើយ។

ដសចក្ដង ល ការណ៍ដនាះដដលចាប់ចមង
ីឋ ង ល ររូវបានដផើដញ ៅកាដសរ ដខ្មបូឌា ដដលី

ដថាាលដទសចដុំ ះការរបាងណាមួយមក្ដលើរក្ុមររួសារដោក្នាយក្រដម
ឌ ន្តនី ថ

ហ៊ុន ដសន ជាពិដសសការដលើក្ដឡើងដដលថា ដោក្ ហ៊ុន ា៉ដណរ

ក្ូនរបុសចផងរបស់ដោក្ជាក្ូនរបស់ដោក្រសី បុ ន
៊ ោ៉នី ន្តសីេ
ថ ី១

ឋ ដសនីយ៍ដវៀរណាម។
និងឧរម
 ប នា ុំ
អក្ ក្យរណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជា
ព

រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារ ន
ិ ិ ងរក្សួងមហាថ្ផស
ធ ុ េដន របដិដសធថា

មិនបានដឹងពីដសចក្ីដង
ឋ ងល ការណ៍ដនះដេ។

ដសចក្ដង ល ការណ៍ដដលដបក្ធាលយចុះថ្ងេ
ីឋ ង ង ី៧ ដខ្មក្ោដនះ ចាប់ដផម
ើឋ ដោយដរបើ

ក្យ ដពចន៍ថា “កាលពីយប់មញសដម

ិ ចឋ ហ៊ុន ដសន បានដសើឱ្យដោក្
ប ក្ម
ឹ សុខា

ដចញដសចក្ដង ល ការណ៍មួយដេៀរ…
ីឋ ង

ដសចក្រីឋ ងថ្នដសចក្ដង ល ការណ៍ដនាះានខ្ឹមសារដ

ីថ ង ល ូ ចខាងដរកាម៖ ក្ុ ងនាម
ប

រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារិ

និងក្ុ ងនាមខ្
ប ួ នខ្ ុំញ ធ ល់សូមដថាាលដទសយា៉ងោច់អហង្ហារចដុំ
ល ុ ផ្អ ះជនអររ
ិ ដដល
ិ

បានរបាងមក្ដលើររួសារដោក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន

រដរបៀបបានដៅន
ឺ ឹ ងជន លមនដស
ិ ើន
ម ឹ ងសររ
វ រចា
ិ ឆ ន”។

ដសចក្ីដង
ឋ ងល ការណ៍ដដដលដនះបនថា
ថ

 ”ក្ុ ងក្រណ
ប ប ានដចរនាអារក្ក្់ទងដនះររូ
ី ដដលអក្ ុំ វបានរក្ដ ើញថា ជាសាជិ

ក្របស់រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារ រណបក្សានស
ិ ិេិបដណ
ន ុំ
ឋ ញជនទងដនះដចញ។

ដោក្ សម រងសុ ី របធានរណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះ

ជារដដលរស
ិ ់ដៅក្ុ ងភាពន
ប ិ រដេសខ្ួ នក្
ល ុ ងរបដេសបាោ
ប ុំ
ងដនាះបានានរបសាសន៍

ថា

ដោក្សងស ័យថា រោឌភបាលក្
ិ ពុំ ុ ងរះរក្មដធោបាយដធ
ិ ើវ ៉ ងណាឱ្យានការប
យា

ដណឋញរូបដោក្ដចញពីរណបក្ស ដបដទះជាការអះអាងដដលថា
ើ  ដោក្ ហ៊ុន 
ដសន “បានេិញ”

សាជិក្រណបក្សរបស់ដោក្មួយចន
ុំ ួ នឱ្យរះរន
ិ ់មក្ដលើរូបដោក្ក្៏ដោយ។

ដោក្ សម ងស
ុ ី នមានព្ែស្នសន៍ថ្ន ព្ែសិនដែើដោក្ ក្ឹម សុខា
ចុះហរថ ដលខាដលើដសចក្ដ ីបងែងកា ណ្៍ដនាះ សមាជិក្ទ ាំងដនាះនឹងអះអងថ្ន ដោក្ នព្ែមាងព្ក្ ុ
មព្គៀ ស្ន ដោក្ ហ៊ាុន បសន បមន។

ដោក្បានដងង
ល ថា ”ដយងានដឈា
ើ ម ះសាជក្
ិ រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារដដលដោ
ិ

ក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន បានេិញដហើយ និងអក្

ប ដដលដរោងបរហារដក្រ
ិ ិ៍ថ សម រងសុ ី

បុ ដ៉ នដថ យងម
ើ នទន
ិ ់ដចញដឈាមះពួក្ដរដៅដពលដនះដេ”។
ការដបក្ធាលយដនះបានដក្រដឡ
ើ ើងខ្ណៈ

ដដលានក្ិចរច ពមដរពៀងសាងរ់មួយធានាឱ្យានការដោះដលងអក្ ុំ
ប ដទសរបានា

ក្់ ដដល

ុំ ងជាានភាពជាប់ោង។ អ
េន ុំ ក្ ុំ
ប ដទសទងដនះរប
ឺ ួ នរូបមក្ពីសារមសិេិមន
ន ុ

សសអាដហុក្ និងមួយរូបដេៀរមក្ពីរណៈក្ាមធការ
ិ ជារដរៀបច
ិ ុំ រដបាះដនបរ
កា

ដដលជាប់ ក្់ពន
័ ដន ៅក្ុ ងក្រណ
ប ី ដដលដរដធដឡ ុំ
ើវ ើងរបនងដោក្

ក្ម ស
ឹ ុំ ុ នដដលមជឈោឌនេូដៅ
ុ ខា កាលពីនបម

ចារ់េុក្ថាជាដហរុផលនដយាបាយ។

ជាដផក្ ុំ ក្់េន
ប មួយថ្នេនា ុំ ងលរា បដសើរ

ដឡើងវញដផ
ិ ប នដយាបាយមួយរួរឱ្យភាញក្់ដផើល
ក្ ា កាលពីដខ្មុន ដោក្ ក្ម
ឹ សុខា

ររូវបានរពះមហាក្សរររពះោជទនដលើក្ដលង

ដទសតាមសដុំ ណើរបស់ដោក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន

ុំ ឹ ងេុក្ថា មន្តនី របា
ជាមួយនឹងការរព ុំ
ថ រុំ ូបដេៀរនឹងររូវបានដោះដលងកាលពីដណា

ច់នបម
ុំ ុ ន

ថ ណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារិដៅដររង់ចាជ
ដដរ។ បុ ៉ដនរ ុំ ួ បជាដរចើនដេៀរជាមួយមន្តនី រថ
ុំ ន

ោឌភបាល។
ិ

ដោក្ យម
ឹ សុវណត

ប នា ុំ
អក្ ក្យរណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារបានានរបសាសន
ិ ៍ថា ”ដយងចង
ើ ់ឱ្យានការ

់
ដោះដលងពួក្ោរ”។
ដោក្បានបដនម ិ ់ចាការជ
ទ ថា រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជាររង ុំ ុំ ប ។
ួ បរបជុោ

“អក្
ប ដដលអាចដធើដរឿដងនះបានរ
វ ឺរណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជា
ព ”។

ដៅក្ុ ងការពោយាមឱ្យានការចាប
ប ់ដផម ុំ ី អក្
ើថ ការចរចាអព ុំ
ប ដទសទងដនះ
 កាលពី

សបាឋហ៍មុនដោក្ ក្ម
ឹ សុខា

បានដសើឱ្យានជ
ប នុំ ួ បមួយជាមួយដោក្ ស ដខ្ង រដម
ឌ ន្តនី រក្ស
ថ ួ ងមហាថ្ផ។
ធ

ដយាងតាមលិខ្ិរមួយចាប់ដដលបដង្ហាះក្ុ ងេ
ប ពុំ រ័ ដហស ៊ របស់ដោក្
វ បុ ក្

ក្ម ស
ឹ ុ ខា ដោក្ ស ដខ្ង បានឯក្ភាពដរៅផូ វការ ប
ល ុ ដ៉ នម
ថ នទន
ិ ់ានការក្ណ
ុំ រ់

កាលបរដច
ិ េឆ  ឬរដបៀបវារៈដៅដឡើយដេ។

ដោក្ សុខ្ ឥសាន

ប នា ុំ
អក្ ក្យរណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជាបដ
ព ិដសធការដដលថា ការពិភាក្ារវាងរ

ុំ ទងព
ណបក្សធៗ ុំ ី រដនះបានបោជ័យ។ដោក្បានានរបសាសន៍ថា

ា ដេជាមួយវបផធម៌សននា
“ោមនបញ្ហ ធ ។ វបផធម៌សននា
ធ

ដៅអនុវរដថ ៅដឡើយ”៕ សារ៊ុថ

CPP Agrees to Long-Awaited Meeting with

CNRP—Later
BY KUCH NAREN
CAMBODIA DAILY

JANUARY 6, 2017

Interior Minister Sar Kheng has agreed to a long-delayed

meeting with acting CNRP president Kem Sokha to discuss
pressing issues between the opposition parties, likely including
the release of four jailed rights workers, but he‟s still not ready
to set a date.
Mr. Sokha, who received a royal pardon in early December and
finally left his refuge at CNRP headquarters, asked for a face-to-
face meeting with Mr. Kheng, who heads the CPP‟s
parliamentary group, in a letter dated Thursday, but released on
Friday.

Interior Minister Sar Kheng, center, and acting CNRP president Kem Sokha, right, greet
each other at the National Assembly in Phnom Penh last year. (Siv Channa/The
Cambodia Daily)
“I hope that the leaders of CPP‟s lawmakers will give the value of
dialogue between our two parties with seats at the National
Assembly in order to jointly address with peace the nation‟s and
the people‟s issues in compliance to the wishes of public,” Mr.
Sokha‟s letter said.
The request followed a December 7 discussion between Mr.
Sokha and Prime Minister Hun Sen, which observers had
expected would put the wheels in motion for the release of four
officers from rights group Adhoc and an election official.
At the time, Mr. Kheng had said, “Maybe by the end of December
there will be a resolution of the cases of human rights officials
and the deputy secretary-general of the NEC.”
Weeks later, though, no meeting to discuss the release and other
issues had occurred, with Mr. Kheng citing his busy end-of-the-
year schedule. He repeated that refrain on Thursday in his reply
to Mr. Sokha.
“But I hope that the meeting for talks between the two parties
could be held after the 11thJanuary, 2017,” Mr. Kheng said.
CPP spokesman Sok Eysan said on Friday it was too early to
comment on what topics would be discussed at the meeting since
no details had yet been decided. “Let‟s wait and see since the
agenda, the date and composition of the delegation have not yet
been arranged,” he said.
Yim Sovann, a spokesman for the CNRP, couldn‟t be reached for
comment.
The four Adhoc officials—Lim Mony, Nay Vanda, Ny Sokha and
Yi Soksan—and election official Ny Chakrya, who previously
worked for Adhoc, have now been in prison for 253 days without
a trial.
International human rights and legal groups have condemned
the case, and local rights group Licadho includes the five on its
list of 27 political prisoners in the country.
naren@cambodiadaily.com
CNRP deputy president Kem Sokha gives a video speech on New Year‟s Eve on his official
Facebook page. Photo supplied

CNRP’s New Year’s resolution

Mon, 2 January 2017

Phnom Penh Post

Touch Sokha

Opposition leaders Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha over the weekend
released New Years messages saying that they hoped 2017 will see
more cooperation between Cambodian politicians and less use of
“fear, threats and injustice” than occurred in 2016.
Sokha, who was on December 2 pardoned of a five-month jail
sentence for failing to appear in court last year, said in a video posted
on his Facebook page on New Year‟s Eve that he wanted to see
politicians fight clean as the June 4 commune elections approach.
“I would like to call on politicians as well as the leaders of Cambodia
to work together to solve the rest of the problems peacefully in order
allow our people to live and to earn their livings without fear, threats
or injustices,” Sokha said in the video.
From France, Rainsy wrote a similar message in a post on his own
Facebook page on New Year‟s Eve.
“I will do my best to do anything so that every citizen from every party
and tendency unite and join together as a big Khmer family to protect
our fatherland to live long and sustainably, and to have solidarity to
build our fatherland to have more prosperity,” Rainsy wrote.
After Sokha‟s pardon on December 2, Interior Minister Sar Kheng said
that he planned to soon meet with Sokha to discuss four officials
from rights group Adhoc and an elections official imprisoned as part
of the “prostitution” case against Sokha last year.
He also said that Prime Minister Hun Sen had indicated that the five
could be released before the end of the year, though he did not say
how. Sokha and Kheng have not yet held such a meeting and the five
officials remained behind bars as 2017 arrived.
CPP spokesman Sok Eysan yesterday said that Kheng had made
himself clear about such a meeting at the end of last year. “As Sar
Kheng said, he has not had the time yet,” Eysan said by telephone.
“Their case is under the procedures of the court, so it is difficult.”
CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann said that the opposition party was
ready to talk whenever possible.
“We are ready to talk; we want it today, or even right now,” he said.
“But it does not depend on us.”

Cambodian Prime Minister Promotes

Body Guards Who Beat Lawmakers
RFA
Thursday 29th December, 2016
Cambodian Times
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen promoted two members of his elite bodyguard unit
despite their convictions for brutally beating a pair of opposition lawmakers near the
National Assembly last year.

Sot Vanny and Mao Hoeun became full colonels on Nov. 17, barely two
weeks after they were freed from prison after serving only one year of
a four-year sentence for beating the lawmakers.
Their promotions from lieutenant colonel on a sub-decree issued by
Hun Sen surprised human rights activists and at least one of the
victims.
"As a victim I have not received justice," Cambodia National Rescue
Party lawmaker Kong Saphea told RFA. "I have filed an appeal before
the court, but the court proceedings are very, frustratingly slow."
On Oct. 26, 2015 Kong Saphea and another CNRP lawmaker Nhay
Chamroeun were dragged from their vehicles and savagely beaten by
protesters after the two men attended a morning meeting of the
legislature.
The attack occurred as more than 1,000 supporters of the ruling
Cambodian People's Party (CPP) surrounded the parliament building,
calling for CNRP deputy president Kem Sokha to step down as first vice
president of the National Assembly.
'We don't feel secure in serving our constituents'
The brazen attack took place in broad daylight while video cameras
filmed it. The assault was condemned by the United States, the
European Union and the?United Nations. Human rights groups
characterized it as part of a wider campaign Hun Sen and his allies are
waging against the political opposition in Cambodia.
"The Cambodian judicial system is used as a tool to intimidate
opposition members and activists," Kong Saphea told RFA. "Our
personal safety and security as the opposition lawmakers are very
precarious, after the abusers are promoted. We don't feel secure in
serving our constituents."
An attorney from the Cambodian Defenders Project (CDP) human
rights organization Hong Kim Suon, told RFA the promotions appear to
violate Cambodian law.
"No one shall be appointed or promoted when he is convicted by a
criminal court," he told RFA. "That includes when he is in his
suspended terms. There is no exception unless he is granted royal
pardon or has served and fulfilled his full term."
Defense Ministry spokesman Chhum Socheat defended the promotions,
telling local media they had served their time.
"They had already served their punishment in compliance with the
law," he told the Phnom Penh Post. "They have corrected themselves
to be good people."
A double standard
Not only are the promotions illegal, but they encourage others to
commit similar offenses, said Am Sam Ath, head of investigations for
the human rights group LICADHO.
"Such a practice reflects a double standard and inequality," he told
RFA. "When an abuser is tolerated and promoted it arguably
encourages more violence and furthers the culture of impunity."
That double standard appeared to extend into Cambodia's notorious
Pre Sar Prison as a guard there, who spoke on condition of anonymity
earlier this year, told RFA that Hun Sen's bodyguards displayed
significant authority inside the prison.
Sources also told RFA that Mao Hoeun was seen in his home village
when he should have been inside Prey Sar, and that the family
suddenly was able to afford to move into a new apartment and start a
business.
On May 27 Mao Hoeun, Sot Vanny and another member of Hun Sen's
bodyguard unit Chay Sarith pled guilty to the assault. They were the
only assailants convicted in the attack, even though video footage
shows at least two dozen men involved in the assault.
Broken bones and surgery
The lawmakers suffered broken noses, a ruptured eardrum, broken
bones and teeth. Nhay Chamraoen required surgery to save his sight in
one eye.
The assault carried the hallmarks of a well-planned, well-coordinated
attack by well-trained individuals.
In the videos the men are seen dragging the lawmakers from a car
before beating them and kicking them while they lay helpless on the
ground.
Colorful scarves are tied around the men's waists, and some of them
used walkie-talkies as they made their repeated attacks.
While Mao Hoeun, Chay Sarit and Sot Vanny were clearly capable of
beating defenseless lawmakers senseless, there are doubts that they
could have carried out a coordinated attack, complete with
communications.
Mao Hoeun, Chay Sarit and Sot Vanny have denied they were acting
under orders. The men said they were driven to the act when the
lawmakers shouted insults at them, calling them puppets of Vietnam,
the country that helped install Hun Sen in power three decades
earlier.
The lawmakers denied making the insults, and there is no evidence in
videos that upholds the guards' version of events.
Kem Ley investigation wraps up
While questions about the assault on Kong Saphea and Nhay
Chamroeun still linger, the government announced that it has
concluded its investigation into another high-profile case.
On December 23, Phnom Penh Municipal Court announced that
Investigating Judge Seng Leang had concluded his investigation into
the murder in July of popular government analyst Kem Ley.
Phnom Penh Municipal Court spokesperson Ly Sophanna stated on the
messaging app Telegram that he investigation was concluded and that
all parties including Kem Ley's wife Bou Rachana had been notified.
Kem Ley was gunned down in broad daylight on July 10 when he
stopped in a Star Mart convenience store beside a Caltex gas station in
the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.
Though authorities charged a former soldier, identified as Oueth Ang,
with the killing, many in Cambodia don't believe the government's
story that Kem Ley was killed by the former soldier over a debt. The
accused killer has used the nom de plume Chuop Samlap which roughly
translated means "meet to kill."
Just days before he was gunned down, Kem Ley had discussed on an
RFA Khmer Service call-in show a report by London-based Global
Witness detailing the extent of the wealth of the family of Hun Sen,
who has ruled Cambodia for 31 years.

Reported by Neang Ieng and Sel San for RFA's Khmer Service. Translated by Nareth
Muong. Written in English by Brooks Boliek.

CNRP President Sam Rainsy Sentenced to a

Further Five Years in Prison
BY KHY SOVUTHY

CAMBODIA DAILY

DECEMBER 27, 2016

CNRP President Sam Rainsy and two assistants who worked on

his Facebook page were sentenced to five years in prison on
Tuesday as accomplices to an opposition senator who cited a
false border treaty in a video criticizing the government.
Presiding Judge Leang Samnath handed down the verdict on
Tuesday and ordered the arrests of Mr. Rainsy and the two
assistants, Sathya Sambath, who was accused of producing the
video, and Ung Chung Leang, the manager of Mr. Rainsy‟s
Facebook page.
The three defendants are currently living in France.
Judge Samnath said the two assistants would only have to serve
three years of their five-year sentences, without explaining the
decision.
The case stems from opposition Senator Hong Sok Hour posting
a video last year in which he discusses a document said to
contain a key mistranslation of a 1979 treaty appearing to show
Cambodia and Vietnam agreeing to dissolve their shared border.
The senator received a seven-year prison term last month for
forgery and incitement over the post, in which he criticized the
government for losing large swaths of land to Vietnam.
Mr. Rainsy has been living in exile abroad since late 2015 to
avoid prison time in a separate case involving a defamation
conviction over his claims linking Khmer Rouge crimes to
Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong. The government has since
banned him from returning.
sovuthy@cambodiadaily.com

U.N. Human Rights Watchdog Gets to

Stay in Cambodia
RFA
Cambodian Times
Wednesday 21st December, 2016
Phnom Penh and the United Nations reached an agreement this week
that allows the U.N.'s human rights office to stay in Cambodia, despite
threats to kick the international watchdog out of the country.
Both the government and the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for
Human Rights (OHCHR) announced they had reached a new
memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Monday that will allow the
office to stay in the country for another two-year term.
In its press release, the foreign affairs ministry said the OHCHR agree
to new language that stipulates that the office will respect Cambodia's
sovereignty.
"Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United
Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the
domestic jurisdiction of any state," the ministry wrote.
Cambodia's Foreign Minister Prak Sokhon accused the OHCHR last
month of "arrogant and disrespectful behavior toward the sovereignty
of Cambodia," and threatened to end the country's cooperation with
the office unless it agrees to quit "meddling" in the nation's internal
affairs.
"Despite the [Royal Government of Cambodia's] efforts to enhance the
smooth, constructive, and effective cooperation based on mutual
respect, the OHCHR has furthermore been stepping up its interference
in internal affairs of Cambodia," he wrote in a Nov. 22 letter to OHCHR
leader Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein.
The OHCHR had continued to operate in Cambodia even though the
MOU with the country lapsed last year.
'Mutually acceptable agreement'
Liz Throssell, the OHCHR spokesperson in Geneva, called the new deal
a "mutually acceptable agreement that takes into account the
positions of both sides and preserves the integrity of the MOU."
Cambodia's government has bristled over comments made in
November by the OHCHR's country representative Wan-Hea Lee, who
told local media that an Interior Ministry directive barring Cambodia
National Rescue Party (CNRP) leader Sam Rainsy from entering the
country was a likely rights violation.
"No elements of the decision to block the entry of Mr. Sam Rainsy into
Cambodia have been brought to light that would allow anyone to
assess its reasonableness, which renders the decision unjustified and
arbitrary," Lee wrote in an email to?The Cambodia Daily.
In October, the Cambodian government ordered police, immigration,
and aviation authorities to "use all ways and means" to prevent
opposition leader Sam Rainsy from returning from exile, as he has
pledged to do before elections in 2017 and 2018.
The opposition leader has been abroad for a year to avoid a two-year
prison sentence handed down in a defamation case. It is not the only
conviction handed down by the courts.
In the latest case, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court found the
opposition leader guilty of defamation on Nov. 8 for claiming that
Prime Minister Hun Sen's social medial team bought "likes" on
Facebook from "click farms" abroad to increase his support.
At the time of his latest conviction, the opposition leader said he could
never win in the Cambodian courts because they are "puppets of the
government."

Reported for RFA's Khmer Service by Sothearin Yeang. Translated by Sovannarith Keo.
Written in English by Brooks Boliek.
Rainsy Threatens to ‘Crush’ Election
Holdouts; Analysts Scoff
BY COLIN MEYN

DECEMBER 19, 2016

CAMBODIA DAILY

អានជាភាសាខ្ំែរ(ខាងក្រោម)
As his party is in the midst of negotiations to free jailed human
rights workers, opposition leader Sam Rainsy over the weekend
promised to “crush” those in the CPP who do not respect a
prospective 2018 national election victory.
—News Analysis—
Summarizing his response to the question of whether Prime
Minister Hun Sen and his ruling party would accept an election
loss, put to him during a Voice of America interview, Mr. Rainsy
wrote on Facebook that they would have no choice.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy at Phnom Penh International Airport last year, shortly
before going into exile in France (Siv Channa/The Cambodia Daily)
“In 2018, the CNRP will form a new and legitimate government
and what will remain from Hun Sen‟s CPP will just be a bunch of
rebels who will be crushed by the legitimate government
commanding the national armed forces with the support of the
international community on the basis of the 1991 Paris Peace
Agreements on Cambodia,” he wrote.
Mr. Rainsy said that Vietnam, which installed CPP leaders
currently in power almost four decades ago, would also support
a new CNRP government, and dismissed Mr. Hun Sen‟s threats
of a violence following a CNRP election victory as bluster.
“But raising now this issue of transfer of power in 2018 is just
part of a political and psychological war, with Hun Sen bluffing—
as always—when he threatens the CNRP with a civil war if he
loses the forthcoming elections,” he said.
Mr. Hun Sen ramped up his warnings of civil war ahead of the
2013 national election, and has continued to say that a CNRP
victory will inevitably lead to violence, warning late last year that
any effort to remove the current military commander and
National Police chief would lead to a backlash.
The predictions by Mr. Rainsy, who is currently banned from
returning to Cambodia, fly in the face of that made by historians
and analysts, who are convinced that Mr. Hun Sen would likely
maintain control of much of the military even after an election
loss, and use loyal units to remain in power if necessary.
Historian David Chandler said in a radio interview in May that
Cambodia would not have a functioning democracy until Mr.
Hun Sen was dead or overthrown, which he said would only
happen through force.
“I‟m never going to say on your program or anywhere else that
Hun Sen should be overthrown by force, but he is not going to be
overthrown any other way,” he said at the time.
Fellow historian Milton Osborne offered a similar analysis in an
article for The Interpreter last month, but noted that a CNRP
victory was by no means guaranteed, and that a fragile power-
sharing agreement might be an inevitable result if such an
outcome eventuated.
“In short, on past and present evidence…Hun Sen and his party
are ready to take all actions that they see as necessary to stay in
office. Whether their actions accord with western concepts of the
rule of law is not a consideration,” Mr. Osborne wrote.
Meas Ny, a political analyst and social researcher, said on
Sunday that it was simply too soon for Mr. Rainsy to be making
such pronouncements.
“The ruling party are still looking to break the opposition. The
CNRP should not be too proud to think they will win the
election,” he said, adding that such provocations would do
nothing to help the post-election process if the CPP did lose.
“If I were Sam Rainsy, I would be careful of how to release the
political statement of how to be a more smooth and peaceful
transition,” he said. “Anything that affects the military could be
very sensitive.”
Mr. Ny agreed that Vietnam would have little choice but to accept
change, though it would prioritize treatment of its own citizens
out of concern for how they might be treated by the CNRP, whose
leaders have a history of xenophobic rhetoric toward the
Vietnamese.
“I think after a majority of people vote for the CNRP, Vietnam
cannot do anything but take care of Vietnamese living in
Cambodia,” he said.
Carl Thayer, a Southeast Asia expert at the Australian Defense
Force Academy, said that he fundamentally disagreed with Mr.
Rainsy‟s projections.
“I do not think Sam Rainsy‟s scenario is remotely possible,” he
said in an email. “If Sam Rainsy is permitted to return and
during the campaign it appears he is picking up support I predict
things will prove nasty. Hun Sen and his regime are not going to
give up power and they will manipulate the elections to ensure
their return to power.”
“If for any reason a manipulated election is not possible Hun Sen
will find a pretext to intervene and dispatch the opposition,” Mr.
Thayer said, adding that neither Vietnam nor China would
condemn a violent repression of the CNRP, though they would
avoid overt support.
“Both China and Vietnam realise only too well that if they overtly
intervened in support of Hun Sen against Sam Rainsy this could
ignite Cambodian nationalism against them,” he said.
meyn@cambodiadaily.com
រកុមអនកវិភាគចំអកចំក្ពាុះោរគំរមរប្ស់ក្ោក សម
រងសុី ខ្ដេថានឹងកក្មទចអនកខ្ដេមិនទ្ទ្ួេសារ េ់
េទ្ធទេក្ននត្
ដោយ ខូ លីន មុីយន៍

ថ្ងៃ ច័នទ ទី 19 បខធន ើ ឆ្នាំ2016

ខ្ណៈរណបក្សរបស់ខ្ួ នក្
ល ព ុំ ុ ងសិរក្
ទ ុ ងដ
ប ដុំ ណើរការចរចាដដម
ើ ផឲ្យានការដោះ
ី
ដលងមន្តនី ស
ថ ិេិមន ុំ ុ ងជាប់ពននា
ន ុ សសក្ព ន ោរ ដោក្សម រងសុ ី

ុំ
ដមដឹក្នារណបក្សរបន ុំ
ងបានសនោកាលពី ចុងសបាថហ៍ថានឹង “ក្ាចរ”់ អក្
ប ដៅ

ក្ុ ងរណបក្សរបជាជនក្ម
ប ុ ជាទ
ព ុំ
ងឡាយណាដដលមនដោរពជ
ិ ័យជមះ
ប ដដលអា

ចដក្រានដៅក្
ើ ុ ងការដបាះដន
ប ុំ
ប រនប២០១៨។

ដោយសដងប
េ ការដឆើយរបរបស
ល ់ខ្ួ នច
ល ដុំ ុំ ួ រអឡ
ះសណ ុំ ុ ងក្ិចស
ច ាាសន៍តាមវេយ
ិ ុ

សដមង
ល សហរដអា
ឌ ដមរក្
ិ (VOA) ថា ដរដោក្
ើ ឌ ន្តនី ថ ហ៊ុន ដសន
នាយក្រដម

និងរណបក្សកាន់អណា
ុំ ចរបស់ដោក្នឹងេេួលយក្ការចាញ់ដនបរដដរឬក្៏អរ់

ុំ រ័ ដហស
ដនាះ ដោក្ សម រងសុ ី បានសរដសរដៅដលើេព ៊ ថា
វ បុ ក្

ពួក្ដរោមនជដរមសដេ។
ើ
ដោក្បានសរដសរថា

“ដៅក្ុ ងន
ប ុំ
ប ២០១៨ ា រោឌភិបាលរសបចាប់ងីម
រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារិនឹងបដងើរ ម ួ

យ ដហើយអីដដលដៅសល
វ ់ ពីរណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជារបស
ព ់ដោក្ហ៊ុន ដសន

នឹងរោន់ដរជារក្ុមឧទធមដដលនឹងររូវក្ដមច
ធ ដោយរោឌភបាលរសបចាប
ិ ់
តាមរ

យៈការបញ្ហ ុំ
ជ ក្ងក្ាលងរបោប់អាវុធជារដដលានការោ
ិ ុំ
រេព ី សហរមន៍អនរថ ជា

រដោយដផ
ិ ក្
ា ដលើមូលោឌនថ្នក្ច
ិ រច ពមដរពៀងសនិ ភាពរក្ុ
ថ ងបា៉រសន
ី ុំ
ប ១៩៩១សីព
ថ ី

របដេសក្មុ ជា”។
ព

ដោក្ សម រងសុ ី បានដលើក្ដឡើងដេៀរថា របដេសដវៀរណាមដដលដលើក្បនុ បដម

ថ

ុំ
ដឹក្នារណបក្សរបជាជនក្មុ ជាឲ្យដឡ
ព ើងកាន់អណា
ុំ ៍ ង
ចជិរ៤េសវរសរក្ន ល មក្

ដនះក្៏នឹង្ហរេរោ
ុំ ឌ ភបាលង
ិ ីដ ុំ
ម ឹក្នាដោយរណបក្សសដន្តង្ហ
គ ះជារដដរ
ិ
ុំ មដរបអ
ដហើយរចានដចាលការរោ ើ ដុំ ពើហិងារបស់ដោក្ ហ៊ុនដសន

ិ ួលជ័យជមះ
ដរកាយរណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារេេ ប ក្ុ ងការដបាះដន
ប ប រ។
ដោក្បានានរបសាសន៍ថា “បុ ៉ដនថ ការដលើក្ដឡើងពីបញ្ហ ុំ
ា ថ្នការដផរធ អណា ចក្ុ ង
ប

ុំ
នប២០១៨ក្ុ ងដពលឥឡ
ប ូ វដនះរឺរោន់ដរជាដផក្
ប ថ្នសន្តង្ហគមនដយាបាយនិងសន្តង្ហគ

មចិរសា ថ ុ ៉ដណាតះ ដោយសារដោក្ ហ៊ុនដសន ដរងដរក្ាល

ថ ន្តសប

ុំ មបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារថាន
ដពលដោក្រោ ិ ឹ ងដក្រានសន្តង្ហ
ើ គ មសុីវល
ិ  របសិនដបដោ
ើ

ក្ចាញ់ដនបរនាដពលខាងមុខ្”។

ដោក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន បានបដងើន

ា ការរពានរបស់ដោក្អព
ុំ ី សន្តង្ហគមសុីវល
ិ

មុនការដបាះដនបរជារន ុំ
ិ ប ២០១៣ ដហើយបានបនដថ លើក្ដឡើងថា
ជ័យជមះ
ប របស់រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារន ុំ
ិ ឹ ងនាដៅរក្អដុំ ពើហិងាដោយដចៀសមន
ិ
ុំ
ផុរដឡើយ ដោយដោក្បានរពានដៅចុងនប២០១៥ថា

ការបុ ៉នប៉ងណាមួយដៅក្ុ ងការផ

ប ួ លរ
ថ ុំ ដុំ មបញ្ហ
ល ជ ការដយាធា

និងអរស
គ ង
ប ការនររបាលជារបច
ិ ុ បផន
ច នប ឹ ងឈានដៅរក្របរក្ម
ិ ុំ
រម បនងរបវ ញ។
ិ

ការពោក្ររបស់ដោក្ សម រងសុ ី

ដដលបចុ បផន
ច ុំ នឲ្យច
រប រូវបានោោងម ិ ូ លមក្ក្ុ ងរបដេសក្ម
ប ុ ជាវ
ព ញ
ិ

ផុ យទ
ធ ុំ
ងរស ុ ងពីអដដលររូ
ីវ វបានដលើក្ដឡើងដោយរបវរវិថ េ
ិ ូ

និងអក្
ប វភារដដលដជឿថា
ិ ដោក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន េន
ុំ ងជាដៅដរររប់ររងដយាធាភារ

ដរចនដដដល
ើ

ធ ប់ពីចាញ់ដនបរក្៏ដោយ ដហើយដរបរបាស
ដទះបជាបនា
ី ើ ់អងភា
គ ពដ៏ដសាមះស័រម រដដើ

មផឲ្យខ្
ី ួ នដៅដរបន
ល ថ ន់អណា
កា ុំ ចរបសិនដបចា ុំ
ើ បាច ់។

ិ នណឍល័រ (David Chandler)

ដោក្ ដដវដ

ដដលជារបវរិវថ េ ុំ ុ ងក្ិចស
ិ ូមួយរូបបានដលើក្ដឡើងអឡ ច ាាសន៍មួយតាមវេយ
ិ ុ កាលពី

ពីដខ្ឧសភាថា

ក្មុ ជាន
ព ឹ ងមនានលេ
ិ ិរបជាធ
ន បដរយយដដលដ
ិ ដុំ ណើរការដនាះដឡើយ

លុះរតាដរដោក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន សាលប់ ឬររូវបានផួ លរ

ថ ុំ ុំ ដដលដោក្ដលើក្ដឡើងថា
ល

អាចដក្រដឡ
ើ ុំ
ើងបានានដរតាមរយៈក្ងក្ាលងដេ។

ដោក្បានានរបសាសន៍អឡ
ុំ ុ ងដពលដនាះថា“ខ្ុ ម
ុំញ នដដលន
ិ ិ យាយតាមក្មវម ធ
ិ រប
ី

ស់អក្
ប ឬក្ដនង
ល ណាដផសងថា ដោក្
ហ៊ុន ដសន រួរដរររូវបានផួ លរ
ថ ុំ ដុំ ោយក្ងក្ាលងដឡ
ល ុំ ើយបុ ដ៉ នថ ដទះជាយា៉ងណា

ដោក្នឹងមិនររូវបានផួ លរ
ថ ុំ ដុំ នាះដេ”។
ល

ិ ូបនាធប់ដដលានដឈាមះ មលង
របវរវិថ េ ី ុ នអូសសផន (Milton

ថ ់ ការវភាររសដដៀងោ
Osborne) បានផល ិ ប ដនះដៅក្ុ ងអរ
ប ប ់
ទ េមួយរបសThe

Interpreter កាលពីដខ្មុន បុ ដ៉ នថ បានរូសបញ្ហ

ជ ក្់ថា

ជ័យជមះ
ប របស់រណបក្ស

សដន្តង្ហគះជារម
ិ នេេ
ិ ួលបានការធានាទល់ដរដសាះ ដហើយថា

ុំ
ការរពមដរពៀងដចក្រដលក្អ ុំ
ណា ចដ៏ផុយរសួយដចៀសមនផ
ិ ុ រដនាះដឡើយ

របសិនដបលេ
ើ ផន លដបបដនះដក្រានដមនដនាះ។
ើ

ដោក្បានសរដសរថា “និយាយជារួមមក្ ដបដផ ា ដលើភ័សុ តាងកាលព

ើ ក្ ថ ី មុន និងដព

លបចុ បផន
ច ដប នះ…ដោក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន និងរណបក្សរបស់ដោក្ដររៀមខ្ួ នរ
ល ួចដហើយ

ក្ុ ងការចារ
ប ់ររប់វធានការដដលព
ិ ួ ក្ដរដមើលដ ុំ
ើញថាចាបាច់ដៅក្ុ ងការបន
ប ថ ន់
កា

ុំ
អណា ចរដៅមុខ្ដេៀរ។ មិនថា

វធានការរបស
ិ ់ពួក្ដររសមតាមេសសនទននីររដ
ិ រឌ បស់បសឹមរបដេស
ច

ឬក្៏អរ់ដនាះដឡើយ រោ
ឺ ម នការពិចារណាដេ”។

ដោក្ ាស នី អក្
ប វភារនដយាបាយ
ិ និងជាអក្
ប សិក្ារសាវរជាវបានដលើក្ដឡើង

កាលពី មសលម
ិ ញថា
ិ វាដលឿនដពក្ដហើយសរាប់ដោក្

សម រងសុ ី ក្ុ ងការដធ

ប ការរបកាសដបបដនះ។
ើវ
ដោក្បានានរបសាសន៍ថា

“រណបក្សកាន់អណា
ុំ ចដៅដរចង់បដុំ បក្បបា
ុំ ក្់រណបក្សរបនងម
ុំ ួ យដនះ។

រណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារិមិនរួរានដាេនភាពរជុលក្ុ ងការន
ប ិ យាយថាពួក្ដរនឹ

ងឈះ
ប ដនបរដឡើយ”។ ដោក្បានបដនម
ទ ថា ការបងប
ា ញ្ហ
ា ដបបដនះមនអាចជ
ិ ួ យអីវ

បានដេសរាប់ដដុំ ណើរការដរកាយការដបាះដនបរ

របសិនដបរណបក្សរបជាជនក្ម
ើ ុ ជាព
ព ិ រជាចាញ់ដមនដនាះ។

ដោក្បានានរបសាសន៍ថា “របសិនដបខ្ ុំញ ដោក្ សម រងសុ ី

ើ ុ ជា
ុំញ ឹ ងានការរបុងរបយ័រច
ខ្ុ ន ប ដុំ ះថា ដរររូ
ើ វដចញដសចក្ដង ល ការណ៍យា៉ងដម៉ច
ីថ ង

ដេើបដធឲ្យានការដផ
ើវ ុំ
រធ អណា ចានដដុំ ណើរដោយរលូនរបក្បដោយសនិ វថ ធ
ិ ។
ី

អៗដដលប
ីវ ៉ះ ល់ដល់ដយាធារវារដស
ឺ ់
ើបណាស”។

ដោក្ ាស នី បានយល់រសបថា ដវៀរណាមានជដរមសរ

ើ ចរ
ិ ួច

ដរៅពីេេួលយក្ការផ្អលស់បូ រថ

បុ ៉ដនន ព ់ចដុំ
ថ ឹ ងរិររូរខ្ស ថ ក្ដលើពលរដរឌ បស់ខ្ួ នដោយសារានការ
ះការរបរពឹរម ល

រពួយបារមថា
ា ដរព ថ ក្ដលើយា៉ងដូចដមច
ើ ួ ក្ដរនឹងររូវបានរបរពឹរម ថ ដោយរណប

ក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារដដលដមដ
ិ ក្ ុំ
ឹ នារបស់ខ្ួ នដរងដរដរប
ល ើ ក្យដរសដអ
ើ ងជាយ
ើ ូ រមក្ដហើ

យមក្ដលើជនជារដវៀរណាម។
ិ

ដោក្បានានរបសាសន៍ថា

ុំញ រថា
“ខ្ុ រ ិ បនាធប់ពីពលរដភា
ឌ រដរចនដបាះដន
ើ ប រឲ្យរណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះជារដវៀរ
ិ
ណាមមនអាចដធ
ិ អ
ើវ បានដេ
ីវ បុ ដ៉ នថ យក្ចរ ថ ុក្ោក្់ចដុំ
ិ េ ះការរស់ដៅរបស់ជនជា

រិដវៀរណាមដៅក្មុ ជា”។
ព

ដោក្ ខាល ថាយ័រ អក្ ុំ ញរបចារ

ប ជនា ុំ ប
ុំ ន់អាសុីអាដរយ
ប ៍ ដៅបណិឍ រសភាក្ងេព
័

ការ រអូន្តសាថលី (Australian Defense Force Academy)

បានដលើក្ដឡើងថា ដោក្មនយល
ិ ់ រសបទល់ដរដសាះចដុំ ះការពោក្ររបស់

ដោក្ សម រងសុ ី ។

ី ដម៉លថា “ខ្ុ រ
ដោក្បានដលើក្ដឡើងតាមអុុ ុំញ រថាដសណារ
ិ ី ូ ៉ របស់ដោក្ សម រ
យ

ងសុ ី មនអាចដៅរ
ិ ួចដេ។

របសិនដបដោក្
ើ សម រងសុ ី ររូវបានអនុញ្ហដរឲ្យវលររឡប
ិ ់មក្វញដហ
ិ ុំ ុ ង
ើ យអឡ

យុេនា ុំ ងជាដក្ៀងររបានការោរេដនាះ
ន ការដឃ្សនាដោក្េន ុំ ុំញ ោក្រថា
ខ្ុ ព

អៗអារក្ក្
ីវ ់នឹងដក្រានដឡ
ើ ើង។

ដោក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន និងរបបរបស់ដោក្នឹងមិនរពមលះបង់អណា

ុំ ចដនាះដឡើយ

ុំ រដបាះដនបរដដើមផធានាការវ
ដហើយពួក្ ដរនឹងដរៀបចកា ី លររឡប
ិ ់មក្កាន់អណា
ុំ ច

បនដថ េៀរ”។

ដោក្បានានរបសាសន៍បដនម
ទ ថា “របសិនដបក្
ើ ុ ងដហរ
ប ុ ផលណាមួយដដលការ

ដបាះដនបរដដលររូវបានដរៀបច ុំ មនអាចដៅរ
ិ ួច ដោក្ ហ៊ុន ដសន

ថ រមន៍ ដហើយសាលប់រណបក្សរបនង”។
នឹងរក្ដលសអនោ ុំ ដោក្បានបដនម
ទ ដេៀ

ុំ
រថា ទងរបដេសដវៀរណាម និងរបដេសចន ា លដទសការបន្តង្ហាបដ៏
ិ នឹងមនដថា
ិ
 ិ ើយបុ ដ៉ នថ
ហិងាដលើរណបក្សសដន្តង្ហគះ ជារដឡ

ុំ
ពួក្ដរនឹងដចៀសវាងការោរេដោយដប ុំ ។
ើក្ចហ

ដោក្បានដងង ុំ
ល ថា “ទងរបដេសចន ឹ យា៉ងចា
ិ និងរបដេសដវៀរណាមសុេដន រដង

ស់ថារបសិនដបព
ើ ួ ក្ដរដធអន
ើវ ថ រមន៍ដោយដបក្ច
ោ ើ ហុំ ក្ុ ងការោ
ប ុំ
រេដោក្ ហ៊ុន

ុំ
ដសន របនងដោក្ សម រងសុ ី ដនះអាចនឹងបដញ្ឆះឲ្យានចលនាដសហា
ប ជារន
ិ ិ

យមក្ុ ងច
ប ដុំ ណាមពលរដដឌ ខ្រម របនងព
ុំ ួ ក្ដរ”៕ស៊ុយឈាង

Cambodia National Rescue Party Denies Rift

Between Exiled, Acting Leaders
RFA
Wednesday 14th December, 2016
Cambodian Times
Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) leader Kem Sokha paid a visit to a jailed election commission
official today as attempts to free opposition politicians and government critics from prison continues.

Kem Sokha, the CNRP's acting president, told reporters very little
following his visit with Ny Chakrya, the National Election Committee's
deputy leader who was jailed as part of the government's wide-ranging
probe into an alleged affair between Kem Sokha and a young hair
dresser.
"I am not the one who will sign to release him," Kem Sokha said as he
left the prison in downtown Phnom Penh where the election official is
being held.
While Kem Sokha was taciturn with reporters, CNRP lawmaker Long Ry
said they were looking for a way to get Ny Chakrya released.
"Acting President Kem Sokha has met in person with Ny Chakrya," said
Long Ry, who was also at the prison. "He has asked him to remain
patient while he is looking into all possible means to find a solution."
Hope for Ny Chakrya's release and the release of four human rights
workers imprisoned in the probe were raised when Kem Sokha and a
CNRP commune chief received royal pardons in the wide-ranging case.
Both pardons came at the behest of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun
Sen who also heads the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP).
On May 2, Cambodian authorities arrested Cambodian Human Rights
and Development Association (ADHOC) staffers Ny Sokha, Nay Vanda,
Yi Soksan, and Lim Mony, as well as Ny Chakrya for allegedly
attempting to pay hush money to Kem Sokha's purported mistress.
Theam Chan Piseth, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court judge
investigating the charges has decided to close his investigations into
the allegations, but it is unclear what the next steps will be, the
Khmer Times reported.
The judge declined to say whether the case would proceed to trial or
if the court might drop the charges against the Kem Sokha Five, the
paper reported.
'We cannot be bought'
While Kem Sokha is meeting with opposition prisoners, CNRP President
Sam Rainsy wrote in a Facebook post that rumors of the demise of
their partnership were exaggerated.
The two men have led the CNRP since Sam Rainsy left Cambodia last
year after he was given a two-year prison sentence in a defamation
case. It is not his only conviction handed down by the Cambodian
courts to the CNRP leader, and earlier this year he was barred from
entering the country.
Kem Sokha was recently elevated to president of CNRP National
Assembly Members, a position roughly analogous to minority leader in
the U.S. Congress and one that had been held by Sam Rainsy.
While CPP leaders have painted the change as a split between the two
leaders, they deny there's any friction.
"Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha represent honor and hope for Cambodian
people," Sam Rainsy posted on his Facebook feed. "These two
Cambodian sons signify the great and dignified Cambodian children
who do not give in to threats or intimidation.
"We cannot be bought," he added. "He who is attempting to break us is
unquestionably dreaming."
Phnom Penh City Hall spokesman Suos Yara told local reporters on
December 12, that Sam Rainsy appears to be hallucinating after he left
the position.
In his Facebook posts, Sam Rainsy compared the two parties to boats
racing across the Mekong River with the CPP in a doomed luxury liner
and the CNRP manning smaller more seaworthy boats.
"Knowing they will never reach any shore in 2018 and facing possible
death in the middle of the river, the big ship's passengers start to
jump out into the river," he wrote. "I call on the small boats and their
passengers to set out to go rescue those who are in danger of getting
drowned because they all are Cambodians and human beings."
Cambodian national elections are scheduled for 2018 and local
elections in 2017. While the CPP still controls the National Assembly,
the CNRP gained 55 seats in the?2013 election that was marred by
accusations of fraud.
Cambodians are using a new digital voter registration system that is
designed to combat those allegations.
The new system is part of a 2014 election reform deal between the
CPP and opposition CNRP that ended almost a year of deadlock
following the 2013 ballot.
Reported by Savi Khorn and Naline Pea for RFA's Khmer Service. Translated by Nareth Muong. Written in
English by Brooks Boliek.

Hopes Are Raised That Cambodian Opposition

Activists Will Go Free
RFA Friday 9th December, 2016
Cambodian Times
An opposition commune chief held in the Cambodian government's wide-ranging investigation of Cambodia
National Rescue Party (CNRP) leader Kem Sokha was released early Thursday, raising hopes that more jailed
government critics will also go free.

"Discussions are under way to find a solution to release the remaining

jailed activists," CNRP lawmaker Ou Chanrith told RFA's Khmer Service.
Commune Chief Seang Chet's release on a royal pardon came after a
meeting with Kem Sokha and another 15 jailed CNRP's activists. Kem
Sokha also received a pardon from King Norodom Sihamoni that absolved
the CNRP's acting president of failing to appear in one of the cases
related to the government's probe into his alleged affair with a young hair
dresser.
Both pardons came at the request of Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has run
Cambodia's government for more than three decades and leads the ruling
Cambodian People's Party (CPP).
Ou Chanrith told RFA that talks are also underway to free land-rights
advocate Tep Vanny, who was convicted on Sept. 19 of insulting and
obstructing public officials and was sentenced to six months in prison in
relation to a protest in November 2011 near Hun Sen's residence.
"A solution to Tep Vanny's case will be dealt with also," Ou Chanrith said.
Tep Vanny gained prominence as an activist fighting the Boeung Kak Lake
land grab, when some 3,500 families were evicted from the neighborhood
surrounding the urban lake in Phnom Penh.
The lake was filled with sand to make way for a development project
with close ties to Hun Sen and the CPP.
Seizure of land for development--often without due process or fair
compensation for displaced residents-- is a major cause of protests in
Cambodia and other authoritarian Asian countries, including China and
Laos.
Hun Sen's warning
It's unclear exactly what is motivating Hun Sen to seek the pardons, but
he denied that the change of heart is coming because of international
pressure.
"This sends a message out that Cambodians can solve our problems
ourselves," he said during a ceremony marking the fifth anniversary of
Japanese Company Minebea's presence in the country.
"Don't ever try to put pressure on me. It's useless to put pressure on me,"
he said. "Hun Sen has the most peculiar attitude: The more you pressure
me, the more I don't care."
Lest anyone think that the new-found cooperation is coming from a
kinder and gentler Hun Sen, he underscored the tenuous nature of his
tolerance of critics.
"If you take it easy with me and continue to keep calm, there might be
more releases," he said. "That is how peculiar my attitude is."
"Let's be unequivocal about that," he added.? "Again, don't ever think
about putting pressure on me. If you want the rest of those jailed people
to remain locked up, you may challenge me with that."
The U.N., the E.U. and some in the U.S. have criticized Hun Sen and
Cambodia's human rights record and a political situation that has seen
government critics hauled into court and tossed in jail for what many
consider politically-motivated cases.
'I want nothing but to be able to register to vote'
Seang Chet was sentenced to five years in prison on Dec. 5 for giving $500
to the mother of hairdresser Khom Chandaraty, in what the government
said was an attempt to keep the woman quiet about her alleged affair
with CNRP leader Kem Sokha.
He said that the money actually was given to Khom Chandaraty's mother
as an act of charity.
While he was adamant about his innocence, Seang Chet said that his
biggest disappointment about his time in jail is that he missed voter
registration.
"I want nothing but to be able to register to vote," he said. "That's the
only wish I have. I would like the [National Election Commission] to add
me into the voter registration list."
Despite Hun Sen's warning, activists found hope in the pardons.
Ou Virak, who heads the think tank Future Forum, said Seang Chet's
release is a positive sign, but he is not very optimistic about the love-
hate relationship between the two parties.
"Though I see that there are some positive signs at the national level, I'm
afraid that at the grassroots level there are still obstacles in the
competition between the two parties," he said.
While the relations between the CPP and the CNRP may be warming, the
government's relationship with dissent remains frosty.? The government
prevented demonstrators celebrating the 68th International Human Rights
Day from marching in downtown Phnom Penh.
Lonh Sochea, the president of the Independent Monk Network in
Battambang, chaffed at the restrictions.
"Our rights to march are restricted. I don't see why the authorities don't
allow us to express ourselves," he said. "We are doing this not for us but
for everyone in Cambodia and in the world."
Reported by Moniroth Morm and Sokheng Saut for RFA's Khmer Service. Translated by Nareth Muong. Written
in English by Brooks Boliek.
Sam Rainsy, left, and Prime Minister Hun Sen pose for photos after meeting at the National Assembly in 2014. Heng
Chivoan

Prime Minister’s formula put to test

Phnom Penh Post

Fri, 9 December 2016

Alex Willemyns

For the many who have pinned their hopes on Sam Rainsy and Kem
Sokha’s Cambodia National Rescue Party, it would be a crushing blow for
the delicate alliance to have come so far only to split now.
Yet less than six months from the June 4 commune elections – the most
important test yet of the nearly five-year-old experiment in placing the
downfall of Prime Minister Hun Sen ahead of competing egos – the still-
maturing marriage of convenience has never been so openly fractious.
From Sokha’s open rebuke of Rainsy’s refusal to leave the safety of
Europe, to Rainsy’s obvious displeasure in giving up the title of
parliamentary “minority leader” for Sokha, never before have the deep
personal differences in the CNRP appeared so at risk of blowing up. (Last
month, Sokha’s daughter even publicly taunted Rainsy as “Peter Pan” for
his perceived childishness.)
It’s a familiar place for Hun Sen, who over his three decades in power
made a name for himself as Cambodia’s great divider – slicing and dicing
the Khmer Rouge, the Khmer People’s National Liberation Front,
Funcinpec and anyone else who dared oppose him. So there is a wealth of
experience for Sokha and Rainsy to draw on as they perform their latest
three-person dance with the man they have sworn to remove from power
by working together.
“I hope the two leaders will not fall into that trap again,” said Son Soubert,
who has for legal purposes served as nominal leader of Sokha’s old
Human Rights Party since its structure and membership was merged with
that of Rainsy’s party to form the CNRP in July 2012.
“If they have learned from the past, this is what the prime minister has
done: First, the CPP divided the KPNLF, and when they succeeded, they
started to do it with Funcinpec, too. Now – I hope – the political parties
should have learned their lesson,” he added.
However, Soubert, who is a former member of the Constitutional Council
and son of late prime minister Son Sann, said that even though he has
known Rainsy and Sokha for decades, he could not predict if the former
fierce rivals could prove themselves different to past leaders.
“That is difficult to say. Human nature is that they both have reason – to
think and to calculate – but they have also their egos and hearts,” Soubert
said.
Both CNRP leaders should also be intimately aware of the relevant history,
with Rainsy having his political roots in Funcinpec – for whom he was
finance minister in the 1990s in coalition with the CPP – and Sokha having
cut his teeth as a clandestine KPNLF operative in the 1980s.
Outside of its large youth following, the CNRP in fact still remains largely a
latter-day regrouping of holdouts from both those movements, which had
been both allies and rivals from their creation to their collapse at Hun Sen’s
hands. And much of that divide remains.
The Sam Rainsy Party faction of the CNRP remains associated with the
remnants of Funcinpec, from which the SRP split in the 1990s, as well as
Rainsy’s personalist style, while Sokha’s HRP is heavily populated by
former KPNLF figures, who touted their old party as more democratic.
As a founding Funcinpec member who now sits in Sokha’s faction and
often criticises Rainsy, Prince Sisowath Thomico bucks that trend. He said
that for all the personal differences between Rainsy and Sokha, he
believed both were hyper-aware that they cannot win alone.
“I’ve said this many, many times before: Kem Sokha and Sam Rainsy
cannot be divided, because if they split, they will both have no future. The
CNRP has raised so much hope, so I do not believe in divisions between
Sokha and Rainsy,” Thomico said.
“But what I am more concerned about,” the prince added, “is divisions
between their supporters – not at the grassroots, but at the intermediary
level. We have to remember that the CNRP is still a union of the Sam
Rainsy Party and the Human Rights Party.”

Deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha, left, speaks to Prime Minister Hun Sen at the National Assembly in Phnom Penh
earlier this week. AFP

“Both parties had different ethics, different organisations and different

cultures,” he said. “At the moment, some SRP people could feel offence.”
Still, few among the factions around Rainsy and Sokha should be tricked by
Hun Sen suddenly favouring one and excluding the other, given the
brazenness of the gambit, said Sophal Ear, an associate professor at
Occidental College in Los Angeles.
“It’s like Theresa May (Conservatives) saying she doesn’t want to work with
Jeremy Corbyn (Labour) anymore and he must be replaced in the UK
Parliament,” said Ear, who wrote Aid Dependence in Cambodia: How
Foreign Assistance Undermines Democracy.
Such a proposal could only be interpreted as an undisguised tactic to
secure unfair political gains, he said, and so would dupe few among the
opposition. “On the flip side,” Ear added, “the optics are damaging for the
CNRP: real or apparent loss of agency.”
CPP spokesman Sok Eysan said that while he did not want to say his party
was using tricks to divide the CNRP by pampering Sokha and excluding
Rainsy – after doing the opposite throughout 2015 – he would also feel
uncomfortable denying it.
“If we completely deny this, that would also not be reasonable, because
generally, for competing parties in a democratic society, there is no party
that wants its competitor to become stronger,” Eysan said. “It’s the same
for any party, not only the CPP.”
“Any party that is created wants its competitor to become weaker, and this
is normal,” he reiterated. “If we deny it completely, it would seem to
contradict the truth.”
While a prime minister selecting his own opposite would seem ridiculous in
most countries, for Hun Sen, it is just another page from a well-worn recipe
book of divide-and-conquer.
He split Funcinpec in the 1990s and 2000s by declaring he would only work
with minor official Ung Phan – and later Ung Huot, and later Nhek Bun
Chhay – and not the party’s leader, Norodom Ranariddh. He split the
KPNLF by saying that he would work with Ieng Mouly, but not party leader
Son Sann.
However, Soubert, the nominal president of Sokha’s old HRP, said that he
believed the deputy opposition leader’s unexpected rapprochement with
Hun Sen was not the past repeating itself, but instead a necessity while the
CNRP has a chance to extract more from Hun Sen.
“Now, the concern of Kem Sokha is the people from the party and NGOs
who are in jail from his case,” Soubert said, referring to four Adhoc rights
workers and an elections official who remain in jail over the “prostitution”
case for which Sokha was pardoned. “When they are released, we will
see.”
Rainsy said in an email that he indeed could see the old tactics of division
behind Hun Sen shifting his affections to Sokha and his disdain to Rainsy,
but also appeared to reserve judgment on the matter.
“You are possibly right,” Rainsy wrote. Asked why he believed Hun Sen
would be so transparent in trying to split him from Sokha, Rainsy added:
“Because the game has become so obvious that any cover would be
useless. Worse, the guy has no other game to play.”
Indeed, while Hun Sen may revel in the politics of division, it has been rare
for him to leave success to so late in the game – especially with Rainsy and
Sokha seeming only to grow more sure-footed as their party unity holds up
amid their public divisions.
Before the CNRP, Hun Sen had never faced a united opposition at an
election, and success for the CNRP in the commune elections in six
months would send shivers down the premier’s spine as he ponders how to
protect the veneer of invincibility he has curated.
With the be-all-and-end-all July 2018 national election scheduled only a
year after the commune poll, a question that has over the past few years
seemed easy to kick down the road has suddenly arrived to demand a
answer: Can Hun Sen break the CNRP?
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY MECH DARA

ក្ោក កឹម សុខា ោា យជារប្ធានរកុមសំក្ឡង
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“របធោនរកុមសាំេឡងភោគតិចរូបេនោះ
គឺជោៃេគូសនទនោជោមួយថនោក់េឹកនោាំរ ឌោភិបោលសរមោប់កិច៯កោរងោររបេទសជោតិ។
របធោនរកុមសាំេឡងភោគតិចមោនឋោនៈេសមើនោយករេឌម្នរ”ី ។
េលោក កឹម សុខោ ែេលមោនទឹកមុខញញឹមបោនេលើកេឡើងថោ េលោកសង៭ឹមថោ
នឹងមោនកោរពិភោកាែេលផឋល់ផលរបេយោជន៍ឱ្យគនោេ ោវិញេ ោមកជោមួយបុរសែេលថមីៗេនោះ
បោនគាំរោមចោប់េលោក ោក់ពនធនោគោរ  ”អ្ស់មួយជីវិត”
ពីបទេចោទរបកោន់ែេលមជឈ ឌោនទូេ ោេមើលេឃើញថោ  មោនេែតុផលនេយោបោយ
េែើយេលោកក៏បោននិយោយសរមោលឝោរៈសាំខោន់ៃនតួនោទីថមីរបស់េលោកជោរបធោនរកុមសាំេឡងភោគ
តិចផងែេរ។

េ ោកនហងកិច៯របជុាំជោមួយេលោកនោយករេឌម្នរីអ្ាំឡហងេពលរពឹក េលោក កឹម សុខោ បោនេលើកេឡើងថោ

ពួកេលោកទោាំងពីរ “បោនរពមេរពៀងគនោេលើបញ្ឞោមួយចាំនួនេូចជោ កោរបរងួបបរងួមជោតិេេើមបីសថិរភោព
សនរិភោព និងកោរអ្ភិវឌឍសរមោប់របេទសជោតិ និងពលរេឌរបស់េយើងជោេេើម”។

េលោកបោនមោនរបឝោសន៍បែនថមថោ
“ៃថ៮េនោះេយើងមកទីេនោះេេើមបីេធវើេាំេណើរេឆ្ោោះេ ោកោន់េគោលេ ោែេលេយើងមិនទោន់សេរមចបោន។
អ្វីែេលេយើងរតូវេធវើបនទោប់
គឺែសវងរកឯកភោពជោតិេេើមបីេធវើឱ្យរបេទសជោតិរបស់េយើងកោន់ែតរបេសើរេឡើង”។ េលោកបែនថមថោ
េលោកឝវោគមន៍ “កោររិោះគន់ឝថោបនោេ ោយមោនេគោលេ ោបេង៪ើនកោរអ្ភិវឌឍរបស់េយើង”
បុែនរមិនែមនកោររបមោថ ឬពោកយឡកសោយែេលហោចេធវើឱ្យ “សង៬មែបកបោក់” េនោោះេឡើយ។

េលោក សម រងឝហី ែេលបេិេសធមិនេឆលើយសាំណួរពោក់ព័នធកោរអ្ោះហោងពីមុនរបស់េលោកែេលថោ

េលោកនឹងេ ោែតជោរបធោនសាំេឡងភោគតិចេនោោះ បោនេលើកេឡើងថោ
េលោកមិនខវោយខវល់ចាំេពោោះចាំណោត់កោរេនោះេឡើយ។

េលោកបោនេលើកេឡើងតោមរយៈអ្ុីេមលមួយថោ “តាំែណងមិនសាំខោន់េទ អ្វីែេលសាំខោន់គឺភោពេទៀងរតង់

និងភោពៃថលថនឡររបស់េយើងមនោក់ៗ។ ខញហាំសុខចិតរេធវើអ្វីៗទោាំងអ្ស់ឱ្យែតរបេទសជោតិេយើងបោនេ ោគង់វងឝ
េែើយឈោនេ ោរកភោពរុងេរឿង”។

េ ោយេលើកេឡើងថោ េលោករតូវបោនេគទោត់េចញពីសភោ ផឋនទោេទោសឱ្យជោប់ពនធនោគោរ

េែើយថមីៗេនោះរតូវបោនរោរោាំងមិនឱ្យចូលកនហងរបេទសេទៀតេនោោះ េលោក សម រងឝហី បោនមោនរបឝោសន៍ថោ
គណបកឝរបជោជនកម្ហជោកាំពុងែតបករឝោយចាប់ ែតេទោោះជោយោងណោគណបកឝរបស់េលោកទទួល
យកេ ោយកោរេពញចិតរ។

េលោកបោនមោនរបឝោសន៍ថោ ”បុែនរភោពេឝមោោះរតង់របស់ខញហាំចាំេពោោះរបជោរោរសរែខមរេ ោែតេឝមោោះរតង់ជោនិ
ច៯រែូតេល់េេងឞើមចុងេរកោយរបស់ខ”ញហាំ ។
េលោករសី មូរ សុខែួរ តាំណោងរោរសរគណបកឝសេ្ង៬ោោះជោតិបោនេលើកេឡើងថោ េលោក សម រងឝហី
បោនចូលរួមេ ោកនហងកោរេបោោះេឆនោតរបស់គណៈកមមោធិកោរអ្ចិៃ្នរយ៍េ ោកនហងគណបកឝតោមរយៈ
S k y p e ែេលកនហងេនោោះេលោកបោនគោាំរទេសចកឋីសេរមចឱ្យេលោក កឹម
សុខោ េឹកនោាំតាំណោងរោរសរគណបកឝរបឆោាំង និងតាំណោងពួកេគកនហងកោរពិភោកាជោមួយេលោក ស េខង
រេឌម្នរីរកសួងមឞោៃផទ។

េលោករសីបោនមោនរបឝោសន៍ថោ “គមោនកោរែបកបោក់េ ោកនហងគណបកឝេទ។ េលោក សម

រងឝហី េ ោែតជោបុគ៬លែេលពិភោកាជោមួយេលោក ែុន ែសន”។

េទោោះជោយោងណោ រពោះអ្ង៬ម៯ោស់ សុីសុវតថិ

ធមមិេកោ សមោជិកេ៏េលចេធលោេ ោកនហងគណៈកមមោធិកោរអ្ចិៃ្នរយ៍របស់គណបកឝសេ្ង៬ោោះជោតិបោនទទួ
លឝ៬ោល់ថោ គណបកឝេនោះរបែែលជោគមោនជេរមើសេទេ ោកនហងបញ្ឞោេនោះ។

រពោះអ្ង៬ម៯ោស់បោនមោនបនទឡលថោ “េបើនោយករេឌម្នរីនិយោយថោ កឹម សុខោ

គឺជោៃេគូរបស់េលោកេ ោេែើយ អ្៊ីចឹងខញហាំគិតថោ គមោនអ្វីរតូវនិយោយេទៀតេទ”។
េលោក កឹម សុខោ អ្នុរបធោនបកឝរបឆោាំង រោក់ទោក់េលោកនោយករេឌម្នរី ែុន ែសន កោលពីៃថ៮ពុធ េ ោសភោជោតិកនហងរកុងភនាំេពញ។
(F r e s h N e w s )

េ ោយឝោរេលោក ែុន ែសន ចូលចិតរបាំែបកបាំបោក់េមេឹកនោាំគណបកឝរបឆោាំង

កោរពាករអ្ាំពីកោររួបរួមឝោមគ៬ីគនោរវោងេមេឹកនោាំគណបកឝសេ្ង៬ោោះជោតិទោាំងពីររូបេនោះមិនធោនោថោ ទាំនោ
ក់ទាំនងេ ោែតមោនភោពសុខេុមរមនោេនោោះេឡើយ។

រពោះអ្ង៬ម៯ោស់ សុីសុវតថិ ធមមិេកោ បោនមោនបនទឡលេទៀតថោ

“េយើងកាំពុងរងកោរវោយរបឞោរពីគណបកឝរបជោជនកម្ហជោមឋងេទៀតេែើយ”។ រពោះអ្ង៬ម៯ោស់បោនបនរថោ
កោរវោយរបឞោរេនោះហោចបនរេធវើឱ្យមោនកោរែខវងគាំនិតគនោកនហងបកឝ របសិនេបើមិនេ ោោះរឝោយ។
“ខញហាំេ ោែតខលោចថោ េយើងរបែែលជោរតូវេគបាំែបកបាំបោក់”។

េលោក យឹម សុវណ្ អ្នកនោាំពោកយគណបកឝសេ្ង៬ោោះជោតិបោនេលើកេឡើងថោ េមេឹកនោាំគណបកឝ

“មិនេផឋោតេលើតាំែណងេ ោេលើរក ោស “េនោោះេឡើយ។
បុែនរេលោកបោនជាំទោស់ េពលសួរថោ េែតុអ្វីបោនជោេលោក សម រងឝហី
សង៪ត់ធ៮ន់ពីតាំែណងរបស់េលោកបុនមោនៃថ៮មុនេនោះ។

េលោកបោនមោនរបឝោសន៍ថោ “អ្នកទោាំងអ្ស់គនោហោចេឃើញេែើយថោ
នេយោបោយគឺវោសមហគឝមោញណោស់”។

ភោពសមហគឝមោញទោាំងេនោោះហោចគាំរោមកាំែែងេធវើឱ្យបុគ៬លទោាំងពីរេនោះែេលសម្នធភោពេ៏េរបោះរឝោាំរបស់ពួ
កគោត់បោនជួយឱ្យគណបកឝសេ្ង៬ោោះជោតិរួបរួមគនោេនោោះ ែបកបោក់គនោ េនោះេបើ េយោងតោមេលោក េអ្ៀ
សុផល អ្នកនិពនធេសៀវ  េ ោមោនចាំណងេជើងថោ ”កោរពឹងែផសកេលើ
ជាំនួយេ ោកនហងរបេទសកម្ហជោ៖ វិធីែេលជាំនួយបរេទសេធវើឱ្យលទធិរបជោធិបេតយយទន់េខឝោយ”។

េលោកបោនសរេសរេ ោកនហងអ្ុីេមលមួយថោ “េយើងជិតេឃើញេែើយ

ថោេតើគណបកឝសេ្ង៬ោោះជោតិេ ោរស់រោនឬយោងណោ ែមនេទ?។ ខញហាំគិតថោ េលោក សម រងឝហី
គមោនជេរមើសេនោោះេឡើយ។ េតើគោត់នឹងរតឡប់មករបេទសកម្ហជោវិញ
េែើយតសូេេើមបីរកាតាំែណងរបស់េលោកជោេមេគឬ?  កោរបឋឡរតាំែណងជោមួយេលោក កឹម សុខោ
គឺវោរបេសើរជោងរតូវបោនបេណេញេចញទោាំងរសុង”។

េលោក កឹម សុខោ “មោនឆនទៈចង់បោនអ្ាំណោចខលោាំង”

េែតុេចនោះេែើយេលោករបែែលេចោះសរមបខលអនជោងេលោក សម រងឝហី
េេើមបីបោនចូលេ ោកនហងរ ឌោភិបោលែេលមោនកោរឯកភោពគនោជោមួយេលោក ែុន ែសន េ ោៃថ៮អ្នោគត
េនោះេបើេយោងតោមេលោក M a r k u s K a r b a u m
អ្នកវិទាឝោរសរនេយោបោយហោលលឺមង់ែេលេផឋោតេលើរបេទសកម្ហជោ។

េលោកបោនេលើកេឡើងតោមរយៈអ្ុីេមលមួយថោ
“េនោះទាំនងកលោយជោជេមលោោះេ៏ធាំេ ោកនហងគណបកឝរបឆោាំងកនហងរយៈេពល១ឆនោាំកនលោះេរកោយ។
ខណៈលទធផលរបស់ខលអនពិបោកនឹងពាករេ ោកនហងៃថ៮េនោះ វោពិតជោទិសេ ោែេលេលោក ែុន ែសន
ចង់បោន”។

េលោក អ្ូ វីរៈ អ្នកវិភោគនេយោបោយ

ែេលជោរបធោនអ្ង៬កោរសិការឝោវរជោវនេយោបោយេ ោកនហងរោជធោនីភនាំេពញ បោនពាករថោ
េលោកនោយករេឌម្នរីនឹង “អ្ង៬ហយចោាំេសើច” េ ោេពលេឃើញមោនជេមលោោះេ ោកនហងគណបកឝេនោះ។

េលោកបោនមោនរបឝោសន៍ថោ េេើមបីជមនោះបញ្ឞោេនោះ និងកោរឝោកលបងឝោមគរីភោពេ ោៃថ៮អ្នោគតេនោោះ

គណបកឝសេ្ង៬ោោះជោតិ “ចោាំបោច់រតូវែតេធវើឱ្យគណបកឝែនឹង
កោន់ែតមោនលក៫ណៈសមជោគណបកឝមួយ េែើយកោត់បនថយកោរបងឞោញថោមោនបុគ៬លសាំខោន់ែតពីររូ
ប”។ េលោកបែនថមថោ “ខញហាំមោនមនទិលថោ េលោក សម រងឝហី
នឹងមិនហោចទប់ហោរមមណ៍របស់េលោកបោនេឡើយ េែើយេលោកនឹងេធវើកោរសេរមចចិតរមិនបោនលសេ ោយ
ឝោរបញ្ឞោេនោះ”៕

សុយឈាង
Prime Minister Hun Sen, right, and deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha meet at the National Assembly yesterday in their
first encounter since Sokha was pardoned for alleged crimes related to prostitution. AFP Heng Chivoan

A ‘resolution’ to release
Thu, 8 December 2016

Phnom Penh Post

Meas Sokchea

The commune chief imprisoned six months ago in connection with deputy opposition
leader Kem Sokha’s alleged “prostitution” case was pardoned of his crime yesterday,
with Interior Minister Sar Kheng saying the five others in jail over the case will be freed
this month.
The pardon of Seang Chet, accused of bribing Sokha’s alleged mistress to deny an
affair, came after Sokha and Prime Minister Hun Sen met for the first time since the
premier last week had Sokha pardoned of his own five-month sentence related to the
affair.
The private meeting took place after a sitting of the National Assembly about the
national budget, with Sokha and Hun Sen – who has spent much of this year attacking
the deputy Cambodia National Rescue Party vice president – beaming as they walked
the halls together.
Hun Sen also said in the assembly that only Sokha – and not opposition leader Sam
Rainsy, who fled the country a year ago to avoid jail – is Cambodia’s “minority leader”
now, after the CNRP submitted changes to its assembly leadership after Sokha’s
pardon.
Rainsy, who on Monday in-sisted the role of minority leader remained his and that
Sokha had in fact taken a different role as leader of the minority group of lawmakers,
responded by saying on Facebook that the position he holds “is not important”.
On the advice of Hun Sen, King Norodom Sihamoni in the afternoon issued a pardon for
Chet, who as of last night was not yet free. Kheng, the “majority leader” in the assembly,
had announced the pending release of Chet and five others in prison.
“As I know, before the end of this month, there will be a solution in the case of the
human rights officials and the deputy secretary general of the NEC,” he said, referring to
four officials from the group Adhoc and the National Election Committee’s Ny Chakrya.
Ny Sokha, Yi Soksan, Nay Vanda and Lem Mony of Adhoc and the NEC’s Chakrya,
who previously worked at Adhoc, were also arrested in April for “bribery” of Sokha’s
alleged mistress after they gave her $204 while assisting her. The rights group, which
was representing the woman as anti-terrorism police interrogated her over the alleged
affair, said it was standard practice to provide small-scale financial support to those it
represented, and denied ever telling her to deny the alleged affair.
CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann said Sokha’s private meeting with Hun Sen yesterday
had concerned “national unity”, the work processes of the assembly in the coming
period, and finding a political solution to the many opposition activists jailed over the
past two years.
“It’s in the circuit of political resolution,” Sovann said of the imprisoned Adhoc officials
and NEC deputy secretary-general. “There will be [a resolution] soon.”
The sudden talk of resolution comes after Sokha was on Friday pardoned of his
conviction for ignoring summonses for questioning in the case. Sokha had been holed
up at CNRP headquarters for the past six months to avoid arrest, as Hun Sen
threatened to jail him “forever”.
The premier’s Cambodian People’s Party had for months been pushing the CNRP to
officially replace Rainsy with Sokha as minority leader, and the CNRP finally submitted
the changes on Monday. Yet there was confusion about what the change meant.
Rainsy said that Sokha was merely replacing him as head of the CNRP’s lawmaker
delegation – as Kheng’s counterpart – and not as “minority leader”. He claimed that he
remained in that position and that his opposite in the role was Hun Sen.
He pointed to Article 48 of the asembly’s rules, which were amended in late 2014 to
create the position for Rainsy, then in a “culture of dialogue” with Hun Sen. But the
article appeared to contradict his claim, and Hun Sen said yesterday that his
interpretation was wishful thinking.
“Some websites still said that the leader of the minority group is kept for Sam Rainsy,
and that the head of the lawmaker group is kept for Kem Sokha,” Hun Sen said,
admitting that he had been keen to correct the record that the role was one and the
same.
“This morning I had to rush to the National Assembly,” the premier said. “In Article 48, it
does not require two individuals to hold two separate roles, the head of the minority
being one person and the head of the lawmaker group being one person.
“Now, his excellency [Sokha] has become the dialogue partner of . . . Sar Kheng, as the
head of the lawmaker group, and also my counterpart in discussing national problems
that concern the prime minister.”
Hun Sen has since the 2013 election been accused of trying to divide Rainsy and
Sokha, who merged their rival opposition parties in July 2012 in an attempt to unseat
the premier, alternating playing favourites with one as he scolds the other.
Rainsy declined to comment yesterday, and directed reporters to his Facebook page,
where he had a post saying he believed his “position is not important” and recounted
what had been done to him since he fled the country in November 2015.
“Position is not important. What is important is one’s integrity and dignity,” Rainsy wrote.
“I gladly accept everything if I can help rescue our country and make it prosperous.”
“They chased [me] from the National Assembly; they lifted my parliamentary immunity;
they sentenced me to prison terms; they issued an arrest warrant against me; they
exiled me and blocked all possibilities for me to come back to my native country; they
misinterpreted the Constitution and the National Assembly’s rules the way they want,”
he added. “But I remain true to myself and will remain faithful to my motherland until the
end of my life.”
Sokha, speaking at the assembly, offered a similar message, saying official titles were
less important than goals. He added that his meeting with Hun Sen had led to an
agreement for the parties to be nicer to each other.
“We try to do work to get success in what we want all together,” Sokha said. “For
positions, the titles are just a way for us to travel to that [objective]. We will continue to
work together in this framework . . . solving problems between Khmer and Khmer.
We must all be careful to avoid any bothers that make our processes not reach the
target,” he said.
Sokha is this morning set to visit Prey Sar prison to meet 15 imprisoned CNRP officials,
but will not be allowed to visit Chet, the pardoned commune chief, or CNRP lawmaker
Um Sam An, who was imprisoned in April over a separate criminal case.
The pair are currently under court procedures, a letter from prison director Chan
Kimseng said, “so there should be a request from a court authority” before Sokha or
anyone can meet them in prison.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CHHAY CHANNYDA AND ALEX WILLEMYNS

Cambodia's King Grants Royal Pardon to Kem

Sokha
RFA
Saturday 3rd December, 2016
Cambodian Times
Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha received a royal pardon on
Friday, freeing him from serving a five-month jail sentence and setting
the stage for an easing of a year of political tensions as the authoritarian
Southeast Asian country heads into election in 2017 and 2018.
The pardon for Kem Sokha, acting leader of the Cambodia National
Rescue Party (CNRP), was pardoned?by King Norodom Sihamoni following
a request from Prime Minister Hun Sen, government and CNRP officials
said.
Kem Sokha had been hiding out in the party's headquarters in Phnom Penh
since police attempted to arrest him in May for ignoring court orders to
appear as a witness in a pair of defamation cases related to his alleged
affair with a hairdresser.
After a one-hour trial on Sept. 9, Phnom Penh Municipal Court Judge Keo
Mony sentenced Kem Sokha to five months in prison and an 800,000- riel
(U.S. $200) fine for failing to appear in one of the related cases.
On Thursday, Kem Sokha wrote a letter to Hun Sen asking him to request
a royal pardon. On Friday, Hun Sen wrote a letter to Sihamoni, who
pardoned Kem Sokha later that day.
"The pardon was granted to Kem Sokha who wrote the letter to Samdech
[honorific] Prime Minister Hun Sen and admitted the truth," said ruling
Cambodian People's Party (CPP) spokesman Sok Eysan.
Sok Eysan did not elaborate on what Kem Sokha had admitted.
Kem Sokha had always maintained that his legal problems were politically
motivated, and most independent analysts had agreed with him, viewing
the cases against them as part of CPP efforts to hobble the opposition
before local elections in 2017 and a parliament poll in 2018.
CNRP spokesman Yem Ponhearith confirmed that Hun Sen's letter to
Sihamoni had no strings attached.
"It was unconditional. It was a political solution between Khmer and
Khmer," he said.
Yem Ponhearith added that the party has received calls from families of
other jailed CNRP activists and a National Election Committee
(NEC)?official asking Kem Sokha to seek royal pardons.
"We continue to work hard on this. We are optimistic that there will a
political solution for their release also," he said.
Kem Sokha wrote a thank-you letter to Hun Sen for working to get the
royal pardon.
"Prime Minister Hun Sen's decision is appropriate. It shows Cambodia and
the world that we Khmer politicians are very forgiving and considerate. It
shows that we are civilized people and strong believers in Buddhism,"
read the letter, seen by RFA's Khmer Service.
He also wrote a letter to thank King Sihamoni.
Reported by Sothearin Yeang for RFA's Khmer Service. Translated by
Nareth Muong. Written in English by Paul Eckert.
Kem Sokha speaks during a press conference in the capital earlier last year. Heng Chivoan

Breaking: Royal pardon for Kem Sokha

Fri, 2 December 2016

Phnom Penh Post

Mech Dara

Following a request from Prime Minister Hun Sen, King Norodom Sihamoni on Friday
pardoned Cambodia National Rescue Party acting president Kem Sokha, quashing a
five-month prison term related to his alleged marital infidelity.
In a move a ruling party official called a “compromise”, Sokha, 63, was absolved of his
September conviction for refusing to appear in court for questioning over the
“prostitution” case linked his alleged affair with hairdresser Khom Chandaraty.
Circulated on local media, the decree states that the pardon for Sokha’s conviction –
which was upheld at the Appeal Court on November 4 – takes effect from the date of
the King’s signature, December 2.
The decision – welcomed by CNRP officials – will end almost six months of self-
imposed confinement for the CNRP leader, who took refuge in the party’s headquarters
in May after an attempt to arrest him in connection with the affair.
“This is a good solution that shows there is discussion between Khmer and Khmer and
we can solve problems,” said CNRP spokesman Yem Ponhearith earlier today, adding
that, as far as he knew, the apparent political deal came with “no conditions”.
“We hope that when His Excellency Kem Sokha has full rights to engage in politics on
behalf of lawmakers, he will participate at the National Assembly.”
The litigation surrounding Sokha’s sex scandal was widely considered a politically
motivated legal attack against the opposition and government opponents.
Four human rights workers, an election official and opposition commune chief have
been imprisoned in related cases, while two other CNRP lawmakers were also charged.
Ponhearith said he hoped a “solution” could be found in those cases, adding Sokha
would discuss the matters with the CPP.
Sam Chankea, spokesman for rights group Adhoc, said Sokha’s pardon provided hope
that their imprisoned staff and National Election Committee deputy secretary Ny
Chakrya - a former Adhoc employee - would be released.
“The political situation has recovered because politicians can discuss with and tolerate
each other,” Chankea said. “Therefore, we hope the situation will get better.”
Cambodian People’s Party lawmaker Sok Eysan said Prime Minister Hun Sen had
requested the pardon as a response to a recent request for clemency by Sokha on
Thursday.
“There is no reason [other than] because Kem Sokha had written a letter to Samdech
[Hun Sen],” Eysan said.
“He did it through the legal procedure, and [requesting a pardon] is at the head of the
government’s discretion.
“He (Samdech) did not want to solve (the political dispute), but because it is only a small
punishment, it means we can compromise, therefore we compromised.”
Sokha’s request, circulated in local media, praised Hun Sen’s efforts to “reconcile and
unify” the country.
“We all are Khmer, who have suffered pain and lost a lot of our beloved. Samdech used
to say that there are a lot of national problems and that we are Khmer and must work
together to solve those problems for the next generation,” Sokha wrote.
“I hope that the charge against me by the court, that Samdech will consider… to ask the
King to pardon me.”
Government spokesman Phay Siphan told Reuters that Hun Sen had shown his “virtue
and softness” by requesting the pardon.
Analyst Ou Virak said both sides had likely reached an agreement because neither
wanted to see Sokha imprisoned.
“Kem Sokha doesn’t want to be in jail, and I’m sure the CPP don’t want to imprison him
and turn him into a symbol of resistance,” Virak said.
The analyst said that the pardon, however, could work to the CPP’s benefit, by further
sidelining CNRP president Sam Rainsy, who fled abroad last year to avoid arrest and
has since been officially exiled, and breading mistrust between factions within the
opposition.
“If the design is to split the opposition, I think it could work magic, just the speculation
alone has already worked to create friction and mistrust within the opposition and that
mistrust is bound to create future problems,” he said.
Rainsy has not yet replied to a request for comment.