Khmer Times/May Titthara Monday, 20 June 2016
The Interior Ministry will send a report to the government asking for legal action to be taken against the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) over irregularities found in a petition it submitted to the Royal Palace and National Assembly last month.
The ministry accused the CNRP of forging public documents.
Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak could not be reached for comment, but told local media outlets that the petition, which calls for royal intervention in the case of five detained human rights officials and many other issues, was riddled with inconsistences and factual errors.
The ministry’s research commission claims CNRP member Yem Ponhearith lied when he wrote that the party was able to acquire signatures and thumbprints from 25 provinces and cities.
Mr. Sopheak said the petition only had representatives of 21 provinces and cities and some thumbprints had an address but no name or a name and no thumbprint or address. Some people put the same thumbprint multiple times, with one even appearing 84 times, according the commission.
He said the ministry was formally accusing Mr. Ponhearith of faking public documents sent to the King. If found guilty, Mr. Ponhearith could face between six months and five years in prison.
“If there was an ancient King, his [Mr. Ponhearith’s] head might be cut off,” Mr. Sopheak said disturbingly.
“We will report to the government about the irregularities found in the thumbprint collection because it is a lie to people and especially the King, and we will ask the government to take action. We will do it following the court [rules], and he could be charged with sending fake public documents to the King,” Mr. Sopheak said.
In May, after the arrest of four Adhoc officials and a National Election Committee member as well as the attempted arrest of opposition leader Kem Sokha, CNRP officials worked to gather 170,000 thumbprints and signatures, hoping to get some form of assistance from King Norodom Sihamoni.
An unverified video allegedly showed CNRP members telling supporters to put their thumbprints down next to multiple names. Government officials then jumped on the opportunity to investigate the petition, creating a national commission headed by Interior Minister Sar Kheng and provincial police chiefs across the country.
CNRP members are now working on a second petition with even more thumbprints and signatures. Last week Mr. Ponhearith confirmed that the party was able to collect more than 260,000 thumbprints and will wait to get even more before sending it to the King.
“The 55 members of the CNRP will open the prison doors to walk into it because [we are] fulfilling a politician’s duty to collect thumbprints from citizens for the King,” he told a crowd of supporters.
The second petition addresses larger issues than the specific cases referenced in the first. They want the King to force the government to respect human rights, freedom of speech, local and international civil society organizations and the immunity of opposition members, which he said had been ignored in the face of what many called a sustained government campaign to destroy the party ahead of commune and national elections.