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| Prime Minister Hun Sen said no to a pardon. Supplied |
Friday, 14 October 2016
Opposition leaders Kem Sokha and Sam Rainsy sent a letter to King Norodom Sihamoni last Saturday, asking him to consider a royal pardon for them and the many human rights, land, environmental and political activists as well as the National Election Committee (NEC) official now detained or facing charges.
But Prime Minister Hun Sen shot down the pardon appeal in a statement yesterday, trotting out the now time-worn reasons behind the charges and convictions levied against opposition party members and civil society workers.
“I would like to inform His Majesty that the case of Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha as well as other individual cases which were raised in the letter from Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha is about law enforcement and is the work of the court,” Mr. Hun Sen said on Wednesday.
He went on to tell the king that under the laws of the Kingdom, “competent authorities” had the right to implement the decisions of the court and excoriated Mr. Rainsy for fleeing the country and not “taking responsibility” for the alleged crimes he committed.
He did have somewhat kinder words for Mr. Sokha, writing that the deputy opposition leader’s use of the Appeal Court system showed that he wanted to protect himself through the law, as he did not agree with the court’s initial decision.
Mr. Rainsy and Mr. Sokha, president and deputy president of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), sent the letter to the King in the hope that he would intervene and issue royal pardons for a litany of people who believe they have been imprisoned on politically-motivated charges.
King Sihamoni responded to the letter on Tuesday, asking the heads of government to review the royal pardon request and get back to him. But Mr. Hun Sen’s response appears to have shut the door on any prospect of the King providing a solution to the worsening political climate.
Mr. Rainsy is facing a litany of defamation charges, all coming from senior government figures.
In July, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court convicted Mr. Rainsy of defaming National Assembly President Heng Samrin and ordered him to pay more than $37,000 in compensation after he claimed the government under Mr. Samrin had ordered the death of King Norodom Sihanouk.
Mr. Rainsy was also sued in July by Mr. Hun Sen over accusations that the premier was involved in the murder of political analyst Kem Ley.
Mr. Rainsy faces up to 17 years in prison if found guilty of being an accomplice with former opposition senator Hong Sok Hour, who was jailed in August on Mr. Hun Sen’s orders for posting a video of a forged diplomatic treaty with Vietnam on Facebook.
Mr. Rainsy simply shared the post on his own Facebook page, prompting the charges. He was stripped of his parliamentary immunity in late 2015 after he was convicted of defaming former Foreign Minister Hor Namhong.
In addition to the lawsuits from Mr. Hun Sen and Mr. Samrin, Mr. Rainsy is facing a complaint from Som Soeun, another high-ranking CPP official, who accused him of forging documents and insulting him on Facebook.
Mr. Sokha was convicted of failing to appear in court for questioning, a charge he and his lawyers are now appealing. He was sentenced to five months in prison and an 800,000 riel fine. He has been under de facto house arrest since police and army officials attempted to raid the opposition party headquarters and arrest him in May.
This is far from the first time the opposition party has turned to the King for help. Ahead of the elections in 2013, Mr. Rainsy received a royal pardon and was allowed to return to the Kingdom after living in self-imposed exile in France.
He is again living in Paris in exile after fleeing the country last year.
In their letter, the opposition leaders say the King has given out pardons in the past, which led to “a good political environment” for the good of the nation as a whole.
“We are always ready to meet, discuss and solve the problems directly with the leaders of the parties that have seats at the National Assembly in the spirit of national reconciliation, unity and working together to achieve the overall steps forward to ensure that Cambodia is full of harmony, peace, stability, political security and social order,” they wrote to the King.
Independent analyst Chea Vannath said the letter from the opposition proved that the two parties were unable to come together and discuss pertinent issues with each other. But it was good to see that each side respects each other enough to refrain from leaning on foreigners or international groups for help, she said.
“Although the prime minister responded like this, it means that he wants to wait until the court finishes or wait for a decision from the court first. He did not deny that he was not responsible. It’s my hope. He did not deny it completely,” she said.
But Mr. Hun Sen’s past comments on the issue show he has little appetite for reconciliation in this round of political sparring between him and the opposition party leaders.
In December at a graduation ceremony for Royal University of Law and Economics students, he said he would never allow Mr. Rainsy to be pardoned again.
“If I signed to pardon anyone, I will cut my right hand off and throw it away. Remember that. You [Mr. Rainsy] have submitted by yourself. What you have done to me, it’s too late,” he told the crowd.
At least 25 people are detained by the government and many rights groups say they are being held on politically motivated charges, including 18 opposition members and activists, four human rights officials from Adhoc, NEC official Ny Chakrya, land activist Tep Vanny and university student Kong Raiya, who the government accused of attempting to start a color revolution based on one Facebook post.
In addition to these 25, Mr. Sokha and Mr. Rainsy have been able to avoid arrest but are each facing prison sentences.