Khmer Times/Pav Suy
Friday, 28 October 2016
The president of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) youth wing took to Facebook yesterday to stress that a letter reportedly issued by the youth wing calling for punishment of the party’s deputy head of public affairs for critical remarks against party leader Sam Rainsy was fake and condemned the “evil people” who made and propagated it.
Hing Sok San said the letter had been an attempt to incite divisions within the opposition party and confuse their national and international supporters.
“When we make a letter from the youth wing, we have an exclusive font style and size and there is my signature [attached],” he wrote.
“We use the party’s letterhead, but we have a symbol of the youth wing. We have the sign of the youth wing and no one can copy it,” he said, adding that any official statements need to be approved by Mr. Rainsy and deputy leader Kem Sokha.
On Wednesday night a letter was published online, supposedly from the CNRP youth wing, and related to earlier comments by Kem Monovithya, Mr. Sokha’s daughter.
“CNRP Youth considered the statement by Kem Monovithya as an insult and it caused serious damage to the honor and heroism of party president Mr. Sam Rainsy. The CNRP consider the statement of Kem Sokha’s daughter as leading to breaking the party or a sign which can lead to divisions in the near future,” the letter said.
Ms. Monovithya had made comments critical of Mr. Rainsy’s recent offer to return to Cambodia from his exile in Paris, in exchange for the release of imprisoned and detained CNRP members.
“Somebody watches too much movies on their free time. If you respect the audience you at least make your lies sound believable,” she wrote on Twitter in response to a local news article about Mr. Rainsy’s offer.
Comments on Mr. Sok San’s Facebook post suggest that opinions within the party’s membership are divided over Ms. Monovithya’s criticism of the CNRP leader.
A post from a user named Bun Roeun said the fake letter was an attempt to “release the dogs to bite each other” and that it was likely only the first attack against party unity.