Sam Rainsy’s return to leadership has foiled Hun Sen’s strategy to destroy the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) from within. Hun Sen was counting on using Kem Sokha as a hostage to destroy the CNRP from within. All kinds of intimidation and psychological pressure were going to be used – not only on Kem Sokha but also on his family…
Thanks to international pressure the government of Phnom Penh is trying to show signs of altering it repressive policies. These signs, however, may be misleading, as in the case of the announcement by Prime Minister Hun Sen of the rehabilitation of certain former opposition leaders. In fact, following a recent and expedient amendment to the law on political parties, the…
To avoid the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) being paralyzed at the leadership level after being arbitrarily dissolved by the Phnom Penh authorities, and with its President Kem Sokha being held under house arrest, the vast majority of the party’s officials and activists who can be contacted and accept to publicly express their will, have designated Sam Rainsy as Acting…
In the face of growing international pressure aiming to re-establish democracy in Cambodia, Prime Minister Hun Sen has found no better response than to adopt new measures to neutralize the final elements of the opposition and to make restoring democracy even more difficult. This is a real insult to the international community, notably the European Union, which is threatening the…
Since 2001 Cambodia has benefited from an exceptional trading advantage, granted by the European Union thanks to an initiative known as “Everything But Arms” (EBA). This provides the possibility of exporting to Europe without quotas or customs duties. The advantage was given to a group of countries in the process of development and transition towards democracy. The intention of the…
In 2003 the international community helped the Cambodian government to establish a special tribunal – with the participation of the United Nations – to prosecute the most important Khmer Rouge leaders. The name given to the institution was the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). Prosecuting those responsible for the mass killings perpetrated under the Khmer Rouge regime…
On October 24th and 25th a delegation of former Cambodian opposition parliamentarians of CNRP and of the Nonviolent Radical Party Transnational Transparty (NRPTT), led by exiled leader Sam Rainsy, was in Italy for a series of meetings with members of both Houses of Parliament and with members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the general media silence, with the…
On August 30th, a Cambodian court extended for six months the pre-trial detention of Kem Sokha, President of the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) and member of the Nonviolent Radical Party Transnational Transparty (NRPTT) like Sam Rainsy and the entire parliamentary opposition of the south-east asian country. The CNRP was outlawed on November 16, 2017 with a politically motivated ruling…
On July 29, legislative elections were held in Cambodia, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy in Southeast Asia, ruled for 33 years by former Khmer Rouge Hun Sen with his Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). The polls delivered an largely predicted victory to the ruling party CPP and another five years of Prime ministership to Hun Sen. The predictability of the outcome was…
Version française en bas For the high attention of His Majesty Norodom Sihamoni King of Cambodia Royal Palace Phnom Penh Paris, May 23, 2018 Your Majesty, I allow myself to write to you to respectfully ask you not to cede to the demand of the government and the CPP which seeks your intervention to encourage Cambodia’s population to go to…