Thread: Cambodian Opposition Officials in Hiding Refuse to Return Home Amid Pressure

Five opposition commune councilors who have gone into hiding since Cambodia’s Supreme Court dissolved their party in November said Tuesday that they will not return home amid ongoing pressure to defect to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).

Hun Sen’s government arrested opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) chief Kem Sokha in September on charges of “treason,” and two months later the Supreme Court ruled to disband his party for allegedly planning a “rebellion” with backing from Washington, essentially eliminating any challenge to the CPP ahead of votes this year.

At the end of November, the National Assembly reallocated the CNRP’s parliamentary seats to the ruling party and three government-aligned political parties, while the CNRP’s elected local officials have been pressured to defect to the CPP or lose their positions.

On Tuesday, Chak Botha, a CNRP councilor from Battambang province’s Prek Jich commune, told RFA’s Khmer Service that he and four other opposition commune councilors from Battambang who had gone into hiding following the decision to dissolve their party will not return home while ruling party activists continue “demanding that we defect to the CPP.”

Chak Botha said that he and the other councilors “fear for our safety” and would rather keep their families in a “secure area,” than go back to their communes, where they are routinely hounded by the CPP.

“I will never serve the CPP, because the party has no intention to solve the problems of the people,” he said.

“I would rather stand with the people than defect. The people are still suffering social injustice.”

The five councilors “dare not go to work or conduct any business,” he added, saying that most of them now depend on their family members working in Thailand for financial support.

Prek Jich commune’s ruling party councilor Muol Pin dismissed Cham Botha’s claims, saying the opposition members in hiding are simply “paranoid.”

“The local authorities have no problem with them and has repeatedly called on them to return home,” he said.

“Prime Minister Hun Sen used to appeal to them to defect to the CPP, but they refused, so we no longer have any bearing on their decision.”

Luon Savath, an award-winning rights activist known as the “multimedia monk,” told RFA that CPP political harassment and threats against members of the CNRP had created an environment of fear in Cambodia.

“No one wants to leave their house and hometown, but the political situation has forced these CNRP officials to go into hiding,” he said.

Luon Savath urged the two main political parties to end attacks and respect one another for the sake of the national interest.

Appeal trial

Also on Tuesday, the Supreme Court announced that on Jan. 10 it will hear an appeal by social and political commentator Kim Sok of his conviction on charges of defamation and incitement to cause social disorder.

Kim Sok was jailed on Feb. 17 after Hun Sen accused him of implying that the CPP had orchestrated the July 2016 murder of popular political pundit Kem Ley, though Kim Sok said that he had only been repeating what many Cambodians believe.

On Aug. 10, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced him to 18 months in prison on the charges and ordered him to pay 800 million riels (U.S. $200,000) to Hun Sen and 8 million riels (U.S. $2,000) to the state, sums that his brother has said his family will be unable to pay.

Kem Ley was shot dead in broad daylight on July 10, 2016, when he stopped in a convenience store beside a gas station in Phnom Penh.

Though authorities charged a former soldier with the murder, many in Cambodia don’t believe the government’s story that Kem Ley was killed by the man over a debt.

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 more than three decades.

Rights groups accuse Cambodia’s judiciary of lacking independence and say the government seeks to limit freedom of expression by using the courts to level defamation charges at reporters and critics of the ruling party.

Cambodian Opposition Officials in Hiding Refuse to Return Home Amid Pressure to Defect

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 more than three decades.

I would imagine that would get you killed in Cambodia, Zimbabwe, Russia....

Reflective mirrors of similarity throughout SE Asia.

Same as it ever was.

Interview: 'Democracy is Now Dead. We Are Finding Ways to Make it Alive Again'

Mu Sochua, vice president of the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party, escaped her country in early October 2017 ahead of warnings she would be arrested for conspiring with jailed party leader Kem Sokha to overthrow the Cambodian government. She spoke from exile to Vuthy Huot of RFA’s Khmer Service about the Hun Sen government’s pressure on CNRP members and her efforts to focus international attention on Cambodia’s political crisis.


RFA: Have you declared your assets as required by the Anti-Corruption Unit after the CNRP officials are banned from politics?


Mu Sochua: It is unacceptable that laws are used to harass us. The laws are used as tools for the ruling elites to remain in power longer and restrict our freedom and rights. It’s not a big deal whether we declare our assets. The big deal is the life of democracy in our country. We are not afraid to lose our assets as long as we do not lose our democracy. To revive our democracy, Kem Sokha must be released immediately and unconditionally and there must be free and fair elections.


RFA: Are you not afraid that you will be punished for failing to declare your assets?


Mu Sochua: No, I’m not. What I fear the most is when our country has become a victim of the ruling elites who are undermining our democracy. We need to rescue our nation and democracy.


RFA: CNRP officials are lobbying the international community to put pressure on Hun Sen’s government. However, CPP officials say that the CNRP has failed to convince buyers to stop buying goods from Cambodia. What is your reaction to that?


Mu Sochua: I wish to specify that we are not inciting the international community to stop buying clothes or other goods from Cambodia. Big buyers are actually very mindful of their moral obligation. They only buy products from a country that respects human rights and democracy. What we are lobbying the international community for is to restore human rights and democracy in Cambodia.


RFA: Since the CNRP is dissolved, party officials have conducted protests and delivered petitions to foreign governments. How effective have these efforts been so far?


Mu Sochua: Democracy is now dead. We are finding ways to make it alive again. Our fight to get international attention is working. The international community including the US and EU have already imposed some forms of sanctions against the Hun Sen government. I strongly encourage Cambodians everywhere to continue to stay engaged in politics and stage peaceful protests to pressure for the restoration of democracy and rule of law.


RFA: What do you think about Hun Sen’s recent move to meet factory workers at least twice a week?


Mu Sochua: It is good that he does that. It is exactly what the CNRP has been doing. For he follows what we do now, I would like him to also follow our call for him to allow Cambodians to also enjoy their freedom, human rights and democracy fully. May I challenge Hun Sen to fight like a man. I want to challenge Hun Sen to be brave enough to allow for a free and fair election in which political parties compete for votes from the people at the polling stations.


RFA: Hun Sen accuses the president of the CNRP of treason. He also accuses some NGOs of receiving assistance from foreign governments. In the meantime, Hun Sen has received assistance from foreign governments like China. What do you think about this?


Mu Sochua: We are very concerned with China’s influence in Cambodian politics. China has exploited our natural resources on a large scale. China is a one-party state. It is a communist country. It is very sad that Hun Sen has let go of democracy and chose communism. It is very sad that he has labeled us as traitors. However, I strongly believe that Cambodians are not fooled by Hun Sen. I really respect our people who still strongly believe in the CNRP, which is the only hope for a democratic change.

Interview: 'Democracy is Now Dead. We Are Finding Ways to Make it Alive Again'