More rats are jumping off the Funcinpec sinking ship

Pictures: Some of the rats who jumped off the sinking Funcinpec ship





At least 6 Funcinpec ministers and state secretaries defected to the CPP.





Saturday, January 05, 2008


Rasmei Kampuchea newspaper


Translated from Khmer by Socheata
courtesy of http://ki-media.blogspot.com


A high-ranking Funcinpec party official indicated that about 10 Funcinpec party ministers and state secretaries defected to the CPP after Funcinpec faced problems with Prince Ranariddh.On 04 January 2008, Ok Socheat, a high-ranking Funcinpec official, recognized the fact that a number of Funcinpec party officials defected to join the CPP. He said that, up to now, about 10 Funcinpec party members defected to join the CPP because they are afraid of losing their juicy government positions.A source within Funcinpec indicated that, during this week, Chea Peng Chheang, state secretary of the ministry of Finance, and Mrs. Chhim Chamroeun, state secretary of the ministry of women affairs, defected to the CPP, in addition to a number of others Funcinpec defectors. Khun Haing, the minister of cult and religious affair and Ing Kanthaphavy, the minister of women affairs, also defected to join the CPP, the current ruling party.Furthermore, Ou Bun Long, the former SRP secretary-general who defected to Funcinpec, Kong Vibol, state secretary of the ministry of economy and finance, Khov Meng Hieng, state secretary from the Council of Ministers, are known to have defected to the CPP also.Ok Socheat said that only a small number of Funcinpec government officials who defected to the CPP. He added that the current Funcinpec party helps protect the roles and the positions occupied by Funcinpec party members in the government, the police force, and the army. He said that any Funcinpec party members who defect to join the NRP cannot preserve their positions and their royalist affiliations.Besides the Funcinpec government officials cited above, it is also known that a number of other Funcinpec party officials also defected this party to join the CPP.The flow of defection of Funcinpec party members started when Prince Ranariddh had a rupture of relationship with the CPP, and when the prince wanted to pull out of the government led by the CPP. The flow of defections kept going on because of internal dispute within Funcinpec, and this, subsequently, led to the removal of the prince from the Funcinpec party. The prince later formed the NRP party. Since that time, the popularity of the Funcinpec party faced ever increasing difficulties.