Two More Opposition Lawmakers Defect

By Chiep Mony, VOA Khmer Phnom Penh

12 February 2008
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Two more senior opposition officials have moved to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, officials said Tuesday.
The party shift from Lon Phon and Yin Socheat comes following remarks by Prime Minister Hun Sen Monday welcoming opposition officials into the CPP fold.
Lon Phon had been a member of the SRP working group for Dankao district, Phnom Penh, and a parliamentarian for Battambang province.
Yin Socheat had been a deputy chief in the SRP legal department and an envoy for opposition leader Sam Rainsy.
Both men have officially resigned from the party.
“What I struggled for very hard and what I had sacrificed so far made me hopeless,” Lon Phon said following his resignation.
He said he had applied for a CPP position following a conversation with Hun Sen by phone Monday night.