Norodom Ranariddh Party Officials in Banteay Meanchey Threatened?

The Norodom Ranariddh Party Logo.

1st April 2008
By Lem Piseth
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Khmerization

A member of the Steering Committee and a chairman of a Working Committee of Norodom Ranariddh Party (NRP) in Banteay Meanchey, Mrs. Meas Sokun, has alleged that a member of the “Rapid Reaction Group” of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) named Mr. Mom Asany has threatened members of Commune Council belonging to the Norodom Ranariddh Party in Thmar Puok commune after he tried unsuccessfully to persuade them to defect to the CPP on Monday.

Mrs Meas Sokun said: “ It is very true that Mom Asany is a person who has carried out political threats. He had just been appointed as a member of the (CPP‘s) “Rapid Reaction Group” in Banteay Meanchey.”

Commune Councillor (from the NRP), Mr. Da Chhean, confirmed that on Monday afternoon at 5:31pm, Mr. Mom Asany threatened him publicly in a dinner party in Neak Ta village, Thmar Puok commune in Banteay Meanchey province. Mr Da Chhean said: “He said to me, ‘Chhean, if you still resist not to defect (to the CPP), I will hammer you like a nail'. He further said that if I still resist to defect they might send the police to raid my house and plant the drug there.”

This newly-appointed member of the CPP’s Rapid Reaction Group, Mr. Mom Asany, a Khmer holding an American citizenship, has denied the allegations. He said: “The losers, the ones who cannot control their members and when they defected, have always accused someone of threatening them. I will not respond to such allegations.”

It must be noted that Mr. Mom Asany was an ex-member of the NRP based in Banteay Meanchey, but about one month ago he defected to the CPP in Banteay Meanchey.

The NRP officials claimed that these sorts of political threats happened the night before the official (CPP’s) reception ceremony to welcome the defectors from the NRP in Thmar Puok commune which have caused by coercion through material as well as monetary rewards.

A chief commune councillor from the NRP, Mr. Nal Veha, who had just defected to the CPP, acknowledged that he had received a Dream Series 100 motorcycle as a reward, but he denied that he received any monetary rewards. He explained of the reasons that caused him to leave the NRP like this: “I have been a member of the NRP for a long time and I have never seen any political programs, only lies.”

The president of the CPP, Banteay Meanchey branch, Mr. Orn Sum, has declined to comment in the relations to the above allegations.

Mr. Chhim Savuth, an investigator working for the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, confirmed that the political threats and the destructions of party signs belonging to various political parties in Banteay Meanchey had occurred frequently a few months leading up to the election. These include the destructions of five party signs belonging to the NRP. Mr. Chhim added that these sorts of political threats against political activists will spoil the political atmosphere conducive to the holding of a free and fair election in July.

It must be noted that the NRP was the second most popular party in Thmar Puok commune which won 2 councillor seats in the last commune election in 2007, after the CPP which won 3 councillor seats, while the Funcinpec Party and the Sam Rainsy Party had won one councillor seat each.

Cambodia will hold its parliamentary election for the fourth mandate on 27th July 2008. //