“For the sake of political stability and a smooth election, both sides should reach out to each other and come to an amicable truce. Some sorts of a reconciliation gesture from either side is a good start. Hor Namhong should drop the defamation suit against Sam Rainsy unconditionally and in turn, Sam Rainsy should reciprocate with some sorts of a reconciliation statement.”
Editorial by Khmerization: - The legal wrangling involving Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong and opposition leader Sam Rainsy has deepened when Sam Rainsy decided that he will counter sue Hor Namhong in the Khmer Rouge Tribunal for crimes against humanity, if the latter did not drop the defamation suit against him. Hor Namhong has demanded an apology from Sam Rainsy before he will agree to drop the suit. And Sam Rainsy has refused flat out, saying that he did not defame Hor Namhong. Both sides to this petty legal dispute seemed determined to fight to the death, and there seemed to be no turning back in the slightest from either side.(Read about Sam Rainsy’s plans to sue Hor Namhong here).
Sam Rainsy’s decision to counter sue Hor Namhong in the KR Tribunal seemed to suggest that he did not have any confidence in the Cambodian court. Sam Rainsy did not believe that he has any chance against Hor Namhong in the Cambodian courts which are at the disposal of Hor Namhong’s Cambodian People’s Party.
News that Sam Rainsy plans to counter sue Hor Namhong in the Khmer Rouge Tribunal has dampened any chance of reconciliation. On the contrary, it has re-enforced the belief that Sam Rainsy has no plan to surrender to Hor Namhong’s demand of an apology. In fact, seeing the way that Sam Rainsy has positioned himself, one can assume that he wanted to tackle Hor Namhong head on, while the KR Tribunal is still in full operation and making great efforts to try ex-KR leaders, the likes of Hor Namhong. He is making good use of this court while there are still living witnesses and survivors of the Boeng Trabek Prison who could testify against Hor Namhong for crimes against humanity.
For the sake of political stability and a smooth election, both sides should reach out to each other and come to an amicable truce. Some sorts of a reconciliation gesture from either side is a good start. Hor Namhong should drop the defamation suit against Sam Rainsy unconditionally and in turn, Sam Rainsy should reciprocate with some sorts of a reconciliation statement. An apology should not be demanded because to force someone to apologise for simply exercising one’s own freedom of speech would be tantamount to a call for submission to his political opponent. And that will never happen. Not from Sam Rainsy nor anyone who is simply exercising his/her own freedom of speech.
A fight to the death in this petty case will serve no purpose to any one party. Both sides have a lot to lose. Sam Rainsy will surely lose the case against Hor Namhong, as the court is controlled by the latter. Hor Namhong will have a lot to lose if Sam Rainsy and other victims of the Boeng Trabek Prison lodge civil or criminal suits against him in the KR Tribunal. A lot of previously unseen testimonies and evidences of Hor Namhong’s complicities and crimes during his tenure as director of Boeng Trabek Prison will be unearthed and come to light. When proof and the onus is beyond reasonable doubt against Hor Namhong are in the public domain, the KR Tribunal might be forced to act against Hor Namhong. This is not a very good scenario for both of them and they should back off from a show down.
In the end, both sides will emerge from this fight bruised and tainted. It is in the best interests of their future political career and their family honour that they make a compromise and call a truce. This is my advice. //
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1. To read previous editorial about Hor Namhong vs. Sam Rainsy click here.
2. To read about the Boeng Trabek Prison survivors' accounts click here.
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