Hun Sen Vows Inquiry Into Insulting Leaflet

New MPs posed for the picture with the king (in suit on the right) in front of the National Assembly building during the swearing in on 24th Sept., 2008.

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer Original report from Washington 25 September 2008

Khmer audio aired 25 September (936KB) - Download (MP3)
Khmer audio aired 25 September (936KB) - Listen (MP3)

Authorities will investigate a leaflet insulting King Norodom Sihamoni, Prime Minister Hun Sen told journalists Wednesday.

Cambodia was a democracy, he said, but insults to the king would not be tolerated.

“This is the ignorance and stupidity of a small group,” he said.

The leaflet criticized the new National Assembly, which was sworn in by the king Wednesday, of being under the control of the Vietnamese and thieves, and called the king a “puppet” of China, the Vietnamese and the Cambodian People’s Party.

A royal cabinet official called the leaflet “cowardly.”