Tuesday, 08 December 2009
By Meas Sokchea
Phnom Penh Post
Demarcation
Lawmakers from the Sam Rainsy Party say they will travel to Svay Rieng province next Monday to scrutinise the work of Cambodian and Vietnamese border demarcation teams and determine whether Cambodian farmers are losing farmland to Vietnamese incursions. SRP spokesman Yim Sovann said the party has asked the permission of National Assembly President Heng Samrin to visit the disputed area of the border. “We informed [him] last week about our trip to watch the planting of markers on the Cambodia-Vietnam border,” he said. “So far, we have not received a response from the assembly president, but as people’s representatives we must go.” On October 25, SRP president Sam Rainsy joined villagers in uprooting markers near the border in Svay Rieng, which villagers said had been placed on their land. Cambodian People’s Party lawmaker Cheam Yeap said that only Heng Samrin can give permission for officials to visit the disputed area, warning that if they travel without permission, they will face the consequences. “Doing something without [permission] is not right,” he said.
By Meas Sokchea
Phnom Penh Post
Demarcation
Lawmakers from the Sam Rainsy Party say they will travel to Svay Rieng province next Monday to scrutinise the work of Cambodian and Vietnamese border demarcation teams and determine whether Cambodian farmers are losing farmland to Vietnamese incursions. SRP spokesman Yim Sovann said the party has asked the permission of National Assembly President Heng Samrin to visit the disputed area of the border. “We informed [him] last week about our trip to watch the planting of markers on the Cambodia-Vietnam border,” he said. “So far, we have not received a response from the assembly president, but as people’s representatives we must go.” On October 25, SRP president Sam Rainsy joined villagers in uprooting markers near the border in Svay Rieng, which villagers said had been placed on their land. Cambodian People’s Party lawmaker Cheam Yeap said that only Heng Samrin can give permission for officials to visit the disputed area, warning that if they travel without permission, they will face the consequences. “Doing something without [permission] is not right,” he said.
2 comments:
Is there is a need for permission? If there is then Hen Samrin should grant the permission. PM members must be allowed to look into people's complaints and then submit their fact finding to proper authority. What are the internal rules and regulations with regards to such matters?
SRP's MP members need to be smart not to be trapped into legal battle that can lead to more lifting of their immunity. They should not take the matter into their own hands.
In the Western countries like the US, Australia and UK etc, MPs have freedom to visit any place as long as it is not dangerous and a prohibited place, without having to ask anyone's permission.
The place where the SRP MPs wished to visit was just a rice field where people farm everyday. The reason the CPP officials don't want the SRP MPs to visit the place is because they have something to hide.
It's true, this time they must not pull out the border poles to give the CPP any pretext to lift their immunity. But should they want to lift the immunity of all the 20 or so MPs who will visit the place, then it will be very interesting. Let them jail all the MPs from the whole SRP, if the want.
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