Premier raps SRP, overseas lawmakers

Wednesday, 03 November 2010

By Vong Sokheng
Phnom Penh Post

Prime Minister Hun Sen (pictured) has told the European Parliament it should “provide recommendations for improving the Cambodian opposition party and help them change their extreme nature”,

The comments came after a group of opposition lawmakers wrote a letter to the government referring to a European Parliament resolution on the Kingdom.

In a letter to the National Assembly President Heng Samrin dated Tuesday, the premier said the Sam Rainsy Party did not understand “proper conduct in a democratic culture”.

Last week, 17 SRP parliamentarians wrote to the government inquiring about its reaction to a European Parliament resolution from last month that addressed human rights in the Kingdom and the case of self-exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy.

“The Khmer opposition party just wants to attack the government with an aim to securing intervention from overseas,” Hun Sen wrote. “This is only for their individual interest – it is an extreme policy to serve the opposition party.

“Members of the European Parliament should help explain to the opposition party the role of an opposition in a democracy.”

Hun Sen said the European parliamentary resolution itself had resulted from “a lack of information and lack of communication with the embassies of European Union members in Cambodia”.

“The independent, sovereign Cambodian government has no obligation to take measures on the orders of the European Parliament,” Hun Sen said.

In a resolution dated October 21, the European Parliament said a “worrying authoritarian trend has been noticeable in Cambodia over the last few years”....read the full story in tomorrow’s Phnom Penh Post or see the updated story online from 3PM UTC/GMT +7 hours.