A Change of Guard

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Wednesday 23 March 2011

Amnesty [for Sam rainsy] Possible Without Premier Request: Analysts


By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington, DC
Tuesday, 22 March 2011

While some ruling government officials maintain that opposition leader Sam Rainsy (pictured) can only receive a royal pardon with a request from the prime minister, legal observers say that practice is only a matter of courtesy.

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Opposition lawmakers and other legal professionals say a royal pardon is up to the king himself, Norodom Sihamoni.

The king was sent a letter this week by opposition party lawmakers seeking a reprieve for their leader, Sam Rainy, who was removed from parliament this month.

The letter, signed by 24 Sam Rainsy Party lawmakers, comes as the party faces the prospect of the 2012 and 2013 elections without its leader, who is in exile and facing criminal convictions in Cambodia. Some political analysts have warned that elections will have less legitimacy in the eyes of the international community if they are held without the leader of the opposition.

Ou Virak, director of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, told VOA Khmer that a royal pardon, by law, need not be requested by the prime minister. Such a request has only become a practice, he said.

“It’s because the prime minister has the power,” he said. “That’s why generally there is a request from the premier—and because [Sam Rainsy’s] case is political, whether or not there is amnesty might depend on the approval of the premier of Cambodia.”

The request from the Sam Rainsy Party to the king was not outside the law, he said, but it could put some political pressure on Norodom Sihamoni, who has remained relatively outside the political arena since taking the thrown in 2004.

“I would say that the king would have some consequences, because in Cambodia the political situation, the issue of politics, needs approval from the prime minister,” he said. “So it may be that the king has to wait for a sign from the prime minister.”

In recent weeks, ruling party officials have said a request from the prime minister can provide amnesty for criminals who have served at least two-thirds of their sentence, a reference to a law distinct from the constitutional provision for general royal amnesty.

Kao Supha, a Cambodian lawyer, said the king does have a right to pardon criminals, although he “always” waits for a request from the prime minister as a matter of course.

“If [a request for pardon] is directly submitted to the king, the king will send a letter to the prime minister, to allow the prime minister to submit a request back to His Majesty,” he said.

Last week, the Supreme Court upheld decisions by lower courts that found Sam Rainsy guilty of racial incitement and destruction of property, for destroying markers near the Vietnamese border. With no further legal recourse, the National Assembly removed him from his seat as a representative of Kampong Cham province. That means the only way he can regain his parliamentary seat is to be pardoned.

The constitution, in Article 27, stipulates: “The king shall have the right to grant partial or complete amnesty.”

Son Chhay, a National Assembly lawmaker for the Sam Rainsy Party, said this means the king has individual authority, even if in practice a request typically comes from Prime Minister Hun Sen.

“As a habit, so far, His Majesty gives special favor to the prime minister, in order to offer the premier the honor of making a request for amnesty,” he said.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Recent sacking of convicted criminal Sam Rainsy from national Parliament has raised many eyebrows among SRP supporters who until now advocated insulting and appeal for uprising against Cambodian government to resolve the so called national political and social issues. The sacking which is according to Cambodian laws, but opposition seen as unjust and political motivated, and who care about Arab countries are bracing for widespread people rebellions.

Not so long ago PM Hun Sen publicly stated that he wants opposition not just weakened but dead. It is really clear he intends to achieve his wish, and he even has the means to carry it out. However, one thing we are all clear about is no matter what the opposition crying out for help, the government will never care about it. The Prime Minister is making a right decision which regards Sam Rainsy is no longer has any value in Cambodian politics.

What PM Hun Sen should worry is not about the absence of Sam Rainsy from politics, but is about rebuild the country. Most political analysts or observers would agree that Sam Rainsy's leadership and approach over the years have been very personal, too personal indeed. Many his extremely supporters would prefer to see him adopt a more aggressive stand toward the government, which includes the establishment of a government in exile or underground movement for armed confrontation.

Barring Sam Rainsy from politics is not difficult to predict and good for the country. There is no doubt that Sam Rainsy already faded away from his current role, a new generation of young leaders will definitely emerge to replace him. Any young leader at the helm of the opposition is likely more keen to take more liberal approach and pursue a more dialogue path.

PM Hun Sen is well aware that his government has managed to maintain the current level of stability in the country mainly because his party got more than 2/3 of votes in the last general election and up to now his government makes enormous progress in society, but opposition has never seen it. All they want to see is the social unrest and chaos.

Despite opposition invented that lack of transparency on the Eastern border demarcation, the ongoing land grabbing and forced eviction, and the mistreatment of the opposition leader...etc won't hurt anything to the government but at the same time, it will put themselves enormous pressure to existing in the next election and beyond.

The current social uprising in the Arab countries definitely creates a good excuse for the opposition to lie the people in the coming weeks and months, but the government will have a lot of key options to evaluate and crash down of any protester. As for the opposition, it would be wise and prudent to revisit their decision, and don't ever dream about the reinstatement of Sam Rainsy's parliamentary status, let alone come back to Cambodia. In the present situation, the Royal Palace is the best venue for neutral and out of politics. The opposition should not use the Royal Palace to clean up its political mess.

Khmer in Sydney CBD

SRPsupporter said...

SRPsupport,

Sam Rainsy interviews with RFA on March 22, 2011

Please click link to listen in Khmer: http://tinyurl.com/4k2gqm2

Anonymous said...

It's doesn't meter what HS said
as long as somrainsy do some good thing for country not to attract the country like the thai put the gun on Cambodian head and Somrainsy ask Khmer to fight Viet It's nonsense
What he should do is some thing more importaint then politic for Khmer first but not extremism