Government says democracy not in Sam Rainsy's pocket [If the government can interfere for the release of a suspected Thai spy, there is no way that it cannot interfere for the release of Sam Rainsy and Mam Sonando]

Tith Sothea, a member of the Press and Quick Reaction Unit of the Office of the Council of Ministers

 

PHNOM PENH ( The Cambodia Herald)- The government has rejected a call for Prime Minister Hun Sen to hold talks with exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy ahead of general elections in July.

Tith Sothea, a member of the Press and Quick Reaction Unit of the Office of the Council of Ministers, said Sam Rainsy had personal issues to resolve.

He added that Sam Rainsy had not been barred from returning home but had to serve his prison sentence for uprooting border markers, falsifying public documents and destroying national property.

"He's forgotten that the government has no power to interfere in the execution of the law," Tith Sothea said Sunday. "You should better understand aspects of the law rather than just using emotional connections to call for negotiations ... Democracy is not in the pocket of the exiled Sam Rainsy."

His remarks followed comments by Cambodian Center for Human Rights President Ou Virak who accused the government of being stubborn.

"The ball is now the government's court. The 2011 case in which Sam Rainsy uprooted border markers -- which Hun Sen conceded as temporary border markers -- was just the freedom of expression of a politician," he said. "Others are political issues ... Only the ruling party can find a possible way for talks."

Information Minister Khieu Kanharith reiterated last week that Sam Rainsy and another opposition figure were given prison sentences for criminal offenses and not for opposing the ruling party.

Sam Rainsy is believed to be living in France.