U.S. asks Cambodia to pardon opposition party leader, radio station owner

 លោក សម រង្ស៊ី ប្រធានគណបក្សសង្រ្គោះជាតិ

លោក ម៉ម សូណង់ដូ ប្រធានវិទ្យុសំបុកឃ្មំ

Souce:Xinhua 

Publish By Thomas Whittle 

Updated 20/02/2013

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 19 — The United States said on Tuesday that they wanted to see the participation of the self- exiled opposition party’s leader Sam Rainsy and radio station owner Mam Sonando in the July’s general election.

Speaking during a one-hour meeting with Cambodian deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, visiting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Michael Posner, said the U.S. wanted to see the participation of the main opposition party’s leader Sam Rainsy and the radio station owner Mam Sonando in the forthcoming election, Ouch Borith, Secretary of State at Cambodia’s Foreign Ministry, told reporters after the meeting.

“The U.S. thinks that in order to make better in democratic process and human rights respect in Cambodia, there should be the return of Sam Rainsy and the participation of Mam Sonando in the upcoming election,” Posner was quoted by Ouch Borith as saying to Hor Namhong. “The U.S. government and congressmen see the convictions of Sam Rainsy and Mam Sonando as politically-motivated cases.”

In response, Hor Namhong said neither Sam Rainsy nor Mam Sonando were convicted by the court of working for democracy or human rights respect, but the two individuals were convicted of criminal offenses.

He explained that Sam Rainsy was sentenced by Cambodian court ( to 11 years in jail) in absentia for removing Cambodia-Vietnam border poles and publishing a false map of the border with Vietnam in order to accuse Cambodian government of selling land to Vietnam.

For the case of Mam Sonando, the minister said that a radio broadcaster was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the mastermind of the secessionist movement, as some key witnesses had testified against him before the court and the court had convicted him based on evidence.

“Foreign community always urges the government of Cambodia not to interfere into the court’s independence, now the U.S. demands us to pardon Sam Rainsy and release Mam Sonando, it means that the U.S. is urging Cambodia to violate its law and to interfere into the court’s independence,” Hor Namhong said.

“The convictions had been made by the court’s jurisdiction, not the government’s jurisdiction. As state of law, Cambodia continues to strengthen the rule of law; no one can stay above the law, so Cambodia will not release them,” he said. “They are prisoners. If we release them upon the request, it will cause anarchy in Cambodia.”

In November, while attending a series of the Summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Phnom Penh, U.S. President Barack Obama also expressed the need for Cambodia to release political prisoners during a bilateral meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at the Peace Palace.

Obama highlighted, for instance, one case of a radio broadcaster Mam Sonando who had been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

However, Hun Sen said at that time that “in Cambodia, there is no political prisoner, but politicians abused the law, so they must be punished in accordance with the law.”