The Cambodia Daily
April 21, 2013
Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday warned that the country could
descend into an “internal war” akin to the Khmer Rouge period if the
opposition wins the July 28 national elections, and carries through on a
threat to arrest members of the current government.
On Wednesday, self-exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy leveled a
volley of accusations against unnamed members of Mr. Hun Sen’s
government, accusing them of failing to be held accountable for crimes
committed during the brutal 1975 to 1979 Pol Pot regime.
His comments were delivered by phone from the U.S. through
loudspeakers at the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center on the 38th anniversary
of the fall of Phnom Penh to Khmer Rouge forces.
In a speech delivered at the inauguration of a pagoda in Kompong Speu
province on Friday, Mr. Hun Sen lambasted Mr. Rainsy without naming
him, though references to the latter’s exile made it clear to whom he
was referring.
“There is a ridiculous story circulating here,” the prime minister said.
“When the Year of the Snake came, a self-exiled person screamed from
America through an international radio to Choeung Ek, stating that he
would win the election in July and then he would bring deputy prime
ministers and ministers of this government to prosecution,” Mr. Hun Sen
said. “He is not ruling in power yet, but he spoke rudely.”
Mr. Hun Sen warned that Mr. Rainsy’s comments about prosecutions were
dangerous and could upset the relative stability his rule has brought
to the country.
“When the Cambodian People’s Party is the ruling party, everybody can
live peacefully together,” he said. “Now, he’s announcing in a
political message on April 17 that he would win the election and then
prosecute all the leaders, so bitter history would be repeated. The
internal war would truly happen.
“I will not bear it and let the arrest happen,” Mr. Hun Sen said,
adding that an internal war and a war with neighboring countries would
be unavoidable.
Mr. Hun Sen also said that were members of government to be targeted,
it could lead to purges among the police, military police and Royal
Cambodian Armed Forces, which would lead to anarchy.
“How dare the opposition party that doesn’t rule say that he would prosecute current leaders?”
Mr. Hun Sen said he did not believe that the Cambodian National
Rescue Party, which was formed last year when the Sam Rainsy Party and
Human Rights Party decided to merge, could make any meaningful dent in
the popular CPP vote, because it would need at least 3 million extra
votes to do so.
Reached by telephone, CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann said anyone with an
unblemished record had nothing to fear in any future investigations.
“We do not consider anybody the enemy, we don’t discriminate against political leaders,” Mr. Sovann said.
“We just want to eliminate impunity in Cambodian society. Good
leaders can stay—they have nothing to worry about. But if you are
corrupt or criminal why do you need to stay there? If you did nothing
wrong, don’t worry about that. We just want to implement the law on
this.”
(Additional reporting by Lauren Crothers)
1 comment:
Stability of a police state whose population worries about starvation and survival - a continuance of the KR era which the CPP knows too well because they were part of the genocide architect. Up yours Hun Sen!!!
Post a Comment