PHNOM PENH (AFP) -- Cambodia's opposition leader in
exile won a royal pardon Friday, vowing to return to help his party
fight strongman premier Hun Sen who is seeking to extend his nearly
three decade grip on power.
Sam Rainsy, who lives in France, had
faced 11 years in jail after he was convicted in absentia for charges
that he contends were politically motivated, including publishing a
false map of the border with Vietnam.
"All of his convictions are
clear now. He is a free man, he is welcome back home and he can come
back anytime," cabinet spokesman Phay Siphan said.
Rainsy, who
wrote to King Sihamoni in June requesting a pardon, told AFP on Friday
that he would return "in the next few days" to campaign for his party,
the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP).
"It is a small victory
for democracy that the leader of the opposition be allowed to be in the
country during election campaigning and on election day," he said by
telephone from France.
But "much more remains to be done," he added.
The
pardon was requested by Prime Minister Hun Sen "in the spirit of
reconciliation", a government official said on condition of anonymity,
adding that Rainsy had "no right" to run as a candidate in the July 28
polls.
In his letter to the king requesting the pardon, a copy of
which was seen by AFP, Hun Sen said a pardon would allow elections "to
be conducted according to democratic principles".
Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for 28 years, is widely expected to win a majority in the polls.
In
May he said he would try to stay in power for another decade, until he
is 74. He has previously vowed to hold office until he reaches 90.
US lawmakers have called for the United States to cut off aid to Cambodia unless the vote is free.
US
President Barack Obama, during a visit to Cambodia in November to
attend an East Asia Summit, pressed Hun Sen on human rights and
democracy in a meeting that the White House described as tense.
Hun
Sen is one of Southeast Asia's longest-serving leaders and has steered
the impoverished country from the ashes of civil war and overseen a
growing economy through development, tourism, and garment exports.
But his government is regularly accused of suppressing political freedoms and muzzling activists.
Cambodia briefly banned foreign-produced radio broadcasts ahead of the election.
While
all political parties are free to canvass voters and hold public
events, observers say there is little chance of unseating Hun Sen and
his Cambodian People's Party (CPP), which won the last two polls by a
landslide despite allegations of fraud and election irregularities.
Kem
Sokha, acting president of the CNRP, is facing a defamation lawsuit
filed by survivors of the Khmer Rouge's notorious Tuol Sleng torture
prison, after he allegedly said the jail was a Vietnamese fabrication.
The
CNRP have denounced the move as the latest in a series of politically
motivated smears aimed at the opposition party ahead of the election.
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