Sam Rainsy: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT MY RETURN

Paris, July 7, 2013

In relation with my recent decision to return to Cambodia I wrote earlier this week to the Foreign Ministers of all the countries which are signatories of the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements on Cambodia a similar letter saying the following:     

« Crucial elections are to take place on July 28, 2013. In July 2012 the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Cambodia, Surya P. Subedi made a number of recommendations to ensure that the upcoming elections be free and fair. One of the recommendations reads as follows, "Regarding the situation of Sam Rainsy, the leader of the Sam Rainsy Party, who has been convicted on charges that are allegedly politically motivated, a political solution should be found to enable him, as the leader of the opposition, to play a full role in Cambodian politics."  

As of today, despite the U.N. recommendations and other parallel efforts (1) to help Cambodia organise credible elections, I remain excluded from the electoral process, forced into exile to avoid the heavy prison sentence which accompanied the removal of my civic and political rights. The political and judicial hounding which I have faced for 15 years, as a representative elected by universal suffrage, has been denounced by the European Parliament, the U.S. Congress,  the Australian Senate, the Philippine Senate, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and human rights organisations.

I have endured periods of exile in the past which were also linked to political crises between the government and the opposition. But those crises were finally resolved by interventions by the King at the suggestion of the Prime Minister. This time, perhaps because of the imminent elections and an unprecedented advance by the opposition, my letters to His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni to seek a royal pardon with the approval of the Prime Minister have not yet produced any result.

In this context, and because Cambodia is at a turning point where it is imperative to consolidate the hopes of the Cambodian people and to reinforce the democratic process, I have decided, by my own volition and fully aware of the personal risks that I will run, to return before Voting Day.

Eighteen friendly countries signed the Paris Peace Agreements on Cambodia on October 23, 1991. As the U.N. Special Rapporteur recalled recently, "the Paris Peace Agreements set down a clear vision of a new Cambodia built on the bedrock of human rights, democracy and the rule of law."   In the light of the failure of these promises, Mr. Subedi appealed to our conscience with these words: "The Agreements will remain relevant until their vision is a reality for all Cambodians".

I have decided to return because my presence as leader of the opposition and the fate that awaits me will be a test of the reality of the "free and fair elections" promised by the Paris accords, which also promised for Cambodia "a system of liberal democracy, on the basis of pluralism."  My return will serve as an opportunity for democracy to develop and will remind everyone concerned, Cambodians and friends of Cambodia alike, of their obligations. »

(1) Other initiatives include those from:

- The European Union: In its October 24, 2012 Resolution on the situation in Cambodia, the European Parliament expressed its concern "about the situation of Sam Rainsy, who has been convicted on charges that are allegedly politically motivated” and urged “the Cambodian Government (…) to enable the opposition to play a full role in Cambodian politics."  Besides, in her November 29, 2010 answer to a question from Members of the European Parliament, European Commission Vice-President Catherine Ashton wrote, "In particular, the Commission raised its concern [with the Cambodian government] over the independence of the judiciary, making specific reference to the case of Sam Rainsy."

- The U.S. State Department: "We are disappointed in the Cambodian National Election Committee’s announcement recently again reiterating that Sam Rainsy was removed from the official voter list for the July 2013 elections due to criminal convictions, which credible observers believe have been politically motivated. The exclusion of a leading opposition leader calls into question the legitimacy of the whole democratic process in Cambodia." (January 4, 2013 statement read by spokeswoman Victoria Nuland). Ms. Nuland added that outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had raised the case with Prime Minister Hun Sen in the past, and that the department would continue to raise the issue with Cambodian officials.

Sam Rainsy