Cambodian Opposition Ends Assembly Boycott
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| Members of parliament attend a plenary session at the Cambodia National Assembly in Central Phnom Penh, December 16, 2015. |
Neou Vannarin
December 16, 2015 2:24 PM
PHNOM PENH—
Lawmakers for the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) attended a plenary session at the National Assembly Wednesday, ending a parliamentary boycott that has lasted for weeks.
The boycott was a result of anti-opposition protests in November that led to the severe beatings of two opposition lawmakers outside parliament, making other lawmakers fear for their own safety and drawing widespread international criticism.
On Wednesday, 34 of 55 CNRP lawmakers, including acting president of the party, Kem Sokha, attended a full assembly session, joining the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) in votes on three draft laws.
CNRP spokesman Yem Ponharith told VOA Khmer the return of his party’s lawmakers to the assembly was made possible by political agreements with the CPP during meetings last week between Interior Minister Sar Kheng and Rescue Party Vice President Kem Sokha.
Both sides agreed to maintain a “culture of dialogue,” in an effort to ease political tensions that have been roiling now for months.
CNRP's return
The CNRP aims to be involved on discussions of national issues, while exercising its rights to join Assembly debates and summon government officials for questioning, Yem Ponharith said.
“The main idea is to go back to national assembly session to fully implement the discussion between the minority voice and the majority voice," he added. "The second point is we need to check the proposed bills that are controversial. Each party has a different view," said Ponharith.
December 16, 2015 2:24 PM
PHNOM PENH—
Lawmakers for the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) attended a plenary session at the National Assembly Wednesday, ending a parliamentary boycott that has lasted for weeks.
The boycott was a result of anti-opposition protests in November that led to the severe beatings of two opposition lawmakers outside parliament, making other lawmakers fear for their own safety and drawing widespread international criticism.
On Wednesday, 34 of 55 CNRP lawmakers, including acting president of the party, Kem Sokha, attended a full assembly session, joining the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) in votes on three draft laws.
CNRP spokesman Yem Ponharith told VOA Khmer the return of his party’s lawmakers to the assembly was made possible by political agreements with the CPP during meetings last week between Interior Minister Sar Kheng and Rescue Party Vice President Kem Sokha.
Both sides agreed to maintain a “culture of dialogue,” in an effort to ease political tensions that have been roiling now for months.
CNRP's return
The CNRP aims to be involved on discussions of national issues, while exercising its rights to join Assembly debates and summon government officials for questioning, Yem Ponharith said.
“The main idea is to go back to national assembly session to fully implement the discussion between the minority voice and the majority voice," he added. "The second point is we need to check the proposed bills that are controversial. Each party has a different view," said Ponharith.
CPP spokesman Sok Eysan welcomed the return of CNRP to legislative proceedings.
“That is [absolutely the] decision of CNRP,” he said. "CPP always welcomes the participation of CNRP. When CNRP decided to boycott the assembly, that was the party's choice. But CPP believes that it would be better for the CNRP to take part in the session," said Eysan.
"However, we cannot force them to join the session," he added. "With or without CNRP, the National Assembly session won’t be stuck.”
On his Facebook page Wednesday, Prime Minister Hun Sen said the return of the lawmakers demonstrated “the ongoing progress of democracy in Cambodia, in which [members of parliament] from the ruling party and opposition work together to adopt useful laws for the nation.”
Effects of boycott
Ou Virak, head of newly formed Future Forum policy research group, said the decision to boycott was made “too fast, without thinking,” and it allowed the ruling party to put pressure on the opposition.
“I’d already foreseen that the People’s Party would put the pressure on CNRP, pressure related to their salaries and benefits, such as cars and positions on [the National Assembly’s] committees,” he said. “And because the election is coming in the next few years, they would not have the money to work on their policies or mission," said Virak.
Ou Virak and Sok Eysan both said a boycott did not effectively stop work at the assembly, where the ruling party has a large enough majority to keep it going, with or without the opposition.
This report was produced in collaboration with the VOA Khmer service.
3 comments:
NCRP ,don't get yourself in the hot water again.look at where are you now?.look at mr Sam rainsy in self-imposed exile. what use that is doing to your party eh? when things go rather well your leads can't wait to go oversea so you can poke some fun at Cpp and get yourself in troubles. what about in Cambodia ? the people who can vote for your party in at home, you literally leave them in the cold. Wake up to fact that you operate in Cpp dominated politics and you have to be smarter.You have thrown away again what you have built in a blink of an eye.It is hard for you to get back in now.
At look from another angle is that what have happened recently is the case you do it to please the hardliners?.If so, one word of advice for you 'the majority of the minority doesn't constitute the majority".Sadly Now you lick your own wounds. It is the question of when not if that when you get back your own two feet, look forward not backward.
Please your hiding name above,i did not agree with your analytical verse, seem a little out of bound about your statement . To be fair this country not just belong to your or your group of political insanity or Yuon enemy control prone, you ought to be at least fair and in the frame of a reason of doub, they also have a right to protect the truth too . I am not a fanatic of this opposition party , i am a real independent patriotic mind , i think about the interest of Khmer poor my blood stream on top of anything else . This country is to much of kleptocracy and dictatorship implication, every body know about that, don't you ever want and tried to hid a death Elephant with a piece of bamboo basket it doesn't work that way . Khmer need the most rule of law, constitutional sarcastically respectful by the ruler of the regime but not willy nilly that they don't want implied it . Your opinion ought to be respectful and fair judgement but no bias of principle to denigrated existence right of others people .
Do you think I am biased to Cpp? Think and say what ever you will because it is your rights. It seems to me you can't even take in other people's criticism and differentiate between the facts and your loaded emotion chaos. How many more times is cnrp going to get themselves in hot water?.Why do cnrp may be yourself included think that they are the victims here. When not if, you think you are the victims, you will always be the victims because you drill on too much that you are the victims. Most of cnrp I am sure that they are intellectuals and prolific thinkers with their own rights and I can't tell them what or how to think ,it is up to them to work smarter in the political environments they are in.Look at where they are and the troubles they are in now. Do you think that will move them forward to achieve their aspired political goals.Your guess just as good as mine. It is time for cnrp to acknowledge their mistakes, learn from it and have credible political strategies.
By the way ,name is Jackel
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