By CHUN HAN WONG
The Wall Street Journal
Updated July 12, 2013
Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy is free to
end his self-imposed exile after receiving a royal pardon Friday, paving
the way for his return ahead of the Southeast Asian nation's general
elections this month against longtime strongman Hun Sen.
King Norodom Sihamoni signed a royal decree to pardon
Mr. Rainsy of his 2010 convictions for offenses including spreading
disinformation, after receiving a request from the prime minister, Mr.
Hun Sen, government spokesman Phay Siphan said.
The move comes as the ruling Cambodian People's Party seeks a fresh
five-year mandate in polls scheduled July 28. Mr. Rainsy is seen as Mr.
Hun Sen's main rival but it wasn't immediately clear if he will actually
be able to run. According to Mr. Phay Siphan, Mr. Rainsy is now "a free
man in Cambodia" who can seek to reinstate his eligibility to contest
elections through the appropriate legal processes. The spokesman didn't
specify what the processes are.
Western countries—including the U.S.—and human-rights groups have
called for Mr. Rainsy to be allowed to contest the elections. Mr. Hun
Sen, who took office in 1985 and ranks among the world's longest-serving
leaders, is widely expected to extend his term.
Mr. Rainsy, a 64-year-old former finance minister, leads the Cambodia
National Rescue Party. He has lived in exile in Paris since 2009
because of what he and rights observers have called politically
motivated charges for spreading disinformation and falsifying the
Cambodia-Vietnam border on a map. He was sentenced in absentia to 11
years in jail.
In a telephone interview, Mr. Rainsy said that his pardon was "a good
move in the right direction toward national reconciliation and unity."
He said he plans to return to Cambodia within the "next few days" once
he settles "administrative" issues with his French passport.
The former fund manager wrote King Sihamoni last month to seek a
pardon and said last week he would return to Cambodia whether or not one
was granted. "I was prepared for the worst—being arrested and jailed
upon my arrival," Mr. Rainsy said Friday. "I was hopeful [that a pardon
might be granted], but not at all certain."
Mr. Hun Sen requested the pardon for Mr. Rainsy "in the spirit of
national reconciliation and unity, and to ensure peace for Cambodia,"
Mr. Phay Siphan said.
Friday's developments mirrored events in early 2006, when Mr. Rainsy
was granted a royal pardon for his 2005 convictions and jail sentences
for defaming the government. He subsequently contested the 2008 polls
and won a parliamentary seat.
Analysts say the pardoning of Mr. Rainsy might help Mr. Hun Sen to
head off criticism from foreign governments and donors who have
threatened to reduce aid to the impoverished Southeast Asian nation if
the government is seen undermining the fairness of the electoral
process. Furthermore, "any arrest and imprisonment [of Mr. Rainsy] could
provoke protests from [opposition] supporters" and generate social
unrest, said Lao Mong Hay, a Cambodian academic and political analyst.
"The question is whether (Mr. Rainsy) would be accorded his full
political and civil rights" and allowed to campaign and run for
elections, said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for U.S.-based
advocacy group Human Rights Watch. "From the government's perspective,
they are going to sell this as an indication of a free and fair
election."
"The problems with the elections remain unresolved," Mr. Rainsy said,
alleging that Mr. Hun Sen's government would make use of Cambodia's
electoral commission to sway the poll results. The government has in the
past denied such accusations.
At the last election in 2008, the ruling CPP won 90 seats in
Cambodia's 123-member National Assembly. The opposition groups now
comprising Mr. Rainsy's party combined for just 29 seats.
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