Cambodia may reverse five-year ban on 100 members of opposition after EU threatens trading access
- CNRP leader Kem Sokha was released from prison in September after spending more than a year in jail on treason charges but remains under house arrest
- The EU has launched a six-month review of Cambodia’s duty-free access, meaning its garments, sugar and other exports could face EU tariffs within 12 months
Cambodia’s parliament is reviewing a five-year ban on more than 100 members of the main opposition party, which could allow them to return to politics, following threats by the European Union to deny duty-free trading access to the Southeast Asian nation.
The EU last month began a formal procedure to strip Cambodia of its “Everything but Arms (EBA)” initiative, after Prime Minister Hun Sen returned to power in a July general election in which his party won all the seats in parliament.
“To further promote democracy and the rule of law, the National Assembly is reviewing legal provisions to enable individuals who were banned from politics to resume political activities,” Cambodia’s foreign ministry said on Monday.
It was referring to a Supreme Court ban on political activity by 118 members of the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which the court dissolved last year at the request of the government after accusations that the party was plotting to take power with the help of the United States.
CNRP leader Kem Sokha was released from prison in September after spending more than a year in jail on treason charges but remains under house arrest in the capital, Phnom Penh.
The party’s deputy president, Mu Sochua, demanded that Sokha be freed, with all charges dropped and the party reinstated.