Cambodia’s Sam Rainsy says Thai Airways blocked his trip home on orders ‘from very high up’
- The self-exiled opposition leader was intending to return to Cambodia to lead rallies against strongman Hun Sen via a transit through Thailand
- Phnom Penh has urged Southeast Asian countries to arrest and deport members of Sam Rainsy’s political party after accusing them of plotting a coup
Cambodia’s self-exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who has vowed to return home to lead demonstrations against authoritarian rule, said on Thursday he had been prevented from boarding a flight from Paris to Bangkok.
The apparently blocked flight came a day after Malaysia detained Mu Sochua, the vice-president of Sam Rainsy’s banned Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), at a Kuala Lumpur airport, before releasing her 24 hours later.
Strongman Hun Sen, who has been in power since 1985, has characterised the returning opposition figures’ planned rallies as an attempted coup.
Sam Rainsy said at France’s Charles de Gaulle Airport that staff at Thai Airways, Thailand’s national carrier, refused to allow him to get on his flight.
“I’m not allowed to board. [Thai Airways staff] said they have received from very high up the instruction not to allow me to board,” he said. “I’m very shocked, I’m very disappointed. I want to go back, my people are waiting for me.”
A Thai Airways representative declined to comment, citing passenger confidentiality.
Sam Rainsy said in a Facebook Live broadcast that he and fellow leaders of CNRP have not changed their plans for a return.
He advised his 4.8 million Facebook followers not to be disappointed, and accused Hun Sen of being scared to allow him to return.
Meanwhile, Mu Sochua’s release on Thursday by Malaysian immigration authorities came as a U-turn, as the government had earlier said it was looking to deport her amid efforts by Phnom Penh to urge Southeast Asian nations to treat the CNRP politicians as fugitives.
Malaysian Foreign Affairs Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said Mu Sochua had entered the country on a US passport and was being interviewed by officials about “her intention of coming”.
“But as far as Wisma Putra [Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs] is concerned, we are not in the position to deport people. And neither do we like doing that,” Saifuddin said.
“We make our own decisions. Not because of any requests or any kind of interference from foreign countries," he said. “We are a pro-democracy government, we follow things very closely, but at the same time we cannot interfere with what happens in other countries.”
We are risking our lives, we will go to Cambodia empty-handed with bare hands.
Jerald Joseph, head of the Malaysia’s Human Rights Commission, on Thursday said Mu Sochua and two other Cambodian youth activists, who were detained on Monday, would be allowed to remain in the country. The commission was involved in appeals for their release.
A member of the Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights, Teddy Baguilat, welcomed their release and urged Thailand to follow Malaysia’s example by allowing Sam Rainsy to enter Thailand.
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“Hun Sen should get the message loud and clear that his persecution of the political opposition will not be exported wherever he wishes it to be,” Baguilat said in a statement.
Mu Sochua reportedly intended to arrive in Cambodia by Saturday, to coincide with Rainsy’s pledge to return from self-exile.
She was not allowed entry to Thailand last week and flew to Indonesia, where she held a press conference.
Cambodian Ambassador to Indonesia Hor Nambora reportedly barged into the session and accused her of misleading Indonesian immigration authorities. He also described opposition figures as fugitives and criminals.
“We are risking our lives, we will go to Cambodia empty-handed with bare hands,” Mu Sochua told the news conference, which was also attended by Indonesian activists.
“Returning home for democracy in Cambodia, it’s not a revolution, it’s not a coup d’etat. We have asked neighbouring countries to permit us safe passage to Cambodia and to have free movement when we are in Cambodia,” she said.
“We have been asking governments all around the world to witness our return to our nation, our homeland, with good intentions and totally transparent.”
After the news conference, the Cambodian embassy in Jakarta issued a press release saying Mu Sochua was a fugitive because a Cambodian court last month issued an arrest warrant over her allegedly seeking to overthrow Hun Sen’s government.
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Since Sam Rainsy announced in August that he would return, Cambodian authorities have arrested 92 suspected CNRP activists and others on various charges, including plotting against the state, incitement to commit a felony and discrediting judicial decisions, according to a statement from Human Rights Watch on Thursday.
Sam Rainsy, a former finance minister, has vowed to return to lead demonstrations against the one-party rule of Hun Sen, whom he called “a brutal dictator”.
“The repression has never been so severe,” Sam Rainsy said during an interview in Paris.
“The popular discontent has never been so strong so it’s the right time to create an event that will trigger a democratic change,” he said. “I have to go back, return to my country because I want to be near my people, be with my people to lead them to fight for a better life.”
