Indonesia allows Sam Rainsy to arrive from Malaysia, as Hun Sen releases Cambodian dissidents
- Rainsy, who is wanted by Cambodian authorities for allegedly plotting a coup, was on Wednesday reportedly blocked from flying out of Kuala Lumpur
- Under mounting international pressure, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen indicated he has ordered the release on bail of more than 70 activists
Sam Rainsy, the self-exiled leader of a banned Cambodian opposition party, arrived in Jakarta from Kuala Lumpur on Thursday after reportedly being blocked from boarding his flight on Wednesday.
Rainsy, who is wanted by Cambodian authorities for allegedly plotting a coup, has pledged to return to his native country to lead a peaceful “popular uprising” against Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government. His Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) was dissolved ahead of elections last year, paving the way for the ruling party to win all the seats in parliament.
After arriving in Jakarta, Rainsy told reporters he would be in the Indonesian capital for a few days and plans to meet parliamentarians.
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He had on Wednesday planned to board a Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta but was reportedly prevented due to instructions the airline claimed were issued by Indonesian authorities. However, the airline later confirmed the co-founder and acting president of the CNRP had been allowed to board and Indonesian authorities denied reports Rainsy had been barred entry into the country.
“There has been no order to bar entry for the person. Sam Rainsy is not in Indonesian territory,” Indonesian immigration spokesman Sam Fernando said.
Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said someone “who has legal travel documents for a holiday, wants to benefit from Indonesia’s visa exemption regime for tourists and doesn’t misuse it for political activities in Indonesia cannot be barred from entering Indonesia for a holiday”.
Rainsy, 70, who is based in Paris, had planned to return to his country for Saturday’s national independence day by crossing the border from Thailand but he was prevented from boarding a Thai Airways flight from the French capital to Bangkok on the Thai prime minister’s orders.
Meanwhile, Hun Sen on Thursday revealed he had ordered the release on bail of more than 70 opposition activists arrested in recent weeks.
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Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for more than 34 years, has faced increasing international pressure to improve his human rights record, with the European Union threatening the withdrawal of important trade benefits.
“There are over 70 people, please hurry up work on this case so that these brothers can be released on bail,” Hun Sen said during a speech at a new cement factory in the southern province of Kampot, in comments directed at judicial authorities.
On Tuesday, the European Union voiced concern about human rights in Cambodia as it gave a one-month deadline to authorities to respond to a report on its investigation before deciding whether to suspend trade benefits.
Hun Sen said that in addition to ordering the release of the opposition activists, he had ordered the Justice Ministry to withdraw arrest warrants for other opposition activists who had fled to Thailand or were in hiding in Cambodia.
On Saturday, Cambodia also relaxed the house arrest conditions on opposition leader Kem Sokha, who co-founded the CNRP with Rainsy and was detained on treason charges more than two years ago. He maintains the charges are ridiculous and has called for them to be dropped.
Additional reporting by Kyodo, Agence France-Presse
