Source:
https://scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2110798/cambodia-opposition-party-defies-hun-sens-threat-will
Asia/ Southeast Asia

Cambodia opposition party defies Hun Sen's threat, will contest 2018 elections

Prime Minister Hun Sen threatened Monday to dissolve the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party if it gets involved in legal proceedings against arrested leader Kem Sokha

Prime Minister Hun Sen threatened Monday to dissolve the opposition party if it gets involved in legal proceedings against Kem Sokha. File photo: Reuters

Cambodia’s main opposition party said on Tuesday that it would stand in next year’s election despite the treason charges against its leader and a threat by Prime Minister Hun Sen that it could be dissolved.

Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge commander who has ruled for more than 30 years, said on Monday that the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) would be dissolved if it continues to back detained leader Kem Sokha.

Kem Sokha was arrested on September 3, and has been charged with treason over an alleged plot to gain power with US support. He is the only serious election rival to Hun Sen, who is one of China’s closest allies in Southeast Asia.

In a news briefing on Tuesday, senior CNRP member Son Chhay said the opposition would not boycott the July 2018 general election in which it faces Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).

Son Chhay (C), senior member of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) gives a speech during a press conference in Phnom Penh. Photo: EPA
Son Chhay (C), senior member of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) gives a speech during a press conference in Phnom Penh. Photo: EPA

“The CNRP will go into the 2018 election despite the enormous difficulties,” Son Chhay said.

“The only choice is to go into the upcoming election.”

Western countries have criticised the arrest of Kem Sokha, which marked an escalation in a crackdown on critics ahead of a poll next year that could pose the toughest electoral challenge the 65-year-old Hun Sen has faced during his long rule.

Cambodia's opposition leader Kem Sokha, who was detained during a police ride at his home in Phnom Penh. Photo: EPA
Cambodia's opposition leader Kem Sokha, who was detained during a police ride at his home in Phnom Penh. Photo: EPA
On Monday, one of the CNRP’s deputy presidents, Mu Sochua, had raised the possibility of an election boycott in Kem Sokha is not freed, but she said on Tuesday that she agreed with Son Chhay that the party should take part.

The evidence presented against Kem Sokha so far is a video recorded in 2013 in which he discusses a strategy to win power with the help of unspecified Americans. His lawyers have dismissed the evidence as nonsense and said he was only discussing election strategy.

On Tuesday, Son Chhay said Kem Sokha was innocent until a final conviction by court, saying that the arrest and a parliament vote to allow his prosecution were illegal.

The ruling CPP party’s spokesman, Sok Eysan, said “Kem Sokha committed serious crimes that would lead to the destruction of peace and political stability”.

Additional reporting by Associated Press