Cambodian Opposition Leader could face prison

The Nation (Bangkok)
Wed, April 23, 2008

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Nam Hong said on Tuesday that he was forced to sue Sam Rainsy, the opposition leader in Cambodia, for disinformation.

The opposition leader could face imprisonment or a fine if he is found guilty in the disinformation lawsuit, according to the Cambodian law.

"I filed disinformation and defamation lawsuits at the court today against Sam Rainsy," Hor Namhong told Rasmmei Kampuchea newspaper and Radio Free Asia in an interview on Tuesday.

He was forced to sue the opposition leader because Sam Rainsy falsified information in order to insult me in front of hundreds of people, he added.

However, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said that if Sam Rainsy admits that he was wrong and apologised for his mistake, he would not have to bring the lawsuits to the court to keep the political environment calm before the national election, schedule for 27 July 2008.

Sam Rainsy was reported to have accused Hor Namhong as being the chief of Boeng Trabek Prison of the Khmer Rouge Regime in his comments on April 17 to mark the 33rd anniversary of the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime, in which millions of Cambodian people were killed.

However, in the interview, Hor Namhong explained in detail that he was one of the Khmer Rouge victims, saying that at least 30 of his relatives and his wife's were killed by the Khmer Rouge.

Sam Rainsy could not be reached for comment as he was outside of the country.

Eng Chhay Ieng, the secretarygeneral of the Sam Rainsy Party, said that Sam Rainsy has definitely informed that he was being sued by Hor Namhong, the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

"This case is involved with the Khmer Rouge regime. Therefore, the Khmer Rouge Tribunal is the only competent body which can solve the case," Eng Chhay Ieng said.

"If the Phnom Penh court is used to deal with the case, it is politically motivated," he added.

Sam Rainsy is now in the United States where he is expected to give a lecture about the Cambodian situation at Yale University. He is scheduled to arrive back in Cambodia on April 29.

by Rasmei Kampuchea/Asia News Network