Cambodian Prince Norodom Ranariddh
Cambodian Prince Norodom Ranariddh (left) talks to journalists PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Cambodian Prince Norodom Ranariddh has announced he is quitting politics, days after receiving a royal pardon on fraud charges and returning from self-imposed exile in Malaysia.
Ranariddh, sentenced in absentia last year for his part in a illegal property scheme, made the announcement Thursday night and called on opposition parties to support the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
"I am no longer an opposition party leader," the prince told reporters during dinner at a hotel in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.
"I met the king this morning (Thursday) and I told him that I quit politics," he said.
The resignation ends the prince's 17-year political career, which began with great promise when he won Cambodia's UN-sponsored election in 1993 as head of the royalist Funcinpec party.
However, he was later forced into sharing prime ministerial duties with Hun Sen, and was finally ousted in a coup in 1997.
In succeeding elections, Ranariddh's voter appeal diminished as he entered into coalition agreements with Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP).
The prince said Thursday he would choose one of his deputies to be the new leader of his eponymous Norodom Ranariddh Party, which he formed after being ejected from Funcinpec in 2006.
Ranariddh's new party won two parliamentary seats in Cambodia's July 27 general election, despite him living in Malaysia.
He returned Sunday from exile after his half-brother King Norodom Sihamoni issued a royal pardon, forgiving Ranariddh after he was sentenced to 18 months in jail for his part in a 3.6 million dollar illegal property scheme.
The court ruled Ranariddh improperly sold the Funcinpec party headquarters and used proceeds from the sale to purchase another property in his own name.
But his pardon last week came on the orders of Hun Sen, hours after the region's longest-serving premier was officially re-elected to another five-year-term.
Ranariddh faced jail once before in 1998 but was spared by a royal pardon from his father, former king Norodom Sihanouk.
He had been sentenced to 35 years for allegedly plotting a coup with the Khmer Rouge a year earlier while acting as co-prime minister with Hun Sen.
Ranariddh, sentenced in absentia last year for his part in a illegal property scheme, made the announcement Thursday night and called on opposition parties to support the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
"I am no longer an opposition party leader," the prince told reporters during dinner at a hotel in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.
"I met the king this morning (Thursday) and I told him that I quit politics," he said.
The resignation ends the prince's 17-year political career, which began with great promise when he won Cambodia's UN-sponsored election in 1993 as head of the royalist Funcinpec party.
However, he was later forced into sharing prime ministerial duties with Hun Sen, and was finally ousted in a coup in 1997.
In succeeding elections, Ranariddh's voter appeal diminished as he entered into coalition agreements with Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP).
The prince said Thursday he would choose one of his deputies to be the new leader of his eponymous Norodom Ranariddh Party, which he formed after being ejected from Funcinpec in 2006.
Ranariddh's new party won two parliamentary seats in Cambodia's July 27 general election, despite him living in Malaysia.
He returned Sunday from exile after his half-brother King Norodom Sihamoni issued a royal pardon, forgiving Ranariddh after he was sentenced to 18 months in jail for his part in a 3.6 million dollar illegal property scheme.
The court ruled Ranariddh improperly sold the Funcinpec party headquarters and used proceeds from the sale to purchase another property in his own name.
But his pardon last week came on the orders of Hun Sen, hours after the region's longest-serving premier was officially re-elected to another five-year-term.
Ranariddh faced jail once before in 1998 but was spared by a royal pardon from his father, former king Norodom Sihanouk.
He had been sentenced to 35 years for allegedly plotting a coup with the Khmer Rouge a year earlier while acting as co-prime minister with Hun Sen.
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