Tuesday, 6 January 2009

Prince Ranariddh drops lawsuit against Khmer newspaper editor

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Neth Pheaktra
Tuesday, 06 January 2009

Rehabilitated Prince Ranariddh has said he will not sue Moneaksekar Khmer for defamation after its editor wrote a letter of apology

PRINCE Norodom Ranariddh has decided not to file a lawsuit against Khmer-language newspaper Moneaksekar Khmer after its editor wrote a letter to apologise and retract previous allegations that the prince had lobbied for special privileges for him and his supporters.

"I thank you for the truth you have presented in your letter; it was very meaningful in providing me justice," Ranariddh wrote to the newspaper's publisher and Editor-in-Chief Dam Sith in a letter dated December 31 and acquired by the Post on Monday.

The article, published in December, alleged that the prince had requested Prime Minister Hun Sen provide him with a mansion in front of the Royal Palace and asked for the appointments of 200 of his supporters to the King's Cabinet.

The prince was swift to lash back, threatening to take the newspaper to court for defamation, claiming the broadsheet had published unfounded information about him.

And Ranariddh's spokesman, Chea Chanboribo, demanded the newspaper present written evidence signed by the prince proving that this accusation was true, or expect to be sued.

Dam Sith had previously stood by the article, saying he had satisfied legal requirements by publishing a letter of protest by Ranariddh's camp and revealing his source for the allegations.

But, according Chea Chanboribo, Dam Sith has now admitted to wrongdoing and the incident is over.

The prince is "finished with the affairs with Moneakseka Khmer, and there will not be a lawsuit", he said.

"He has forgiven the newspaper after its publisher, Dam Sith, sent a letter to Norodom Ranariddh seeking a pardon and recognizing that the information published in the newspaper did not have a real source."

Dam Sith declined to comment Monday, saying only that he had not received a copy of the letter.

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