Cambodian opposition leader seeks US case against PM

Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy is seen on a screen during a video conference

via CAAI

PHNOM PENH — Cambodia's opposition leader said Friday he had filed a criminal lawsuit in the United States against Prime Minister Hun Sen, accusing him of being behind a deadly 1997 attack on a political rally.

The move by Sam Rainsy, who lives in self-imposed exile abroad, comes a day after a court in the Cambodian capital sentenced him to 10 years in jail in absentia for forging and publishing a false map of the border with Vietnam.

The 60-year-old already had a two-year jail term hanging over his head for uprooting border posts with the neighbouring country.

Appearing via video link from France, Sam Rainsy said the premier was "a criminal" for his alleged involvement in the grenade attack on an opposition rally in Phnom Penh 13 years ago which killed at least 16 people and wounded dozens more, including a US citizen.

He said his lawyer had submitted a complaint in New York requesting a criminal investigation into Hun Sen's alleged role in the attack and cover-up attempts afterwards.

The announcement is the latest twist in an ongoing tit-for-tat row between the country's top two politicians.

It also coincides with Hun Sen's trip to New York, where he is due to meet US President Barack Obama and other leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

A spokesman for Cambodia's Council of Ministers dismissed Sam Rainsy's lawsuit as "an overreaction" to his latest prison sentence.

"He (Sam Rainsy) wants revenge," Phy Siphan told AFP, adding that the premier was not worried about the lawsuit because "he is still innocent".

It is not the first time that Sam Rainsy has accused Hun Sen and his elite bodyguard unit of orchestrating the attack.

In 2005, the opposition leader, seen as the main rival to Hun Sen, was sentenced in absentia to 18 months in prison for defaming the prime minister with the claims.

But he was granted a royal pardon in early 2006 after he took an uncharacteristically conciliatory stance, recanting the accusations.

An FBI investigation into the attack was never completed and Sam Rainsy alleges this is partly because of "cover-up efforts by Hun Sen and his direct subordinates."