| (February 6, 2006) The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported today that exiled Cambodian opposition leader, Sam Rainsy, has been given a royal pardon by H.M. King Norodom Sihamoni.Sam Rainsy, MP, former chairman of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD), is an outspoken critic of the Hun Sen government. Last December, a Phnom Phen court sentenced Mr. Sam Rainsy in absentia to 18 months in jail on charges of defamation filed by the Prime Minister and President of the National Assembly. In its first resolution for 2006, CALD expressed its concern regarding Mr. Sam’s conviction and the deteriorating political situation in Cambodia. (Please click here for the full text of the resolution).
According to BBC, opposition MP Cheam Channy, who has spent a year in prison, was also pardoned and was expected to be freed and that Prime Minister Sen’s adviser Om Yentieng told AFP news agency that both men will likely have their parliamentary immunity reinstated. The BBC’s Guy De Launey in Phnom Penh says a forthcoming meeting with Cambodia’s major donor countries may have influenced events. The international community had been highly critical of the arrests of opposition figures. Last November, CALD and the Liberal Party hosted the meeting of Sam Rainsy Party in Manila. Mr. Sam has been in exile in Paris since the lifting of his parliamentary immunity last year. Philippine Senate President, Liberal Party President and CALD Chairman Franklin Drilon personally gave his support to Sam Rainsy and his commitment to follow-up the issue of the lifting of his parliamentary immunity at the Inter Parliamentary Union or IPU. (Please click here for more information regarding the Sam Rainsy Party meeting in Manila). |
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