PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy yesterday delayed his return home from South Korea as tension comes to a head between his supporters and those of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The Southeast Asian nation is still three years away from a general election, but acrimony between the two as they jockey for position is threatening to plunge the country back into political conflict.
A Cambodian court on Friday issued an arrest warrant related to an old defamation case for which Sam Rainsy had already received a royal pardon. The opposition party denounced the warrant as politically motivated.
Parliament yesterday stripped Sam Rainsy of the immunity that comes with his position in parliament.
Sam Rainsy had been due to arrive in Phnom Penh from South Korea yesterday. He would be arrested on arrival, said government spokesman Phay Siphan.
“There won’t be any political compromise because he has lost all political status,” Phay Siphan said.
Sam Rainsy said via Facebook that he had delayed his journey after talking to colleagues in Cambodia and a “number of international pro-democracy organizations” which suggested he arrive in daylight,”…and that I should also leave some time for diplomatic intervention to materialize with the objective of reaching a peaceful solution to the recent escalation of violence in Cambodia,” he said.
He would fly to Cambodia “in the next few days,” he added.
The warrant for his arrest was issued a day after self-styled strongman Hun Sen, in power for more than 30 years, threatened a lawsuit against Sam Rainsy for comments he made abroad about the election.
Sam Rainsy called on the international community to ensure that Hun Sen sticks to the election timetable and not use the deteriorating political situation to delay the vote.
The US government yesterday said it was deeply concerned by Sam Rainsy’s removal from the National Assembly and called for his reinstatement and the restoration of his parliamentary immunity.