| English.news.cn 2013-07-19 11:56:34 |
   
 
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by Nguon Sovan
PHNOM PENH, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's charismatic opposition leader Sam Rainsy returned to his homeland on Friday after spending nearly four years abroad in self-imposed exile to avoid an 11-year prison sentence on charges of disinformation and destruction of public property.
Cheering crowds of supporters rallied and brandished national and party flags to welcome Sam Rainsy, President of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), outside the Phnom Penh International Airport.
They then accompanied him to the Freedom Park where he greeted face-to-face with his supporters for the first time after a four- year absence.
CNRP's spokesman Yim Sovann said at least 40,000 supporters joined the greeting of Sam Rainsy's return.
Upon his arrival, Sam Rainsy knelt down to kiss the ground at the airport complex before riding a pick-up vehicle.
"I am very excited, I am very happy to return to homeland to see all of you," said Sam Rainsy, speaking briefly to huge crowds of supporters in front of the airport.
"We travel together, I come back to rescue the nation with all of you," he said.
His return was made possible after King Norodom Sihamoni granted him a royal pardon at the request of Prime Minister Hun Sen last Friday.
Hun Sen said his request to the king was based on the spirits of national unification and reconciliation, and to enable the fifth National Assembly elections on July 28 to be held in accordance with democratic, multi-party principles whereby all relevant parties can participate.
In a letter to thank the king for granting him a pardon last Friday, Sam Rainsy vowed to comply with the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk's ideas on the policy of national unification, reconciliation and unity.
Sam Rainsy, 62, fled Cambodia in late 2009 before the court sentenced him to 11 years in prison in absentia for two charges -- removing border poles and publishing a false map of the border with Vietnam, and accusing deputy prime minister and foreign minister Hor Namhong of being a member of the Democratic Kampuchea.
His return came just nine days ahead of the fifth National Assembly elections.
Tep Nytha, secretary general of the National Election Committee (NEC), said Sam Rainsy was ineligible to vote or run as a parliamentary candidate for the upcoming polls because the NEC deleted his name from the voter registry since November on the grounds that he was a convicted criminal at that time.
"With the royal pardon, Sam Rainsy is free to campaign for his party in the polls, but he can neither vote nor stand as a candidate," he told reporters at a meeting at the NEC headquarters in Phnom Penh on Thursday.
However, observers say that Sam Rainsy should be allowed to run in the elections in order to ensure a free, fair and democratic election.
"I hope that the government will take the necessary action in order to allow Sam Rainsy to play a full role in Cambodian politics," Surya P. Subedi, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, said Monday.
Sok Touch, deputy director general of the Royal Academy of Cambodia's International Relations Institute, said in a political aspect, Sam Rainsy should be eligible to stand as a candidate for the polls, or the opposition party and international community will probably not recognize the results of the election if the opposition loses.
"In my point of view, if Sam Rainsy is ineligible to run in the election, this can be an excuse for the opposition to denounce the results of the upcoming polls when it loses," he told Xinhua.
Chheang Vannarith, lecturer of Asia Pacific Studies at the Leeds University in Britain, said the presence of Sam Rainsy would be a motivation for the opposition.
"The return of Sam Rainsy will definitely reinforce the movement of the opposition party. He could mobilize his supporters with faster speed," he told Xinhua, noticing that the opposition saw an "increase in popularity among youth."
However, he foresaw that the opposition party could not defeat the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of long-time Prime Minister Hun Sen in the forthcoming polls.
Eight parties will contest in the upcoming elections with about 9.67 million eligible voters.
Two main parties are the ruling party of Hun Sen and the opposition party of Sam Rainsy.
In the last elections in July 2008, Hun Sen's party won 90 seats out of the 123 seats in the National Assembly, while the opposition group gained a total of 29 seats.
PHNOM PENH, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's charismatic opposition leader Sam Rainsy returned to his homeland on Friday after spending nearly four years abroad in self-imposed exile to avoid an 11-year prison sentence on charges of disinformation and destruction of public property.
Cheering crowds of supporters rallied and brandished national and party flags to welcome Sam Rainsy, President of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), outside the Phnom Penh International Airport.
They then accompanied him to the Freedom Park where he greeted face-to-face with his supporters for the first time after a four- year absence.
CNRP's spokesman Yim Sovann said at least 40,000 supporters joined the greeting of Sam Rainsy's return.
Upon his arrival, Sam Rainsy knelt down to kiss the ground at the airport complex before riding a pick-up vehicle.
"I am very excited, I am very happy to return to homeland to see all of you," said Sam Rainsy, speaking briefly to huge crowds of supporters in front of the airport.
"We travel together, I come back to rescue the nation with all of you," he said.
His return was made possible after King Norodom Sihamoni granted him a royal pardon at the request of Prime Minister Hun Sen last Friday.
Hun Sen said his request to the king was based on the spirits of national unification and reconciliation, and to enable the fifth National Assembly elections on July 28 to be held in accordance with democratic, multi-party principles whereby all relevant parties can participate.
In a letter to thank the king for granting him a pardon last Friday, Sam Rainsy vowed to comply with the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk's ideas on the policy of national unification, reconciliation and unity.
Sam Rainsy, 62, fled Cambodia in late 2009 before the court sentenced him to 11 years in prison in absentia for two charges -- removing border poles and publishing a false map of the border with Vietnam, and accusing deputy prime minister and foreign minister Hor Namhong of being a member of the Democratic Kampuchea.
His return came just nine days ahead of the fifth National Assembly elections.
Tep Nytha, secretary general of the National Election Committee (NEC), said Sam Rainsy was ineligible to vote or run as a parliamentary candidate for the upcoming polls because the NEC deleted his name from the voter registry since November on the grounds that he was a convicted criminal at that time.
"With the royal pardon, Sam Rainsy is free to campaign for his party in the polls, but he can neither vote nor stand as a candidate," he told reporters at a meeting at the NEC headquarters in Phnom Penh on Thursday.
However, observers say that Sam Rainsy should be allowed to run in the elections in order to ensure a free, fair and democratic election.
"I hope that the government will take the necessary action in order to allow Sam Rainsy to play a full role in Cambodian politics," Surya P. Subedi, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, said Monday.
Sok Touch, deputy director general of the Royal Academy of Cambodia's International Relations Institute, said in a political aspect, Sam Rainsy should be eligible to stand as a candidate for the polls, or the opposition party and international community will probably not recognize the results of the election if the opposition loses.
"In my point of view, if Sam Rainsy is ineligible to run in the election, this can be an excuse for the opposition to denounce the results of the upcoming polls when it loses," he told Xinhua.
Chheang Vannarith, lecturer of Asia Pacific Studies at the Leeds University in Britain, said the presence of Sam Rainsy would be a motivation for the opposition.
"The return of Sam Rainsy will definitely reinforce the movement of the opposition party. He could mobilize his supporters with faster speed," he told Xinhua, noticing that the opposition saw an "increase in popularity among youth."
However, he foresaw that the opposition party could not defeat the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of long-time Prime Minister Hun Sen in the forthcoming polls.
Eight parties will contest in the upcoming elections with about 9.67 million eligible voters.
Two main parties are the ruling party of Hun Sen and the opposition party of Sam Rainsy.
In the last elections in July 2008, Hun Sen's party won 90 seats out of the 123 seats in the National Assembly, while the opposition group gained a total of 29 seats.
Editor:
Liu
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