Cambodia's pro-opposition prince stages hunger strike as political dispute remains unsolved

English.news.cn   2013-09-20 12:34:55

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Prince Sisowath Thomico, a senior member of the opposition party, on Friday went on a hunger strike at the capital's historical Wat Phnom site to call for a political solution over the contested July 28 election results that gave victory to Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling party.
"I will go on a hunger strike until there is a way to find justice for voters," Thomico, former personal secretary and nephew of the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk, told reporters at the site.
The prince ran as an opposition party's parliamentary candidate for Southwestern Preah Sihanouk province in the July 28 election, but won no seat.
The official election results showed that the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Hun Sen won 68 out of the 123 parliamentary seats, and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) of Sam Rainsy got 55 seats.
The CNRP rejected the results, claiming serious vote fraud and demanding the formation of an independent poll probe committee, but the CPP rejected the claim, saying the move was against the country's constitution and the election results were already ratified.
King Norodom Sihamoni last week invited all the 123 elected lawmakers to attend the opening session of the parliament on Sept. 23 to show national unity, but Sam Rainsy has said that the CNRP would not attend the session if there was no an appropriate solution to the alleged poll irregularities.
On Thursday, more than 100 pro-opposition monks marched to the Royal Palace and called on the King to delay the opening session of new parliament, saying that political dispute over the election results has not been resolved.
Prime Minister Hun Sen and Sam Rainsy held talks on Monday and Tuesday, aiming at finding a way to break through the political impasse, but failed to reach any agreement.
Hun Sen has said that his party has enough lawmakers to override any opposition parliamentary boycott and form a new government.

Editor: Hou Qiang

Cambodia's opposition chief: party's lawmakers to boycott parliament if poll row not resolved

English.news.cn   2013-09-20 13:04:02

Cambodia's long-time opposition leader Sam Rainsy (R) speaks during a press conference in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sept. 20, 2013. Sam Rainsy reiterated on Friday that his party's elected lawmakers would boycott the opening session of new parliament scheduled for next Monday if no appropriate solution was found to the disputed July 28 election results. (Xinhua/Sovannara)

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's long-time opposition leader Sam Rainsy reiterated on Friday that his party's elected lawmakers would boycott the opening session of new parliament scheduled for next Monday if no appropriate solution was found to the disputed July 28 election results.
"Our party's last stance is that we will not attend the opening session of new parliament on Sept. 23 if there are no more talks with the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) in order to resolve the contested election results," Sam Rainsy, president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), said at a press conference at the party's headquarters in Phnom Penh. "The opening session of parliament should be postponed," he said.
He also called for the resumption of talks with the CPP in order to find the truth for voters, or there could be another mass protest against the opening of the new parliament.
The official election results showed that the ruling CPP of long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen won 68 out of the 123 parliamentary seats, and the CNRP of long-time opposition leader Sam Rainsy got 55 seats.
The CNRP rejected the results, claiming serious vote fraud and demanding the formation of an independent poll probe committee, but the CPP ruled it out, saying it was against the country's constitution and the election results were already ratified.
King Norodom Sihamoni last week invited all the 123 elected lawmakers for the opening session of the new parliament on Sept. 23. On Wednesday, he urged the opposition party's 55 elected lawmakers to attend the session in order to show "unification and national unity."
The ruling CPP announced on Thursday that the party's elected lawmakers were ready to attend the opening session of the new parliament despite opposition warning of a boycott.
"The CPP would like to announce that all the 68 elected lawmakers comply with His Majesty's invitations and are ready to take part in the opening session of the fifth legislature of the National Assembly under the auspices of His Majesty on Sept. 23," the CPP said in a statement.
On Friday morning, Prince Sisowath Thomico, an opposition party 's senior member, went on a hunger strike at the capital's historical Wat Phnom site in order to call for a political solution over the contested election results.
"I will go on a hunger strike until there is a way to find justice for voters," Thomico, former personal secretary and nephew of the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk, told reporters at the site.
The prince ran as an opposition party's parliamentary candidate for Southwestern Preah Sihanouk province in the July 28 election, but won no seat.
On Thursday, more than 100 pro-opposition monks marched to the Royal Palace and called on the King to delay the opening session of new parliament, saying that political dispute over the election results has not been resolved.
On Sunday, the opposition staged a three-day mass demonstration in the capital and led to two clashes between police and protesters, leaving one protester dead and several injured.
During the clashes, the police had fired tear gas, smoke bombs and water cannons to disperse protesters.
The leaders of the two parties--Prime Minister Hun Sen and Sam Rainsy--had held talks on Monday and Tuesday, aiming at finding a way to break through the political impasse, but reached no any remarkable agreement.
Hun Sen has said that his party has enough lawmakers to override any opposition parliamentary boycott and form a new government.

Cambodian PM, opposition leader continue talks over political impasse as protest enters 3rd day

English.news.cn   2013-09-17 10:45:56

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and opposition leader Sam Rainsy on Tuesday continued their talks aimed at finding a way to break through political stalemate.
Meanwhile, a few thousands of opposition protesters still rally at the capital's Freedom Park for the third day against the July 28 parliamentary election results that gave victory to Hun Sen's ruling party.
On Monday, the two political rivals spent nearly five hours to negotiate on the current political impasse and agreed on three points: no more clashes between police and protesters, creating a mechanism to reform the National Election Committee and more meetings with officials at various levels to resolve national issues.
However, the two leaders did not agree over opposition's request for an independent committee to look into the contested election results, Yim Sovann, spokesman for the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), told reporters on Monday.
The election results, released on Sept. 8, showed that the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of Hun Sen won victory with 68 parliamentary seats and the CNRP of Sam Rainsy received the remaining 55 seats.
But the CNRP rejected the outcomes, claiming that its party should win 63 seats, with the CPP getting 60 seats if alleged irregularities during the poll were fairly investigated.
On Sunday, it launched a three-day mass protest at the capital' s Freedom Park and Sam Rainsy led thousands of protesters to march through the city.
Two clashes between police and protesters broke out on Sunday during the protest. In the clashes, the police had fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse the protesters.
A protester was shot dead and several wounded in one accident, and a police officer was injured on his head by a stone thrown by protesters in another.
King Norodom Sihamoni on Saturday invited all the 123 elected lawmakers for the opening session of the new parliament on Sept. 23.
Yim Sovann said the CNRP has not decided yet if the party's lawmakers would attend the opening session of the new parliament without an independent poll probe committee.
Prime Minister Hun Sen has said that his party has enough lawmakers to override any opposition parliamentary boycott and form a new government.
Hun Sen, 61, will extend his power for further five years through the election victory.

Editor: Mengjie

Cambodian PM, opposition leader move closer to deal over political impasse: spokesmen

English.news.cn   2013-09-17 14:32:01

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and opposition leader Sam Rainsy have moved closer to an agreement to break through political stalemate over the contested July 28 election results, spokesmen said.
"We have moved closer to each other on the current political issues and reforms to key national institutions," Yim Sovann, spokesman for the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), said in a joint press briefing after a three-hour meeting between the two leaders. "We are narrowing the gap of differences towards a common ground. However, we need more talks. Hopefully, both sides will be able to find a common ground before the opening session of the parliament on Sept. 23," he said.
Prak Sokhonn, minister attached to Prime Minister Hun Sen, said both sides had agreed on most of the issues, but they still need more time to discuss internally in their respective parties.
"Today, there is no joint statement because we have not totally agreed with all issues," he said in the press briefing. "Both sides will meet again when they find any formula to reduce the gap of differences relevant to the issues."
He said the leaders of the two parties have showed more mutual understanding and are committed to seeking a solution for the whole nation.
On Monday, the two political rivals had spent nearly five hours to negotiate on the current political impasse and agreed on three points: no more clashes between police and protestors, creating a mechanism to reform the National Election Committee and more meetings with officials at various levels to resolve national issues.
However, the two leaders did not agree over the opposition's request for an independent committee to look into the contested election results that handed 68 parliamentary seats to the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of Hun Sen and 55 seats to the CNRP of Sam Rainsy.
The CNRP did not recognize the outcomes, claiming that its party should win 63 seats, with the CPP getting 60 seats if alleged irregularities during the poll were fairly investigated.
It launched a three-day mass protest on Sunday at the capital' s Freedom Park and Sam Rainsy led thousands of protesters to march through the city.
Two clashes between police and protesters broke out on Sunday during the protest. In the clashes, the police had fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse the protesters.
A protester was shot dead and several wounded in one accident, and a police officer was injured on his head by a stone thrown by protesters in another.
Yim Sovann said the party would end its three-day mass protest this Tuesday afternoon.
King Norodom Sihamoni on Saturday invited all the 123 elected lawmakers for the opening session of the new parliament on Sept. 23.
Yim Sovann said the CNRP has not decided yet if the party's lawmakers would attend the opening session of the new parliament without an independent poll probe committee.
Prime Minister Hun Sen has said that his party has enough lawmakers to override any opposition parliamentary boycott and form a new government.
Hun Sen, 61, will extend his power for further five years through the election victory.

Editor: An

Cambodia opposition ends protest as talks on political impasse make headway

English.news.cn   2013-09-17 19:25:51

by Nguon Sovan
PHNOM PENH, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's opposition party on Tuesday afternoon ended a 3-day mass demonstration after talks between its party's leader Sam Rainsy and Prime Minister Hun Sen over political stalemate have made progress.
"Our three-day protest has come to an end successfully. I'd like to thank all of you for your time and money to join us. Please return home safely," Sam Rainsy, president of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), said at the closing of the rally, which was attended by more than 10,000 supporters at the Freedom Park in the capital.
The opposition party launched the mass protest on Sunday at the Park against the contested July 28 election results that gave victory to the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The official results showed that the CPP won 68 parliamentary seats and the CNRP 55 seats.
Protesters marched through the city and two clashes between police and protesters broke out on Sunday. A protester was shot dead and several wounded in one accident, and a police officer was injured on his head by a stone thrown by protesters in another.
On the following day, Prime Minister Hun Sen and Sam Rainsy held a five-hour talk, aiming at finding a way to break through the political stalemate, and the two leaders agreed on three points: no more clashes between police and protesters, creating a mechanism to reform the National Election Committee and more meetings with officials at various levels to resolve national issues.
However, Hun Sen did not agree with a Sam Rainsy's request for an independent committee to look into the contested election results as he said the proposed committee was against the country' s constitution and more importantly, the results of election were already ratified.
The two leaders continued another three-hour meeting on Tuesday at the National Assembly.
Spokesmen said after the meeting that both sides have moved closer to an agreement to break through the post-election political deadlock.
"We have moved closer to each other on the current political issues and reforms to key national institutions," CNRP's spokesman Yim Sovanna said in a joint press briefing after a meeting.
"We are narrowing the gap of differences towards a common ground; however, we need more talks. Hopefully, both sides will be able to find a common ground before the opening session of the parliament on Sept. 23," he said.
Prak Sokhonn, minister attached to Prime Minister Hun Sen, said the two sides had agreed on several issues, but they still needed more time to discuss internally in their respective parties.
"Today, there is no a joint statement because we have not totally agreed with all the issues," he said. "Both sides will meet again when they find any formula to reduce the gap of differences relevant to the issues."
They both declined to unveil specific issues they had agreed on.
King Norodom Sihamoni on Saturday invited all the 123 elected lawmakers for the opening session of the new parliament on Sept. 23.
Sam Rainsy reiterated at the closing of the rally on Tuesday that the CNRP's lawmakers would not attend the session and would call another mass protest before the session if there was no appropriate solution to the contested election results.
Prime Minister Hun Sen has said that his party has enough lawmakers to override any opposition parliamentary boycott and form a new government.
Hun Sen, 61, who has ruled the country for 28 years, will extend his power for further five years through the election victory.

Editor: Yang Yi

Cambodian PM, opposition leader hold talks to end political stalemate

English.news.cn   2013-09-16 10:43:54

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen and long-time opposition leader Sam Rainsy began talks Monday in a last-ditch effort to break through political impasse.
It was the second time that the two political rivals have held talks within the last three days. On Saturday, the two leaders met at the Royal Palace under the auspices of King Norodom Sihamoni, but made no agreement over the political stalemate.
The country held a general election on July 28. The final results showed that the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of Hun Sen got victory with 68 parliamentary seats and the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) of Sam Rainsy received the remaining 55 seats.
The CNRP did not recognize the outcomes, claiming that its party should win 63 seats, with the CPP getting 60 seats if alleged irregularities during the poll are fairly investigated.
CPP's senior lawmaker Cheam Yeap said Saturday that the meeting between the two leaders would focus on the current political impasse and the allocation of the parliamentary leadership positions.
He said that there would be no talks about the formation of the independent poll investigation committee since the final election results had already been released.
CNRP's spokesman Yim Sovann said Sunday during a mass demonstration that during Monday's talks, his party would demand reforms to the National Election Committee, a new national voter registry and its own television station.
Two clashes between police and protestors broke out Sunday during a mass protest led by Sam Rainsy at the Freedom Park in the city. In the clashes, the police had fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse the protestors.
One protestor died in one accident and one police officer got injured on his head in another.
Sam Rainsy told about 20,000 supporters at the Freedom Park that the party would boycott the opening session of the parliament slated for Sept. 23 if there is no fair solution to the alleged irregularities during the July 28 election.
Hun Sen has said that his party has enough lawmakers to override any opposition parliamentary boycott and form a new government.
Hun Sen, 61, who has been in power for 28 years, will rule the country for another five years through the election victory.

Editor: Zhu Ningzhu

Cambodian King urges opposition protestors, police to end violence

English.news.cn   2013-09-16 13:11:29

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni on Monday called on opposition protestors and police to stop using violence against each other after a clash on Sunday night left one protester dead and several others injured.
"I would like to beg all compatriots who are the protestors and the authorities to stop using violence in all images such as stone throwing or weapon using that cause injuries or deaths to people and create serious danger to the whole nation," the King said in a royal message.
He urged people to return to the tradition of non-violence and exercise their utmost restraints to avoid national instability.
The King's royal message came after a clash between police and opposition party protestors at Sunday night on a flyover in the southern part of the city, leaving one man shot dead and several others wounded.
"I am very sad and would like to extend my condolences to the families of the dead and the injured over the accident," King Sihamoni said.
Two clashes between police and protestors broke out on Sunday during a mass protest led by Sam Rainsy, president of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), against the July 28 election. In the clashes, the police had also fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse the protestors.
The final election results showed that the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Hun Sen got victory with 68 parliamentary seats and the CNRP received the remaining 55 seats.
The CNRP did not recognize the outcomes, claiming that its party should win 63 seats, with the CPP getting 60 seats if alleged irregularities during the poll were fairly investigated.
Prime Minister Hun Sen and Sam Rainsy have been talking on Monday in a last-ditch effort to break through election impasse.
It was the second time that the two political rivals have held talks within the last three days. On Saturday, the two leaders met at the Royal Palace under the auspices of King Norodom Sihamoni, but made no agreement over the political impasse.
CPP's senior lawmaker Cheam Yeap said Saturday that the meeting between the two leaders would focus on the current political impasse and the allocation of the parliamentary leadership positions.
CNRP's spokesman Yim Sovann said Sunday during a mass demonstration that during Monday's talks, his party would demand reforms to the National Election Committee, a new national voter registry, and its own television station.

Editor: Yamei Wang