Cambodia’s opposition leader yesterday called for an end to a year-long political crisis, after a slew of arrests of rivals of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen triggered international alarm.
Thousands of people turned out to greet Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) leader Sam Rainsy, who cut short an overseas trip in response to an escalating crackdown on the opposition.
Rainsy demanded the release of eight CNRP politicians facing insurrection charges “immediately and without any conditions.”
Photo: EPA
“We must find a political resolution because our country has been in deadlock for a year,” Rainsy told a gathering of supporters.
The opposition has boycotted parliament since an election in July last year that triggered allegations of vote-rigging.
Analysts say the arrests could be an attempt by Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) to push the opposition to return to mainstream politics.
Rainsy said he aimed to break the stalemate by the July 28 anniversary of the polls.
“I have a plan and the willingness to resolve the political dispute,” he said.
He called for the creation of a new election body that would include CNRP members to ensure there is no fraud or vote stealing in the future.
He demanded a new election be held — “the sooner the better” — after the reform of the Cambodian National Election Committee, which has been accused of bias in favor of the ruling party.
Hun Sen, 61, who has been in power for nearly three decades, is regularly criticized by campaigners for ignoring human rights and crushing dissent.
Rights groups have denounced the “trumped-up” insurrection charges against the opposition politicians, who include seven member of parliament-elects and face up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
An estimated crowd of more than 10,000 supporters greeted Rainsy, who had traveled to France in the middle of last month for “diplomatic affairs,” his party said.
They marched through Phnom Penh to the opposition headquarters amid light police presence.
The arrests are linked to a violent demonstration on Tuesday against the closure of Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park — the capital’s main designated protest site.
At least 40 people, mostly security guards employed by the local authorities, were injured.
Cambodian deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha has been summoned by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for questioning next week in relation to the unrest.
The UN’s human rights office said on Friday that it was “alarmed” by the arrests and urged Cambodia to investigate the clashes.
“Any politically motivated charges must be dropped immediately,” UN office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said.
The US also condemned the violence and called for the release of the opposition officials.
“We once again urge the Cambodian government to lift the ban on demonstrations and allow for the peaceful exercise of freedom of assembly,” US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of