Cambodian opposition leader loses immunity again

Nov 16, 2009, 3:24 GMT

   Phnom Penh - The leader of Cambodia's main opposition party lost his legal immunity for the second time this year following a vote Monday in parliament that was boycotted by the opposition.

   Sam Rainsy, who leads the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), is accused of involvement in uprooting boundary markers along the country's eastern border with Vietnam. A provincial court had requested that his immunity be stripped so it could investigate the alleged offence.

   The vote was boycotted by the SRP and its ally, the Human Rights Party, which together hold 29 seats in the 123-seat assembly. The vote required two-thirds of the legislators vote in favour, an easy task for the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP), which holds more than two-thirds of the seats.

   Opposition legislator Son Chhay, who stayed away from the vote, told the German Press Agency dpa that 87 lawmakers had attended the vote, and that all had voted in favour.

'When it comes to the opposition, the government will (remove immunity) straight away,' he said. 'I wrote a letter to the speaker when I heard what they intended to do and said we should have a high-level multiparty committee set up to investigate the case, but they refused.'

   However CPP legislator Hou Sry said the vote to suspend Sam Rainsy's immunity was simply following the law.

   'It was a request from the court, so we have to do it,' he said. 'We can't judge whether his actions were right or wrong, that's for the court.'

   Sam Rainsy stands accused of overseeing the removal of wooden posts that mark the border with Vietnam in Svay Rieng province in eastern Cambodia. The opposition leader said he was standing up for villagers in the area who claim Vietnamese authorities are moving the border posts onto their land.

   Sam Rainsy is currently in Europe. Son Chhay said the party leader was determined to return to Cambodia, adding that the case is 'very sensitive.'

   'This case is related to Cambodian sovereignty and the border issue,' he said. 'I don't think it will benefit the CPP if they continue to punish Rainsy for fighting for Cambodian sovereignty.'

   The vote marks the fourth time this year that MPs from his party have been stripped of their immunity. Critics charge that the ruling party is using the courts to move against opponents in politics, the media and civil society. The government has won a string of legal cases this year.