blogspot.com 30-May-2011
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| Kem Sokha (Photo: Den Ayuthyea, RFA) |
29 May 2011
By Kim Peou
Translated by Soy
Radio Free Asia
Click here to read the original article in Khmer
The election season is not here yet, but politicians are attacking one another little by little already in order to seek popularity.
On Sunday 29 May, a tape recorded showing the conversation between Kem Sokha, president of the HRP, and Hun Xen was distributed to several news media. The tape provided the conservation between Kem Sokha and Hun Sen that took place in 2007. Kem Sokha said that the tape is real but that he is not a puppet of the CPP.
He claimed that the ruling party is scared about losing its support to the HRP, that’s why it was releasing these issues. He said that these problems do not bring any concerns to him: “After destroying Funcinpec, they destroyed the Sam Rainsy Party, now they want to destroy the HRP also, so this is their timing only. Yesterday, they called me over the phone to tell me that they will do something, that is why they threatened me.”
Kem Sokha issued the comments above after a secret tape was posted by the Deum Ampil News revealing the entire length of the conservation between him and Hun Xen. The tape also showed the HRP’s nakedness, and it also shows that the HRP is a party formed by Hun Xen to destroy the SRP.
The conversation shows that Hun Xen praised the victory of the HRP through his financial support, as well Hun Xen’s support by providing a venue for the HRP’s congress at the Olympic stadium. Hun Xen also provided additional ideas to Kem Sokha so that the latter will use people from the SRP to work with him, etc…
Kem Sokha claimed that he did reply as shown on the tape because he wanted to form the HRP so that he can hold a large party congress that can accommodate between 20 to 30,000 people, but he did not promise to serve the CPP at all.
CPP MP Cheam Yeap denied that the CPP was not involved with the HRP. He claimed that the tape is not real: “I tell you, right now, the production can be imitated by computer due to modern technology.”
Regarding this issue, Yim Sovann, SRP Spokesman, said that this tape is not unusual. The SRP knows that the HRP is a party that was set up by the CPP in order to divide the voice of the opposition and this has been going on for a long time already: “This information is very regrettable, because it shows that Cambodian politicians are not truthful. The majority of them are puppets of the ruling party. I believe that the people will understand this issue clearly.”
The HRP was formed in 2007 after Kem Sokha, the former president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), resigned from his position. The HRP received 3 seats during the 2008 election. Up to now, the HRP and the SRP have tried to reach an alliance, but the plan has failed.
