AFP/Phnom Penh
Cambodian strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday threatened opposition leader Sam Rainsy with legal action over a letter to the nation’s king that appeared to rebuke the monarch for endorsing parliament.
Experts say the threat could be an attempt to press Rainsy into ending the opposition’s boycott of parliament called after last year’s election.
The poll returned Hun Sen to power but is hotly disputed due to allegations of massive vote-rigging. Hun Sen said Rainsy insulted King Norodom Sihamoni in the letter last week —appearing to take issue with the monarch for congratulating parliament on convening despite months of protests against the poll result.
But since such an insult does not breach Cambodian law, Hun Sen said he may lodge a complaint against Rainsy for using the letter to dispute the decision of the Constitutional Council to ratify parliament.
Under Cambodian law anyone who disrespects the council, the nation’s top legal body, can face punishment — including jail — although nobody is believed to have been imprisoned for the offence so far.