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Cambodian opposition leader cancels return to country after arrest warrant

Xinhua, November 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy has cancelled his return to Cambodia, which was scheduled late Monday night, after a court issued an arrest warrant for him over an old defamation case.

In a statement posted on his official Facebook page on Monday afternoon, Rainsy, president of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), wrote that his colleagues and a number of international pro-democracy organizations suggested that he should arrive in Phnom Penh in "broad daylight" and should also leave some time for diplomatic intervention to materialize with the objective of reaching a peaceful solution to the recent escalation of violence in Cambodia.

"I am not arriving at Phnom Penh International Airport tonight at 22:20 as originally scheduled, but will be back in Cambodia in the next few days," he wrote.

Rainsy, who is in South Korea to visit Cambodian laborers, has decided to call off his return to Cambodia after the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday issued an arrest warrant for him over a conviction for defamation in 2011.

He was charged with defamation after he alleged Foreign Minister Hor Namhong of serving for the former Democratic Kampuchea in a speech at the Choeung Ek Museum in Phnom Penh on April 17, 2008, according to the warrant signed by deputy Phnom Penh Municipal Court prosecutor Sy Vanny.

He was convicted in absent on the charge, sentenced to two years in prison by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court in April 2011, and the conviction was upheld by the Appeal Court in 2013. Since then, he has not served his prison term yet, the warrant said.

On Sunday, Interior Minister Sar Kheng signed a decision to form a special committee to enforce the arrest warrant for Rainsy.

National Assembly President Heng Samrin announced earlier Monday in a statement that Rainsy has completely lost his "right, privilege and membership as a lawmaker" in the fifth mandate after the court issued an warrant arrest for him.

Rainsy, who also holds French citizenship, returned to Cambodia ahead of the July 2013 national election after receiving a royal pardon from King Norodom Sihamoni. He had fled the country in 2009 to avoid an 11-year prison sentence over the charge of removing border poles and publishing a false map of the border with Vietnam. The pardon at that time was not included the defamation conviction.

In the 2013 election, his CNRP received 55 seats against 68 seats for the Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP) in the 123-seat parliament.

Political tensions have increased in recent months after the CNRP organized protests against Hun Sen during his visits to the United Nations in New York and France.

In response, thousands of pro-government protesters staged a rally outside the parliament in Phnom Penh on Oct. 26 to urge CNRP Vice President Kem Sokha to step down as the parliament's 1st Vice President. Just an hour after the protesters had dispersed, two CNRP lawmakers were dragged from their cars while leaving the parliament and badly beaten by a group of people.

Five days later, Hun Sen's ruling party lawmakers voted to remove Kem Sokha from the post of the first vice president of the National Assembly. Enditem