An exiled opposition leader has arrived in Kuala Lumpur on his way home to lead the campaign against Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Cambodia’s exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy has arrived in the Malaysian capital, pledging to return to lead an uprising against longtime prime minister Hun Sen.
“Stay hopeful, we are on the right path,” Sam Rainsy said in a message to supporters after arriving at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Saturday.
“Democracy will prevail. Democracy prevailed in Malaysia. Democracy will prevail in Cambodia.”
Banned 70-year-old founder The Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), along with other opposition figures, had previously said they wanted to return to their homeland on Nov 9, Cambodia’s Independence Day. It sparked a popular movement that forced Prime Minister Hun Sen, who had ruled for more than 30 years, to step down.
But the Cambodian government has characterized the attempt as an attempted coup against Prime Minister Hun Sen and has called for help from neighboring countries to prevent the opposition leader’s return.
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Cambodian Mr Rainsy denied boarding Paris-Bangkok flight (2:47) |
Sam Rainsy said he was not allowed to board the Thai Airways flight on Thursday. I moved from Paris, the capital of France, where I have been living since 2015, to Bangkok.
The day before, CNRP deputy leader Mu Sochua was briefly detained upon arriving in Kuala Lumpur. Shortly after his arrest, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad told reporters his government would not allow Cambodia’s opposition parties to “use Malaysia as a base for their struggles in other countries.”
He cited the policy of non-interference in neighboring countries’ affairs. Both Malaysia and Cambodia are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Meanwhile, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said he would not allow Sam Rainsy to enter the country. CNRP leaders had said they would return to Cambodia via the land border with Thailand.
Asked at Kuala Lumpur airport whether he planned to return to Cambodia, Foreign Minister Sam Rainsy declined to comment but described his visit to Malaysia as a personal one.
“I will neither deny nor confirm,” he said.
He also said he has been invited to meet Malaysian lawmakers at the country’s parliament on Tuesday.
“Destroy him.”
In Phnom Penh, Cambodian government spokesman Phai Siphan told Reuters that Sam Rainsy would face outstanding charges in court if he returned home.
“If he causes instability and chaos, we will destroy him,” he said.
Cambodian authorities stepped up security ahead of Independence Day, deploying large numbers of troops in the capital and on the border with Thailand on Saturday.
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, praised Malaysia for allowing Sam Rainsy to enter the country.
“Malaysia deserves global praise for allowing Sam Rainsy to enter the country and meet with his colleagues,” he said. “Respecting basic human rights is not difficult. In contrast to Thailand’s repressive crackdown on Cambodian asylum seekers, Malaysia has shown there is another way that is more respectful of human rights.”
Vanna Hay, CNRP Deputy Secretary GeneralHe told Al Jazeera in Bangkok that he had been followed around the city and feared for his safety. Al Jazeera was unable to verify the report.
CNRP secretary-general Saoly Phong also said dozens of his party’s activists had been harassed in the Thai capital.
“Police have arrested 31 people in three cases. [to the border]”They searched them, they questioned them and told them not to go to the border,” he said, pledging to continue his party’s efforts against Hun Sen.
“They confiscated 55 national and 5,007 local government seats elected by the people and dissolved our party,” he said, referring to the Cambodian government’s decision to ban the CNRP after it performed well in the 2017 local elections.
“We have no choice but to stand together with the people and demand true democracy.”
Meanwhile, several lawmakers from the United States and the European Union have urged Prime Minister Hun Sen to allow CNRP members to return home.
“We are deeply concerned by statements made by the Royal Government of Cambodia threatening and condoning acts of violence against these individuals if they were to return home,” the eight US lawmakers wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday. “We condemn all forms of political violence in Cambodia,” the lawmakers said, calling for the opposition to be allowed to operate freely in the Asia-Pacific nation.