Three opposition party senators urged the government to restore backsliding democracy and rights to political activism, as their party members faced arrests in connection with the upcoming election.
The request was made when Senate president Hun Sen met with opposition party senators from Khmer Will Party last week, a move which might see the reinstatement of the culture of dialogue between the ruling CPP and opposition parties.
“More than three hours of conversation [took place] with honest and mutual respect. I believe the Senate will work smoothly,” Hun Sen wrote on his Facebook on April 18.
In the recent senate election, CPP won 55 out of 58 seats contested, with Khmer Will Party securing the remaining three seats. There are altogether 62 seats in the Senate where two senators are appointed by King Norodom Sihamoni and another two by the National Assembly.
Senator Kong Monika from Khmer Will Party said the quest made during the meeting was to open up the political space and restore democracy so that opposition party politicians can carry out their duties accordingly. It also included the possibility of dropping the charges of politicians as well as releasing political activists.
“We have not received a positive result yet,” Monika said. “However, we have seen continued arrests and detention of opposition political activists, which do not reflect a good political environment,” he said.
He hoped that the democracy process and human rights would improve when politicians from CPP and opposition parties engaged in dialogues and engendered mutual respect for each other.
On April 10, Candlelight Party issued a statement informing the arrest of two party officials in Kampong Cham province for allegedly forging documents in relation to the upcoming provincial, municipal, district and commune election process. According to party secretary-general Ly Sothearayuth, some 12 opposition members have been arrested so far in 2024.
Ruling CPP senator and spokesperson Sok Eysan said Cambodia does not restrict political space or people’s right to political activism.
“If there is no open political space, there will be no conversation [between] Senate president [Hun Sen] and three members of the opposition party,” he said.
Asked to comment on the release of detained opposition politicians, Eysan said that is “not how it works”. “Political affairs cannot mix with legal procedure.”
On Monday, Nation Power Party held a campaign urging the release of two officials who were arrested on plotting charges.
Meanwhile, political analyst Meas Nee lauded the move where politicians are starting to have dialogues to restore democracy and human rights in Cambodia.
“I think having dialogues between political parties is a good process even though there are no immediate results. I think it’ll boost the building of trust in each other for the democracy process [to thrive] in the future,” he said.
Nee opined that the ruling party is concerned about the stability in the running of the country following the election which showed that support for the opposition was still strong.
He pointed out that the culture of dialogue started in 2014, when Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) refused to recognise the 2013 election result but the two-way engagements collapsed in 2015 amid verbal attacks.
The democracy process and political rights shrank after CNRP was dissolved by the court in 2017 and its leader Kem Sokha, convicted of treason. He is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence.
In the meantime, exiled CNRP lawmaker Kong Saphea appealed for Prime Minister Hun Manet’s intervention to seek a royal pardon from the King for his case where he was found guilty in 2022 for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government.
“The government is executing this process. We’ll inform later when there is a result,” said Pen Bona, spokesperson of the government.
Saphea, who lives in Canada, could not be reached for comment via social media app Messenger.
In response to the opposition’s call to stop restricting political rights, Bona asserted that the Cambodian constitution guaranteed freedom and right to political activism.
“When we go beyond the law, there is a restriction. It’s a normal thing,” Bona said.
