Wednesday, 10 November 2010

Hun Sen Responds to EU Parliamentary Censure

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington, DC Tuesday, 09 November 2010

via CAAI

Photo: AP

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

“Such an opinion cannot be valuable for all Cambodians unless the EU parliament has received every angle of information about Cambodia and has a judgement reflecting the real situation of the evolution of current Cambodian society.”

Prime Minister Hun Sen has condemned an EU parliamentary resolution over criminal cases against opposition leader Sam Rainsy.

In a letter to National Assembly President Heng Samrin, Hun Sen said the resolution, which censures two cases against Sam Rainsy and expresses concern for freedoms in Cambodia, did not reflect all sides of the story.

“Such an opinion cannot be valuable for all Cambodians unless the EU parliament has received every angle of information about Cambodia and has a judgement reflecting the real situation of the evolution of current Cambodian society,” Hun Sen wrote, in response to a request from the National Assembly to address the October resolution.

The resolution, sponsored by 17 EU parliamentarians, expresses concern for the human rights environment in Cambodia, following two criminal cases against Sam Rainsy that have led to a total 12 years in prison sentences handed out in his absence.

Sam Rainsy remains in exile abroad and claims the cases against him are political.

Hun Sen said in his letter the government “does not have an obligation to take action in accordance with the EU's parliament at all.” His letter added that Cambodia has an improving relationship with the European Union.

Speaking from France, Sam Rainsy told VOA Khmer the response of Hun Sen would create a loss of face for Cambodia internationally. He added that the EU parliamentarians received balanced information before drafting the resolution.

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