 Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday warned opposition political party members not to use strong verbal attacks against his Government. Some, said the premier, have called his democratically elected Government “dictatorial.”
Hun Sen, who made the remarks at a ceremony in Phnom Penh, added that he will respond with legal means to the use of such words, adding that Cambodia is now a constitutional country. “So, you [opposition party members] have to respect the law.”
His remarks were made as Mu Sochua, Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) secretary-general, was found guilty of defaming the premier on Monday. Her case was to be passed to the Appeal Court on Wednesday afternoon.
“Calling this a dictatorial society or regime will cause trouble … because this society is a monarchy depending on the constitutional system,” the PM said. “You call this society a dictatorial one, then I use legal system, and you accuse of me of restricting freedom of speech».
“You present yourself as an educated, lawful, and political person, but you act in the wrong way,” the premier said.
Hun Sen said such politicians tried to act as an example to the prime minister for one month every five years, “but I am really doing the job because I am elected by citizens.”
Mu Sochua told DAP News Cambodia that “It is the strategy of the premier, but all of us know alrea-dy what is democracy and what is a dictatorial society.”
“I will file complaint to Appeal court this afternoon [on Wednesday] against the Premier Hun Sen because I disagree with the Phnom Penh Municipal Court’s ruling on August 4,” she added. Asked if she expects a positive result for this case, she said, “I have little hope, but I am not able to pursue any other avenues than the legal way.”
Mu Sochua rejected rumors that she will flee to the US.
“I will go to US to check my heath and lead my children for study, so I do not try to avoid this case. I am a woman of my words, practiced by principles,” she said.
Ky Tech, the premier’s defense lawyer, said he will fight to the end if Mu Sochua chooses to go on.
“By the law, she has the right to continue fighting this case by filing to the Appeal Court if she rejects the Phnom Penh Municipal Court’s ruling,” he told DAP News Cambodia on Wednesday afternoon. “I will go on with her if her stance is continuing at the Appeal Court.”
Chea Vannat, veteran political analyst in Cambodia, told DAP News Cambodia that “this case will end when both opponents agree to finish, especially when the loser agrees to pay the fine as the court ruled».
“However, the premier is used to solving [such situations] by finding a middle solution, and it also clarifies that the court system has a chance to strengthen its system while some criticize it,” she added.
Phnom Penh Municipal Court ordered the opposition lawmaker to pay CR16.5 million, of which CR8.5 must be paid in court charges, with the remainder to be paid in damages to Hun Sen.
In an event that many superstitious Cambodians drew significance from, attempts by SRP supporters to light candles—the SRP logo—met with failure. While some blamed the wet and windy weather, one person remarked that “It shows that Mu Sochua will lose against the premier.”
Mu Sochua faced the court without defense lawyer after her former lawyer Kong Som Onn defected to the Cambodian People Party (CCP) and sent an apology letter to the Premier Hun Sen. Mu Sochua asked the court for Sok Sameoun, Cambodian Consulting Lawyer director, to be her defense lawyer. He declined her request.
Hun Sen filed lawsuits against both Mu Sochua and Kong Sam Onn for the same offense, remarks allegedly made against him at a press conference on April 23, 2009.
The UN's human rights office in Cambodia Wednesday appealed to the judiciary to respect the country's national and international obligations on freedom of speech, saying that a recent spate of lawsuits risks stifling public debate, according to DPA.
Cambodia's courts have found against three defendants in recent weeks, and fined or jailed them for disinformation or defamation, DPA added. "Human rights groups have complained that the cases, which were brought by the government against perceived critics, are politically motivated."
'Under international law, freedom of expression is to be restricted only in exceptional cases, where clearly necessary and proportionate to the value that the restriction seeks to protect,' the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment