Saturday, 27 September 2008

Anonymous anti-king leaflets to be probed, prime minister says

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Vong Sokheng and Cheang Sokha
Friday, 26 September 2008

Hun Sen says the offending political fliers that flooded the city prior to the opening of the National Assembly 'will not be tolerated'

PRIME Minister Hun Sen has ordered an investigation into anonymous leaflets insulting King Norodom Sihamoni and leaders of the ruling Cambodian People's Party, which were distributed in Phnom Penh prior to the opening of the new National Assembly on Wednesday morning.

The leaflets, a copy of which was obtained by the Post, insult the King, calling him "a puppet" of Hanoi and Beijing. They also label Hun Sen, Senate Chairman Chea Sim and National Assembly President Heng Samrin as "national traitors".

"I thought [these leaflets] were a serious insult to the King. This issue cannot be tolerated and the authorities are beginning investigations," Hun Sen said.

Touch Naruth, Phnom Penh Municipal police chief, said there were no suspects, but that the police have begun investigations.

Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Yim Sovann told the Post that the opposition party and its parliamentarians were not concerned about the leaflets, adding that the SRP always made its criticisms publicly through the media.

"I think someone is playing a trick and trying to put the fault on someone else," he said. "We didn't have any thing to do with the leaflets."

Ou Virak, director of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said the leaflet expressed a marginal view, and that political leaders should ignore it. "The Prime Minister is wrong to concentrate on the leaflets," Ou Virak said. "The government should perform its role by focusing on corruption, education and other issues."

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