Cambodian PM: US behind opposition leader in anti-govt plot

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Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Sunday accused the United States of conspiring with main opposition leader Kem Sokha in an anti-government plot, state-aligned media Fresh News reported.

Sokha, president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was arrested early on Sunday from his Phnom Penh home and sent to Trapaing Thlong Prison in Tboung Khmum Province, about 150 km east of the Cambodian capital.

"It is the United States [behind Sokha's plot]. The act of treason by conspiring with foreign country, betraying his own nation, requires immediate arrest," Fresh News quoted the prime minister as saying to more than 4,000 garment workers during a get-together in Phnom Penh.

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen smiles as he arrives at the National Assembly of Cambodia during a plenary session, in central Phnom Penh, February 20, 2017. /Reuters Photo

Hun Sen said Sokha's arrest would not affect the national election, which is scheduled on July 29, 2018, and called on the people to keep calm and let the court proceed with the case.

The arrest was made just hours after an old video clip broadcast by Australia-based CBN (Cambodian Broadcasting Network) was posted on Facebook showing Kem Sokha speaking with his supporters in Australia on December 8, 2013.

Sokha told his supporters that he followed the order of the US to prepare an anti-Cambodian government plot, taking the model of the strategy that had been used to topple the governments in Yugoslavia and Serbia.

The government said the video clip and other evidence collected by authorities clearly indicated that the conspiracy between Sokha and his accomplice - a foreign power - was aimed at hurting Cambodia.

Kem Sokha, leader of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), gestures during an interview with Reuters at the CNRP headquarter in Phnom Penh, June 23, 2016. /Reuters Photo‍

Sokha is facing charges of treason and espionage under Article 443 of the kingdom's criminal code, a government statement said.

In its statement on Sunday, the CNRP vehemently condemned Sokha's arrest, saying it "is politically motivated and violates law and the constitution" because Sokha is a lawmaker who has parliamentary immunity.

Sokha, 64, became the president of the CNRP in March 2017, replacing his long-serving predecessor, Sam Rainsy, who resigned in February. Sam Rainsy, 68, has been living in self-exile in France since November 2015 to avoid at least eight-year-prison sentence for defamation and incitement cases.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency