Cambodia Should Look East in Defense of Territorial Integrity: Sam Rainsy

Sam Rainsy

Sam Rainsy’s letter as published in The Cambodia Daily, November 14, 2009

CAMBODIA SHOULD LOOK EAST
IN DEFENSE OF TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY

The CPP-dominated National Assembly is planning to suspend my parliamentary immunity on Monday, November 16. There will be a special parliamentary session with the lifting of my immunity being the only topic on the agenda.

I expected this move by the Hun Sen government. It proves how subservient the Cambodian authorities are to the Vietnamese government.

On November 4, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung “proposed that the Cambodian government take due measures to deal with [Sam] Rainsy’s acts of sabotage and not permit similar cases to occur, as they negatively affect the fine relations between the two nations.” You can see the official statement from Hanoi at http://www.nhandan.com.vn/english/news/041109/domestic_vs.htm

On October 25, as an elected representative of the Cambodian people, I had only expressed my support for, and solidarity with, Cambodian farmers who are victims of land grabbing along the Vietnamese border in Svay Rieng province. You can see the context of my intervention and related evidence at http://tinyurl.com/ykblbpr