During a closed-door meeting Sunday, Funcinpec officials discussed why appointments to government positions promised by the CPP have been delayed for almost a month.
But they did not appear to find any solutions.
“I don’t know,” said Prince Norodom Sirivudh, Funcinpec secretary general and co-minister of Interior, when asked what was causing the delay.
On April 26, National Assembly President Prince Norodom Ranariddh requested the appointment of 535 Funcinpec officials to government positions to solidify his party’s ties to the CPP. Prime Minister Hun Sen promised him appointments and set a June 15 deadline for them.
Prince Sirivudh, in a letter to Funcinpec officials dated June 21, inquired about the delays and asked for an explanation. In a letter dated July 7 to party officials, he said that only 12 ministries had replied to the earlier letter.
Despite having convened the meeting Sunday, Prince Sirivudh referred all questions about it to Chea Chanboribo, chairman of Funcinpec’s Information Committee.
Chea Chanboribo denied the delays were a result of political considerations. He said delays occur because many appointees have to be switched from one ministry to another and because each appointee’s background and qualifications must be carefully scrutinized.
Kem Sokha, former deputy general of Funcinpec and director of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, suggested that the royalists may have received a raw deal. He suggested that Funcinpec had little bargaining room if the delay was a result of politics.
“Funcinpec has no choice,” he said. “They don’t have power, they don’t have money, they don’t have support. They need the CPP to help them.”
