Prime Minister Hun Sen will withdraw his defamation lawsuit against Prince Norodom Ranariddh today, coinciding with the Funcinpec president’s long-awaited return to Phnom Penh, a CPP official said Thursday.
CPP spokesman Khieu Kanharith said Hun Sen resolved to drop the lawsuit Tuesday after a request from “some gentle Funcinpec officials,” which involved a number of “agreements.” He declined further comment on the arrangement.
Khieu Kanharith, however, said Hun Sen and the government would press forward with two other defamation suits launched against opposition leader Sam Rainsy last week.
The case against Sam Rainsy “was not included with the deal,” he said. “It was a deal with Funcinpec, not the Alliance” of Democrats.
Hun Sen filed the court complaint against Prince Ranariddh in November, charging he had defamed and falsely accused the premier of being involved in the Oct 18 shooting death of pro-Funcinpec journalist Chuor Chetharith.
That prompted a countersuit by Funcinpec in December, alleging the premier had incited Chuor Chetharith’s killing. Funcinpec’s criminal complaint against the prime minister was rejected by Phnom Penh Municipal Court last month, royalist spokesman Kassie Neou said this week.
Meanwhile, last week, Hun Sen and the government filed two other lawsuits against Sam Rainsy after the opposition leader said that the CPP-led government was responsible for the Jan 22 killing of union leader Chea Vichea.
In response, Sam Rainsy on Monday filed a criminal complaint against Hun Sen, alleging he masterminded the March 1997 grenade attack that killed at least 13 people in an opposition rally in Phnom Penh.
The exchange of lawsuits raised some concern from political analysts, who warned the legal complaints could add more tension to the already strained political atmosphere.
Funcinpec officials on Thursday said they were not aware of Hun Sen’s agreement to drop his complaint against Prince Ranariddh. But, Funcinpec Secretary-General Prince Norodom Sirivudh said his party’s president had demanded the lawsuit against him be dropped before he could resume negotiations with the CPP over the formation of a new government.
Prince Sirivudh and Sam Rainsy returned to Phnom Penh Thursday morning, after a two-day meeting with Prince Ranariddh in Bangkok.
The Funcinpec president, who left Cambodia in early November, will arrive in Phnom Penh this morning, Prince Sirivudh said.
Prince Ranariddh’s return has been rescheduled several times over the past month. Funcinpec officials have said Prince Ranariddh’s prolonged absence was part of the party’s strategy to avoid entering a two-party government with the CPP as it did after the 1998 national election.
During their discussions in Bangkok, Prince Ranariddh insisted that Funcinpec and the Sam Rainsy Party would maintain their Alliance and not split to join a new two-party government with the CPP, Prince Sirivudh said.
Though CPP officials have recently renewed their calls for the formation of a two-party government, the Alliance has continued to demand a tripartite coalition, to which the three main parties tentatively agreed in a Nov 5 meeting with King Norodom Sihanouk.
“We will never change [our stance],” Prince Sirivudh said.
Prince Sirivudh said he would send a Funcinpec official to reopen discussions with the CPP later Thursday.
When contacted Thursday afternoon, however, Funcinpec spokesman Kassie Neou said no new negotiations had begun. Khieu Kanharith also declined comment on the subject.
Official talks between the three parties fell apart in December.
Meanwhile, Sam Rainsy on Thursday told reporters that Prince Ranariddh would deliver some “surprising” news to the country when he returns.
“He will give the very important [information] for the nation,” Sam Rainsy told reporters, but declined to elaborate.
In a statement issued Thursday, the Alliance urged foreign investors and donor countries to refrain from entering into any further contracts with the current government, claiming it “has lost its legitimacy.”
“[I]t is neither wise nor legal for donor countries and international financial institutions to sign any agreement with the unconstitutional government,” the statement said.
“Some delay is preferable to rushing into any shady dealings with far-reaching implications,” it added, though it did not state what those implications might be.
CPP officials have maintained the current government is able to continue its normal functions during the political deadlock.
