King Says He Won’t Reschedule Meeting

King Norodom Sihanouk said Wednesday he will not reschedule a meeting of the three main political parties, which was canceled earlier this week following the shooting death of a pro-Funcinpec radio journalist.

“Humanely, it is and will be impossible for me to fix a new date,” King Sihanouk said in a statement posted on his Web site.

The King also said the conflicting demands made by the CPP and the Alliance of Democrats, composed of Funcinpec and the Sam Rainsy Party, “could never be overcome by me.”

The purpose of the meeting, which had been scheduled for Monday, was to resolve the ongoing political deadlock. It would have marked the first time all three parties discussed the formation of a new government and National Assembly together.

Funcinpec and the Sam Rainsy Party declined to attend the meeting after Chuor Chetharith, 37, a Ta Prohm radio editor and re­porter, was shot dead outside his workplace Saturday morning.

King Sihanouk added that he could not call a new meeting because Funcinpec has demanded that the journalist’s killer be brought to justice before a meeting can be considered.

Also, the King said, “If I dare to re-­propose a meeting at the Royal Pal­ace…one or the other of these gen­tlemen will be able to boycott the meeting if ever there was in a vil­lage or province a murder of a ‘militant’ who is pro-party X or Y or Z.”

Although the CPP won the July 27 election with 73 seats in the Assembly, it is nine seats short of forming a government alone.

Funcinpec and Sam Rainsy Party officials refuse to join a coalition with the CPP as long as Hun Sen remains premier. They also want a coalition government composed of all three parties.

Two Funcinpec officials, however, predicted that their party would eventually have to make significant concessions to resolve the standoff. “One day, when both sides come together to the negotiating table, we will have to give up either one [of our de­mands],” Funcinpec Deputy Sec­retary-General Nhiek Bun Chhay said Wednesday.

Another Funcinpec official, who declined to be named, ad­d­ed: “If Hun Sen refuses [to ac­cept the Alliance’s demands], maybe Sam Rainsy Party could be in opposition.”

The official said that although the party was still pushing for a three-party government, he predicted Funcinpec could be pressured into accepting a two-party coalition with the CPP.

 

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