Senior CPP officials said Monday that ruling party officials have been ordered by Prime Minister Hun Sen to cease using the titles “prince” and “princess” when speaking to or about royal family members engaged in politics.
Sunday’s order by Hun Sen follows a speech the premier made last week wherein he said he “would like to eliminate the language of ‘prince’ and ‘princess’ inside the National Assembly, Senate and government.”
CPP Assembly First Vice President Nguon Nhel said Monday the prime minister’s order was effective immediately. He said the intention was to place royal family members on an level playing field with other politicians as they campaign ahead of July’s national election.
“If you want to be treated as royal family members, do not involve yourself in politics, and if you want to be involved in politics, do not regard yourselves as royal family members,” Nguon Nhel said.
Hun Sen’s prohibition would apply to all royal family members except King Norodom Sihamoni and retired King Norodom Sihanouk, Nguon Nhel said.
CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap confirmed that Hun Sen had ordered his party to refrain from using royal titles.
Cheam Yeap said he would continue to use royal honorifics when meeting with royal family members in private, but not when doing government work. He said the ban on titles was not meant as a move toward pushing royalty from politics.
“Without the CPP, the retired King would not have been able to return to this country,” Cheam Yeap said. “We don’t want to isolate the royal family members, we want them to be among us.”
Princess Sisowath Santa, a lawmaker for Funcinpec, strongly opposed the CPP’s prohibition.
“The government’s top leaders must have knowledge of royal terms because it is our richest culture,” Princess Santa said. “It is an insult if government officials do not use royal terms here when they use them in Thailand.”
Princess Santa said she had no intention of stepping away from politics just because of her ancestry.
“Why can we not be in politics?” she said.
None of the other 11 princes and princesses in high-ranking government or legislative positions—nearly all of whom are members of the CPP’s coalition partner Funcinpec—could be reached for comment Monday.
Funcinpec First Deputy President Lu Laysreng said Hun Sen’s order would have no effect on Funcinpec, but may serve as a caution to royal family members, reminding them to be on their best behavior.
Muth Channtha, spokesman for the royalist NRP, said Hun Sen’s order shows the ruling party disrespects the monarchy.
“It shows that the CPP is a party that does not protect the monarchy,” he said. “We would like to condemn Samdech Hun Sen.”
