Funcinpec lawmaker Princess Norodom Vacheara, who faces a defamation lawsuit from Prime Minister Hun Sen, left for France to receive medical treatment on Thursday, several Funcinpec officials said Sunday.
The premier’s lawsuit stems from remarks the princess made in response to reports that Hun Sen had threatened to throw her in prison and that he had defamed the throne.
The princess sent a letter of apology Wednesday to Hun Sen, in which she wrote that the account she had heard was “unfair” and “not true,” an assistant to Princess Vacheara said on Sunday.
Hun Sen allegedly made the remarks at a Feb 14 Council of Ministers meeting.
Hun Sen sent a letter to the princess on Thursday, Hun Sen’s lawyer Kar Savuth said on Sunday. “I could accept this apology if this apology is honest,” the prime minister wrote, according to Kar Savuth.
The prime minister filed a defamation lawsuit against the princess on Feb 17. He has said he would withdraw the lawsuit if Princess Vacheara made a direct apology to him.
However, Kar Savuth said on Sunday that the premier had not ordered the suit against the princess to be withdrawn.
The prime minister, who left for Kuala Lumpur Sunday to attend a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement, did not comment on the lawsuit before he departed.
“What she said damaged his reputation,” Kar Savuth said. “I listened to the tape [of the Council of Ministers meeting] many times…but nothing affects the King or anyone in the royal family.”
Speaking at the airport Sunday, Hun Sen commented briefly on North Korea and Iraq and said he would meet with Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra today to discuss improving bilateral relations.
On Saturday, Hun Sen denied that there was political instability in Cambodia, Agence France-Presse reported.
“Everything is as usual. If there was a political crisis we would not be able to meet here today,” AFP quoted the prime minister as saying.
Meanwhile, former Phnom Penh governor Chea Sophara made his first public statement as Hun Sen’s adviser late Sunday, calling on unnamed political parties to strengthen their own parties rather than “taking the time to try to split the CPP.”
The statement was read on Apsara Radio and drafted in Kuala Lumpur, where Chea Sophara, too, is attending the meeting of non-aligned countries.
(Additional reporting by Kim Chan)
