The acts of individual royals should not be used as a pretext to ban Cambodia’s entire royal family from politics, Funcinpec lawmaker Princess Norodom Vacheara said Monday.
Rumors that a royal ban could soon be a reality are circulating among government officials and NGO workers and appearing in newspaper editorials, she said in an interview at her office at the National Assembly.
“I have heard there is a growing call to remove members of the royal family from their positions,” she said. “I think it is unjust and it is discrimination against us royal family members. We, too, want to serve the nation.”
One or two royals may have been involved in “unseemly behavior,” but this should not be allowed to tarnish the reputation of royals in general, she said.
“The others are clean,” she said. “We should get fair treatment.”
The princess also responded to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s attack on unnamed Funcinpec officials who he accused of lavishing money on mistresses and allowing them to broker political appointments.
“Doing this does not help protect the royal family’s image. It paints a bad image of the entire Khmer royal family. It is not true,” she said. “Please don’t drag the royal family down into the stinking mud so that they end up removing us from government.”
Princess Vacheara added that the public would not support royals being removed from politics, and that mistresses should not be used as a pretext to attack Funcinpec officials.
“Don’t make a pretext out of some royal family members’ having mistresses,” she said. “Who doesn’t have them?”
Government spokesman and Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said there is no plan to ban royals from politics.
“We have no plan and no thought about this issue,” he said.
Opposition lawmaker Son Chhay said he would be opposed to such a ban.
“In politics, royals and commoners must compete equally. The decision is for the royal family to make,” he said, adding: “In my view we need assurance that the king and his family will be respected.”
