Opposition leader Sam Rainsy has sued Rasmei Kampuchea (Light of Cambodia) newspaper after the Khmer-language daily published an interview with a former Sam Rainsy Party member who indicated there is a split in the party’s leadership.
In the Feb 3 front-page article, former party member Pen Vano said the party’s upcoming congress should be scrapped and challenged party leadership.
During the interview Pen Vano claimed to still be a Sam Rainsy Party member, giving more credibility to his allegations of party in-fighting—a claim Sam Rainsy has repeatedly denied.
Stories of trouble inside the Sam Rainsy Party from allegedly disgruntled ex-party members have appeared frequently in the Cambodian press during the last several months.
Sam Rainsy claims Pen Vano used party documents and letterhead after being thrown out of the party in late 1999, and is suing the paper for “complicity” under Untac’s 1992 criminal code.
Based on article 69 of that law, the paper is an accomplice to Pen Vano’s alleged misuse of party documents by printing his remarks, Sam Rainsy said.
Both Pen Samithi, editor-in-chief for Rasmei Kampuchea Daily, and the paper’s deputy editor-in-chief, Khieu Navy, said they have not received anything from the courts about the lawsuit. Neither would comment on the lawsuit, though Khieu Navy said last week he was not concerned.
The Municipal Court’s new chief prosecutor, Uk Savuth, confirmed Monday that the lawsuit was filed last week and has been handed over to investigating judge Mong Mony Chariya. Uk Savuth was critical of the lawsuit, though, calling it unnecessary.
“This is a small problem. [Sam Rainsy] can go to Rasmei Kampuchea and say, ‘You are incorrect,’ or make a compromise. There is no need to act so strongly,” Uk Savuth said.
Sam Rainsy on Sunday acknowledged he has little chance of winning the lawsuit but said it could expose what he described as the CPP’s influence over the paper and a lack of separation between the government and the judiciary. He said Pen Vano’s remarks were probably sparked by his failed attempt for a Senate seat last year.
“I know he probably deserved it but I have to make a decision and the party has only seven seats [in the Senate],” Sam Rainsy said.
Sam Rainsy said after being passed over for a seat, Pen Vano accused him of taking bribes. Pen Vano could not be reached for comment.
