King Norodom Sihamoni on Friday granted a Royal Pardon to opposition leader Sam Rainsy, allowing him to return to Cambodia without being arrested and participate in national election campaigning ahead of the July 28 vote, officials said.
The decision puts an end to a nearly four year period during which Mr. Rainsy has been in self-imposed exile avoiding an 11-year prison sentence on charges of disinformation and destruction of public property that rights groups have continuously said were politically motivated.
Although the pardon acquits Mr. Rainsy of his crimes and allows him to re-enter the country without the fear of being arrested, he will still not be able to run for election, as he was taken off the voter list in October because the National Election Committee (NEC) said his criminal convictions rendered him ineligible.
A copy of the pardon signed by King Sihamoni obtained Friday states that the Royal Pardon is “effective and ready for implementation from the date of the royal signature.”
Government officials and the Ministry of Justice also confirmed the Royal Pardon.
“We have received the King’s Royal Decree that granted pardon for him [Sam Rainsy],” said Sam Pracheameanith, cabinet chief for Justice Minister Ang Vong Vattana.
Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said Prime Minister Hun Sen had signed off on the Royal Pardon shortly after learning that his father, Hun Neang, 89, had passed away early Friday morning.
“He [Mr. Hun Sen] accepted and signed this morning although he is mourning his father, but he had to make this decision,” Mr. Siphan said.
Mr. Rainsy, who is president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was first handed a two-year prison sentence in January 2010 for crimes related to the uprooting of demarcation posts along the Vietnamese border. In September 2010, he was sentenced to an additional 10 years in prison for crimes of forging public documents and spreading disinformation in relation to maps that he published on the Internet to support his claim that Vietnam has been encroaching on Cambodian land. The Appeal Court later reduced the sentence to 11 years.
After learning about the Royal Pardon, Mr. Rainsy, who is currently in France, said that while he was pleased by the decision, it did not mean the election could be considered any fairer.
“My return is no more than a step on a long journey towards achieving self-determination for Cambodia. Free and fair elections are an essential element of any democracy worthy of the name. The National Election Committee, controlled by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, has been identified by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Surya P. Subedi, as requiring overhaul before democracy worthy of the name can be said to exist in Cambodia,” he said in a statement. “The mere fact of my return does not create a free and fair election for Cambodia, as promised in the Paris Peace Agreements, and does not advance NEC reform.”
Just one week ago, Mr. Rainsy made an announcement that he would return to Cambodia as a convict ahead of the national election and was ready to sacrifice his life for the country.
Speaking by telephone from France, Mr. Rainsy did not elaborate on a date for his return to the country, but said that he was looking forward to campaigning across Cambodia. “I long to meet with people from all parts of the country and all walks of life to express my love and to bring them hope,” Mr. Rainsy said.
Despite the pardon, Mr. Rainsy will not be allowed to contend the election as a candidate, said Tep Nytha, secretary-general of the NEC.
“Up to present, Mr. Sam Rainsy has the rights to participate in the election campaign. But he has no right to vote because his name was deleted from the voter list as he was a convict. He also has no rights to stand as a candidate since the deadline for the party list sent to us has passed,” he said.
The Royal Pardon comes after mounting criticism from the international community, donors and NGOs, who have expressed doubt over how fair the election would be if the opposition leader was not allowed to return.
In the past few months alone, the U.S. State Department has rebuked the government for the absence from Cambodia of Mr. Rainsy, as well as for expelling all opposition members from Parliament.
They also condemned a ban—since withdrawn—on all radio broadcasts of foreign programming over the entire month leading up to the vote.
In a June 7 resolution, U.S. senators Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio called for the end to all direct aid to Cambodia, and a gradual drawdown in other development aid if the State Department deems the coming election “not credible and competitive.” On Tuesday, U.S. lawmakers also pushed for the U.S. to cut aid to Cambodia.
Mr. Siphan said that the Royal Pardon was not a response to pressure from abroad.
“It is not related to this, not at all,” Mr. Siphan said, adding that a letter Mr. Rainsy wrote to King Sihamoni on June 13, in which the opposition leader spoke of Mr. Hun Sen’s achievements and acknowledged his leadership, had changed the prime minister’s mind.
“The philosophy of the prime minister is to maintain peace and reconciliation and to improve the democratization, those are the principles that led him to this decision,” Mr. Siphan said.
CNRP spokesperson Yim Sovann expressed his gratitude to the international community, whose pressure on the government, he said, had led to the Royal Pardon.
“I think there will be more people voting CNRP because before we only [had] Kem Sokha and now we have both. We definitely expect to win the election because everyone was waiting for him, so if he comes back, we will win,” Mr. Sovann said.
