Squabbling continues between two US-based members of the Cambodian Freedom Fighters and their purported leader, Chhun Yasith, who is believed to be in Thailand.
Maly Hay, CFF secretary-general, and Thong Samien, the groups’s treasurer, have called for an emergency meeting in the US to address what they call a “management and leadership crisis” caused by Chhun Yasith.
The two said by e-mail that they have sent a letter to Chhun Yasith asking him to return to the US state of California to attend the meeting. They accuse Chhun Yasith of failing to get CFF permission before staging the Nov 24 attack on several government buildings that left as many as eight people dead.
It was unclear when the meeting might be held or how many CFF members support either Chhun Yasith or his two critics. Each faction claims to represent the majority of CFF members.
Although it is unclear how many Cambodian-Americans belong to the organization, interviews with a handful of members this month in the US found only limited support for the attack.
Maly Hay and Thong Samien say the organization disavows Chhun Yasith’s actions. “The board of directors and executive committee, as well as the entire organization, are not responsible for the malpractices…solely initiated by the president, which are not in accord with the principals and goals of the CFF,” they wrote.
Chhun Yasith dismissed the summons, saying both Maly Hay and Thong Samien were removed from the CFF in August, and that he is the sole incorporator of the CFF, which is registered in California as a political organization.
“Only your small group who violated our constitution do not respect the majority of the CFF,” Chhun Yasith wrote in his reply to the two men.
Maly Hay and Thong Samien acknowledge internal conflicts in the CFF but said they never officially resigned and have never been notified of their removal from the organization.
This latest flare-up underscores the confusion surrounding the CFF, which until Nov 24 was little more than a name on occasional pamphlets and faxes denouncing Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Shortly after midnight that night, between 50 and 100 alleged rebels swarmed through Phnom Penh railway station and lobbed grenades and fired at several government buildings. About 50 men were arrested and are still in custody awaiting trial.
Since the failed revolt, conspiracy theories have swirled about what the CFF is and who it really works for. One popular theory is that at least some CFF members are double agents, working for the CPP.
Signs of strain were evident two weeks ago, when Maly Hay and Thong Samien accused Chhun Yasith of being a power-monger and a gangster and disassociated themselves from his activities.
In return, Chhun Yasith accused both men of working for the CPP-an accusation that has been leveled by some foreign observers at Chhun Yasith himself.
Chhun Yasith later blamed the failure of what he called a coup attempt on his Phnom Penh commander, Cambodian-American Richard Kiri Kim, saying the commander divulged vital information that may have given government security forces advance warning of the assault.
Kiri Kim was arrested shortly after the attack and remains in government custody.
Chhun Yasith claims that more than 1,000 armed men were in position to launch attacks against government offices, but that the mission began prematurely, leaving a few dozen men stranded in a gunfight with government authorities and forcing the remaining rebels to retreat.
The government counters that many of those arrested after the attack said they had only recently been recruited from nearby villages on the promise of jobs or money.
