US-Based CNRP Member Removed After PM Paternity Rumor

The opposition CNRP on Monday kicked out a U.S.-based member from the party, a month after he posted a video online calling for Prime Minister Hun Sen to prove that his eldest son Hun Manet was not actually the child of a Vietnamese official, drawing the premier’s ire.

A letter signed by deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha dated Monday announces the “Termination of Yang Nuy, aka Brady Young, from supporting members of the CNRP for Long Beach in Southern California.”

The letter says the decision was prompted by a request from the head of the party’s Long Beach branch and executed in accordance with party rules, but does not give a reason for the termination.

CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann on Monday declined to explain why the party had decided to sever ties with Mr. Young.

“Anybody that wants to join…the CNRP must respect the party bylaws [and] internal regulations,” he said.

However, the decision comes just four days after Mr. Hun Sen blasted the notion that Lieutenant General Manet was not his son, and warned the opposition against making such claims.

“I did not expect that the opposition could do a cheap act like this,” Mr. Hun Sen said in a speech at a graduation ceremony on Thursday. “If you don’t let me live in peace, I won’t let you live in peace.”

In the video in question, which was posted to Facebook on April 20, Mr. Young claimed that ruling party supporters had privately asked him to petition Mr. Hun Sen for proof that he was Lt. Gen. Manet’s father.

“They want to know ‘whether or not Hun Manet is Hun Sen’s kid?’ because there are rumors and a lot of information spreading on …Facebook that Hun Manet is not Hun Sen’s son,” he says.

Mr. Young claims in the video that gossip abounded on social media that Lt. Gen. Manet was in fact the son of Le Duc Tho, a Vietnamese military commander who led the invasion that toppled the Khmer Rouge in 1979, and Mr. Hun Sen’s wife, Bun Rany.

“So to prove the truth in order to clear suspicion, I hope Hun Sen will please take blood to do a test with Hun Manet and then show the results publicly,” Mr. Young says.

The opposition put out a statement within hours after Mr. Hun Sen’s speech denying any part in the rumors.

Ruling party spokesman Sok Eysan, however, said on Monday that the CNRP’s decision to remove Mr. Brady as a member had not been swift enough.

“Its member posted the clip on April 20, but it’s just made a decision to terminate now,” he said. “I don’t think the termination decision proves the party’s willingness to implement disciplinary measures on its members for committing wrongdoing.”

Mr. Eysan added that because there was no clear reason given for the decision, it could not be seen as a proper mea culpa.

“I think it’s just involved with their party’s internal issue, but gives the appearance that the termination…shows they are not involved with the activist who has seriously insulted Samdech Techo Hun Sen’s family.”

(Additional reporting by Taylor O’Connell)

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