CNRP to walk away from talks

CNRP to walk away from talks

Thu, 13 March 2014

Negotiations between the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party and ruling Cambodian People’s Party looked like they might screech to an abrupt halt yesterday, as opposition leaders visiting supporters in Tbong Khmum province said they will “cut off” talks.

Speaking to about 1,000 supporters in the province’s O’Raing Ov district yesterday, CNRP president Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha said the talks were a “useless” attempt to “dupe foreign countries” into continuing to provide aid and called for renewed demonstrations.

“First, we stop negotiations. The talks are useless, because this [CPP working] group just delays [proceedings] to dupe foreign countries,” Rainsy said. “They said that the [Cambodia] National Rescue Party and [Cambodian] People’s Party have already agreed to negotiate, so give us money.

“So we will cut off negotiations and tell foreign countries not to give the money to [Prime Minister Hun Sen] the thief,” Rainsy said.

He added that dialogue would not restart until the CPP proved itself serious about National Election Committee reform – namely, by agreeing to key CNRP demands that NEC members should require approval by two-thirds of parliament and that it should be a constitutionally mandated body.

“When the NEC [will be] changed, we will talk more,” he said. “This time, there is not any choice besides [holding another] demonstration. So please all [citizens] prepare yourselves to hold a mass demonstration . . . to have 2 million people.”

Cheam Yeap, a senior CPP lawmaker, yesterday called on the CNRP to continue the talks, adding that the CNRP “cannot use demonstrations as a basis to resolve the problem”.

He said the government had no plans to reform the NEC until the next mandate.

“The NEC could change in the next mandate. We will not change it now,” he said.

Despite the public announcement of an end to talks by the CNRP leadership, senior party officials in Phnom Penh yesterday could not confirm whether negotiations – which include a planned Monday meeting of a joint election reform committee – were actually being called off.

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Rainsy Warns of New Demonstrations if NEC Not Reformed

Op-Ed: Cambodia Daily
Rainsy Warns of New Demonstrations if NEC Not Reformed
BY  | MARCH 13, 2014

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Wednesday that the CNRP will renew mass demonstrations if the ruling CPP continues to reject a proposal to make the membership of the National Election Committee (NEC) more representative.

Speaking to supporters in Thbong Khmom province, which was recently created from an eastern portion of Kompong Cham province, Mr. Rainsy issued his protest warning after Monday’s second joint-party meeting on election reform stalled over the CPP’s rejection of the CNRP’s proposal that two-thirds of National Assembly lawmakers be required to agree on the appointment of new NEC members.

The NEC’s leadership is currently handpicked by Prime Minister Hun Sen’s CPP. The CPP has said it will not consider the opposition’s proposal, which would end its control over the composition of the election organizing body.

Mr. Rainsy also said that his party will not attend next Monday’s meeting with the CPP if the proposal to reform the NEC is not accepted.

“First, we stop negotiations,” Mr. Rainsy said in a video of the event that was posted to his Facebook page.

“They [the CPP] just wants to waste our time cheating foreigners—not Cambodians, as Cambodians know this well.”

“They make [foreigners] confused that we are getting along and are in the process of negotiations, [so they can ask] ‘please give us [aid] money,’” he said.

“So we stop negotiations and tell foreigners not to give money to these thieves. If they don’t agree to change the NEC, it means that they want to steal votes so there can be no talk. When they change the NEC, we will talk.”

Demonstrations will be the only alternative, Mr. Rainsy added.

“We will prepare another demonstration,” he said.

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