Khmer Times – June 8, 2023 – Soth Koemsoeun
Prime Minister Hun Sen asked the Vietnamese government to watch out for former opposition leader Sam Rainsy entering Vietnam using his French passport.
“I would like to emphasise to the Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Nguyen Huy Tang, to send a message to the Vietnamese government to be wary of a person (Rainsy) who uses a French passport to enter Vietnam as a tourist,” Mr Hun Sen said.
“I received information from one of my spies that (Rainsy) is trying to enter Cambodia through neighbouring countries to cause problems for me,” he said.
Previously, he planned to enter Malaysia, but Malaysia refused him entry, now he plans to enter Thailand or Vietnam using his French passport,” he said.
The Premier made the remark yesterday at the groundbreaking ceremony of a bridge across the Mekong River, which is part of the Phnom Penh-Bavet expressway. The Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Nguyen also attended the ceremony.
Mr Hun Sen said that if Rainsy enters Vietnam, Vietnamese authorities should make an arrest and hand him over to Cambodia, because Rainsy has an arrested warrant issued by a Cambodian court.
He said that Cambodia and Vietnam have an extradition agreement and some legal cooperation.
Rainsy’s entry into Cambodia will start a war with the government because he had called for soldiers to turn their guns on Mr Hun Sen, he noted, adding that a BM-21 Grad must be used against Rainsy.
If the Vietnamese authorities fail to make an arrest, Cambodian-Vietnamese relations will turn sour in the future, he added.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Nguyen could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Yang Peou, Secretary-General of the Royal Academy of Cambodia (RAC), said yesterday that Rainsy will not be able to enter Vietnam because he has a clear understanding of the good relations between Cambodia and Vietnam.
He said that Vietnam will comply with the Premier’s request to strengthen bilateral ties, especially as Vietnam seeks to show mutual trust, he said.
Rainsy will not dare to enter Thailand because the Thai political situation is not yet certain and it can cause a lot of problems for him, Peou said that Thai authorities will also heed Cambodia’s call.
“It is politics in order to irritate Prime Minister Hun Sen. Rainsy wants to show the international community that he is still an influential figure who is heating up politics in Cambodia. He wants to show that he can make Samdech Hun Sen very angry,” Peou added.
Media reports said on June 1, Malaysia had expelled Rainsy who had entered the country on May 29 to hold a meeting with supporters there. Rainsy had entered Malaysia using a French passport and was reportedly expelled from the country.
Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a press release reassuring that there were no public events held during Rainsy’s stay in Malaysia.
“With regard to the presence of the former Chief Opposition Member of Cambodia Sam Rainsy in Malaysia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to reiterate that the Prime Minister Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim was not informed of his arrival to this country,” said the press release dated May 31.
“Nonetheless, Sam Rainsy has left Malaysia this morning (May 31) and no public event was held during his stay here,” added the source.
Rainsy was sentenced by Cambodian courts on various charges, but claims those cases are “politically motivated”.
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court in October last year found him guilty of ceding four Cambodian provinces to Vietnam’s Montagnard community and sentenced him to life imprisonment in absentia.
Rainsy has announced that he will be able to return to Cambodia through Thailand thanks to political changes in that country after the General Election in which opposition parties won the majority seats.
However, Mr Hun Sen on June 1 warned he would “welcome” Rainsy by using Soviet-era “BM-21 Grad” multiple rocket launchers.
According to treaty on extradition between Cambodia and Vietnam on December 2013, each party agrees to extradite to the other party, in accordance with the provisions of this treaty, any person who is found in its territory and sought by the other party for prosecution, trial, or execution of punishment for an extraditable offence.
For the purposes of this Treaty, extraditable offences are offences which are punishable under the laws of both parties by imprisonment for a period of at least two years or by a more severe penalty.
Where the request for extradition relates to a person sentenced to imprisonment by a court of the requesting party for any extraditable offence, extradition shall be granted only if a period of at least six months of the sentence remains to be served.
CVD 