Government: US Administration is interfering in Cambodian internal affairs

Tin Sokhavuth

Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Photo supplied

In response to the statement of the U.S Embassy in Cambodia on the amendments to the Cambodian law on political parties, the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation issued a statement on Wednesday asking the U.S Government to refrain from interfering in Cambodian internal affairs.

"We call on the US Administration to respect international principles of non-interference and national sovereignty and to refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of Cambodia," read the statement.

In the letter, the ministry added that, from a legal perspective, the amended law applies to all political parties in the kingdom; it also conforms to all democratic principles in all liberal democratic countries around the world.

"The amended law applies indiscriminately to every political party and bears all the basic requirements that any democratic country should adhere to." The statement added.

The ministry also pointed out that the amended law is not unconstitutional. On the contrary, this law respects the principle of pluralism or "multi-party system" as stated in the Cambodian Constitution. According to the Cambodian government, the law prevents any eventual abuse such as incitement to racial hatred, and defamation etc.

"The amended law is aimed at preventing abuses that are not in accordance with fundamental democratic principles such as incitation to racial hate, defamation, destruction of the social fabric of the nation," read the statement.

In the letter, the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) also mentioned about the previous US criticism regarding the Law on Association and Non-Governmental Organizations. For the RGC, this criticism is an unfounded claim.

"In a similar matter related to the Law on Association and Non-Governmental Organizations, the United States is criticising the Royal Government of Cambodia based merely on groundless suspicions rather than on sound and well-reasoned factual justifications," added the letter.

On Monday, a few hours after the amendments to the Cambodian Law on Political Parties were passed, the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh issued a press release stating that the amendments were passed "with little public debate", and these amendments give the RGC too much authority to restrict freedom of speech and/or legitimate activities of political parties in the kingdom.

"The amendments give the government broad authority to restrict freedom of expression and the legitimate activities of political parties and, under vaguely defined circumstances, to dissolve them," stated the embassy's press release.

For this matter, the embassy calls on the government to take all necessary measures to ensure that the upcoming elections in 2017 and 2018 will be free, fair, and transparent during which all political parties have equal right and opportunity to compete with each other.