Chiang Mai
April 1, 2008
Rumor came out as Cambodian ruling party has planned to arrest former Sam Rainsy Party MP Tioulong Saumura, wife of opposition leader Sam Rainsy. This news came out in Phnom Penh as ruling party Cambodian People Party and main opposition party Sam Rainsy Party have prepared for the political crisis between CPP and SRP faceoff at the upcoming election.
Cambodia Daily Newspaper’s letter to the editor accused that she has detained one of the SRP political activist to prevent her leaving to the current ruling party. Accuse made while she wasn’t in Cambodia but government accepted the case of her illegal detention against her party activist that she did not make it.
She is now in Paris and will be back tomorrow, and would get arrested upon her return to Cambodia. Ruling party has been challenged by locals groups, and later joined by local NGOs and rural communities to provide SRP's more leverage, and check and balance with ruling party.
Honorable Tioulong Saumura is a co-founder of Cambodia's Asian Inter Parliamentarian Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) and strong supporter of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. She and her colleague MP Son Chayy of Cambodia had initiative with Cambodian Prime Minister Han Sen for Burma Roundtable in Phnom Penh in 2006. PM Han Sen met Daw San San, elect MP, and MP elect Dr. Sann Aung of NCGUB more than two hours after Burma Roundtable.
Cambodia has been ruled by Cambodian People Party (CPP) led by Prime Minister Han Sen since 1985 back by Vietnam and he was a co-prime minister after Paris Peace Accord that Vietnamese withdrew its occupation forces from Cambodia in 1991. Cambodia has faced the 13years of civil war and population of fourteen million.
