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Vong Sokheng – Phnom Penh Post
As Cambodia National Rescue Party leader Sam Rainsy prepares to return from a high-profile trip abroad, opposition lawmakers this week called for a rally scheduled for next week at the capital’s Freedom Park to be extended by three days.
Tens of thousands of CNRP supporters are expected to take to the streets of Phnom Penh on Wednesday to deliver petitions to foreign governments demanding an investigation into irregularities in July’s election.
The CNRP claims it has collected one million fingerprints for the petition drive since a large rally at Freedom Park on October 6.
CNRP deputy chairman Kem Sokha said: “Our position has not changed, and the demonstrations will continue if our just demands are not met.”
Cheam Yeap, a senior lawmaker from Cambodia’s ruling People’s Party, again rejected the opposition’s stance on the election, saying the government was formed legally.
“time [for protesting] It’s over,” he said.
According to official statistics, the CPP won 68 of the 123 seats in the National Assembly, while the CNRP won 55. Although observers found serious flaws in the voter roll and other irregularities, the CPP insisted the vote was free and fair and rejected opposition calls for an independent investigation.
Meanwhile, CNRP leader Rainsy met with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns on Wednesday and was scheduled to return to Cambodia yesterday after concluding his trip to Europe and the United States.
Rainsy threatened a general strike if opposition demands were not met, but political analyst Peter Tan Keo cautioned against such action.
“A more effective approach would be for Mr. Rainsy to adopt a moderate rather than polarizing approach in negotiations with the CPP,” he said in an email.
“While senior State Department leaders and some members of Congress will meet with the opposition … the United States is also taking a pragmatic approach to its relationship with Cambodia. They know that if they want to do business, they have to work and negotiate with Mr. Hun Sen.”
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said at a press conference on Wednesday that the United States will not take sides in this crisis.
“The United States continues to urge both sides to resolve the election dispute through peaceful dialogue in the best interest of the Cambodian people and to promote reform,” she said, adding that a “credible and transparent review” of the election was needed.
Additional reporting by Daniel Pye
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