Opposition Leaders Visit Washington

August 1, 2004

July 22-23 – Cambodian opposition leaders Sam Rainsy and Saumura Tioulong visited Washington to raise awareness of threats made by Prime Minister Hun Sen against the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP). During the trip, organized by IRI, Rainsy and Tioulong met with members of Congress and State Department officials.

Over the past two weeks Hun Sen has orchestrated a grab for power and solidified his position through constitutionally questionable means. He has made veiled and explicit threats against SRP, human rights groups and independent media. He and his followers fabricated charges against SRP of plotting an armed revolt and initiated harassment investigations of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights and the Cambodia Daily.

In response to the crisis, IRI Chairman Senator John McCain rebuked Hun Sen. “The threats against the democratic opposition, coupled with Hun Sen’s disregard for Cambodia’s constitution, are deeply troubling,” said Senator McCain. “They seriously endanger Cambodia’s already fragile democracy and bode ill for the country’s future.”

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist also spoke out publicly against Hun Sen’s attempts to intimidate the democratic opposition in Cambodia.

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