Kong Korm is also under investigation for land fraud, told by PM Hun Sen to vacate his home
Kong Korm (second from left), leads mourners at the Diamond Gate Bridge, the site of a stampede at the annual water festival which left nearly 350 people dead, in Phnom Penh on Nov. 28, 2010. (Photo: AFP)
The chief advisor of the opposition Candlelight Party is being evicted from his government-owned home and sued for US$500,000 following warnings from Prime Minister Hun Sen and allegations he had insulted the long-ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).
The allegations were sparked after remarks by Kong Korm about a military ceremony on Jan. 7 to mark the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia which liberated the country from the Khmer Rouge in 1979, ending a mass slaughter and a genocide initiated by Pol Pot.
Two days later, Hun Sen said legal action could be taken against Kong Korm, adding lawyers had been appointed to monitor Candlelight Party supporters. If found guilty, he faces up to three years in jail and a fine of up to US$1,500.
Additionally, Hun Sen has told Kong Korm to vacate his home amid a festering property dispute involving title deeds which dates back to the 1980s.
“I have never decided to hand over the house and land to Kong Korm”
The prime minister said he had allowed Kong Korm to reside in a house and land owned by the foreign ministry but “any preparation of title deeds is a forgery of state properties”.
“I did agree to allow Kong Korm to reside at the property of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” Hun Sen said in a dispatch by the semi-official Fresh News outlet.
“But I have never decided to hand over the house and land to Kong Korm as private property, and the house and land are still owned by the ministry,” he said.
He said the Anti-Corruption Unit has been asked, “to urgently investigate the irregularities in the fraudulent issuance of land titles and houses belonging to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and take further necessary legal action, based on the findings of the investigation.”
The lawsuit and the eviction are the latest litigations launched against the Candlelight Party as Cambodians brace themselves for a national election in mid-July.
Last year the CPP successfully sued Son Chhay, a Candlelight Party vice president, for US$1 million after he criticized the results of the commune elections when his party won about 22 percent of the popular vote.
The court found he had “excessively exaggerated and accused the CPP and NEC of controlling the election process” but “did not provide any evidence that these statements were true.”
The Candlelight Party was forged out of the remnants of the Cambodian National Rescue Party, (CNRP) which was dissolved in late 2017, enabling the CPP to win every seat in the National Assembly at general elections the following year.
In its annual report released Jan. 11, New York-based Human Rights Watch warned more legal action could follow after more than 100 people connected with the dissolved CNRP, including 27 defendants in exile, were tried and convicted.
“Prime Minister Hun Sen left no stone unturned in his efforts to restrict rights and ensure total political control heading into the mid-2023 national elections,” said Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director at HRW.
“Labor leaders, environmental and land rights activists, and human rights defenders have borne the brunt of this crackdown, which could get worse as elections get nearer.”
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