Hor Namhong vs Sam Rainsy, part II

Sam Rainsy, who is currently traveling in the United States, spoke to Voice of America about the lawsuit filed against him by Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong.

Sam Rainsy said that he will not apologize to Hor Nam Hong who threatened to sue him.

Sam Rainsy, who is currently visiting the US, said that he did not specifically name Hor Nam Hong as being the Boeng Trabek jail chief: “Whatever I spoke was the truth, and I did not name anybody. I only said that the person had the rank of minister of Foreign Affairs after the KR regime. After the KR regime, there are many Foreign Affairs ministers: the one immediately after Ieng Sary, following Pol Pot’s departure, was Mr. Hun Sen, then there was Mr. Kong Korm, Prince Norodom Sirivudh, and then Mr. Hor Nam Hong.

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Sam Rainsy added that there is no need to look for any further tribunal, if (Hor Nam Hong) wants to sue about the KR issue, the Extraordinary Chamber in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC or KR Tribunal) is a tribunal that can be trusted to find out who the Boeng Trabek jail chief really was..

Sam Rainsy said that the current situation is different from what it used to be in the past, if indeed there is a lawsuit against each other: “Before, it was difficult to find witnesses, because at that time, the UN did not arrive (in Cambodia) yet, and there was no UNTAC election organization yet either. No witnesses dare to come out (at that time). But now, the situation is such that, after the 1993 election, there are human rights organizations, there is the documentation center, now we have information, we have more witnesses than before. Earlier, King Norodom Sihanouk had a hard time finding (witnesses), then, nobody dares to come out, and there were not many documents, there was no documentation center as we have now. Therefore, the (current) situation is different from what it used to be.”

If Rainsy knows of people who will come forth and testify against Hor Namhong, he might have a case. That seems unlikely, though. People who have made a living out of researching these things do not believe that Hor Namhong held any serious responsibility at any time under the Khmer Rouge. Nor is it likely that he-said-she-said bickering over 30-year-old events will produce conclusive evidence either way. (Not to mention the courts are totally in the pocket of the CPP and a fair trial would be impossible.)

So right now Rainsy faces to two unappealing options: apologize, or give up Cambodia. While he might be defiant now, Sam Rainsy knows what’s good for Sam Rainsy. And campaigning for the July elections from France is not it.