Sam Rainsey Should Be Reinstated As a Candidate For This Election

Sam Rainsey

By ខែ្មរវឌ្ឍនកម្ម

      All charges and conviction against Mr. Sam Rainsey were totally political , so when a political solution was found for him, he is free to go back to perform his job as a member of Parliament and has a full rights to run for his next term. Because of a political conviction against him, Hun Sen ordered the NEC under his control to stripe all his rights as an ordinary citizen as well as a candidate for the election. Now when Mr. Rainsey returns from his exile, he faces an other obstacle of losing his name from the candidate list. To help insure that this election free and fair, Hun Sen must let Sam Rainsey --a main opposition leader--to compete with him without any condition.

     Sam Rainsey not only committed any crime against his country, instead he is a hero, a savior, and a great role model leader for our nation. As a MP, he has a duty to serve and protect interest his constituents according to the constitution. The way he uprooted a temporary border post with Vietnam, which was installed on the middle of the farmer's rice field is just a symbolic protest and a show of his concern about the border encroachment from Vietnam. In this case, if Hun Sen's government is fully independent from Hanoi, There would be no any problem at all. Cambodian government can use diplomatic channel to solve this problem with Vietnam without damaging to any party. If Cambodian government cares about its own people, Hun Sen must help to protect Sam Rainsey from any accusation from Vietnam because he is a leader for all Khmer.

       In short, all charges against Sam Rainsey were fabricated in order to eliminate him from a political arena. Sam Rainsey has posed a real thread to Hun Sen's long time holding power and a real obstacle for Hanoi's political and economic control over Cambodia. Sam Rainsey is a true Khmer hero who deserves praise and reward for his action to serve and protect Khmer's interest in all cost. Now, Sam Rainsey should be allowed to run this election without any condition. If this election without Sam Rainsey's participation, this election will be meaningless.