The upper echelon of Norodom Ranariddh’s own party is publicly urging
the leader to step down so officials can revive a moribund merger with
Funcinpec.
The move, officials from both sides say, would free up
the parties to negotiate without the clashes between Ranariddh and
Funcinpec head Nhek Bun Chhay that have upended previous mergers.
Sao
Rany, an NRP lawmaker and secretary-general of the party, told the Post
that the act was a negotiation strategy to build up power before next
year’s national election.
“I see that if we do not merge, we will
die in 2013,” Rany said. In June’s commune elections, Funcinpec and NRP
had an abysmal showing.
Rany said he and six deputy
secretary-generals wrote a letter to King Father Norodom Sihanouk on
Monday asking him to persuade Ranariddh to “take a break from politics”,
or in other words, to resign.
Pheng Heng, a deputy
secretary-general with NRP, declined to comment about the letter. He
did, however, confirm that it was sent and that he signed it.
In a
prepared statement, Ranariddh, the former prime minister forced out of
power during 1997 clashes with the forces of Prime Minister Hun Sen,
said he wasn’t the obstacle. He placed all the blame on “Nhek Bun
Chhay’s sabotage”.
“At first, I would like to remind … that the
initiative of the merger between Norodom Ranariddh Party and Funcinpec,
it really appeared from my will,” the letter stated.
He also said
Rany can’t use his secretary-general position as a negotiating tactic.
Without the party leader’s involvement, Ranariddh added, any agreements
reached won’t be recognised.
The argument is spot on, according to the
Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia’s Koul Panha, who is generally perplexed with the attempt to pull the rug out from under Ranariddh.
“I
don’t understand. NRP is NRP, it’s the Norodom Ranariddh Party,” he
said. “Like the Sam Rainsy Party, you cannot make a move without Sam
Rainsy agreeing. I think they should work with him, I don’t know why
they are doing this.”
Funcinpec’s Bun Chhay is happy to attempt
an explanation. He told reporters in a press conference at Phnom Penh
airport yesterday before leaving for China that the majority of leaders
from both sides are in support of a union. The only roadblock is
Ranariddh. Bun Chhay claimed that his popularity “with the people” has
been going down.
“As I see, 80 per cent of all those leaders want
to have merger. Therefore, I hope that the process of this merger can
be possible,” Bun Chhay said.
“I would like to say honestly that
in the city, in public gatherings, with intellectuals, students,
business persons, as I listened to them, most of them do not support
him. He has supporters in isolated areas because they’ve heard that
[Ranariddh] is the king’s son,” he added.
The parties have tried
and failed to join before. Prime Minister Hun Sen blessed the latest
attempt on May 24, though it quickly sputtered. Leadership in both camps
placed the blame on each other.
Comfrel’s Panha said the constant bickering back and forth can lead to supporters losing faith in their respective parties.
“They should get into discussions and dialogue. I think that’s
important. Otherwise they’ll always flip, divide, and there’s no
solution. The reason why the ground members, the supporters are
frustrated, they are frustrated because they always see the conflict,”
said Panha.
The news comes only days after the Sam Rainsy Party
and the Human Rights Party cemented their groups into one at a
conference in Manila this week.
The newly formed party will operate under the name the Cambodia Democratic Movement of National Rescue.
