SRP and HRP reject rumor of party members defecting to the CPP

HRP president Kem Sokha (L) and SRP president Sam Rainsy (R) shaked hand during join-agreement signing 15 Jan 2009

29 Nov 2009
By Ayuthyea
Source: Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata for KI-Media
Click here to read the article in Khmer

High-ranking SRP and HRP officials rejected information that their party members left to join the ruling CPP party.

Mrs. Ke Sovanroth, SRP Secretary-general, told RFA in the afternoon of 29 November that her party did not yet receive the information regarding party members allegedly joining the CPP. Furthermore, the information reporting that a group of up to 20 Sam Rainsy’s bodyguards left to join the CPP is also not true because Sam Rainsy never had such a large number of bodyguards.

Mrs. Ke Sovanroth indicated: “There was none! By what I know, the bodyguard group for H.E. Sam Rainsy does not amount to 24, he only has 2 personal bodyguards. Up to now, I did not receive this information yet.”

On the other hand, Kem Sokha, HRP President, said that his party did not lose any party member to the CPP in Phnom Penh and in other provinces. Quite to the contrary, every month, several thousands of CPP party members went to join the HRP instead.

Kem Sokha said: “For the HRP, I did not lose any party member. Therefore, I don’t know where they get these party members from, or maybe they could be party members who left since long ago. For my party members, according to our structure, there was no loss. We only saw the CPP [party members] who came to join us, between two to three thousands each month.”

Recently, a number of local newspapers quoted CPP officials as saying that hundreds of SRP and HRP joined the ruling CPP, however this claim was immediately rejected by both opposition parties.