SRP rejects HRP's proposal to change its party name

SRP president Sam Rainsy (L) and HRP president Kem Sokha (R)

Monday, March 08, 2010
Source: RFI
By Khmerization

The opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) has made it clear that it will not change its current party name which bears the name of its party president, virtually shut down a possibility of a merger with the Human Rights Party (HRP), reports Radio France Internationale.

In a video conference from France held on Saturday 7th March, party president Sam Rainsy made it very clear that the party name will remain the same so long as his party still face danger of a possible political and party coup e'tat orchestrated by the ruling Cambodian People's Party.

The SRP and HRP are in merger talks for the last two years. However, the HRP had set three conditions for the merger and one of them is that the new united party must not use any people's name to reflect it true nature of a democratic political party.

Mr. Sam Rainsy said his party's decision to keep using his name in the party name is for "safety and to avoid a party coup d'etat".

The Sam Rainsy Party was founded by Mr. Sam Rainsy as a Khmer Nation Party in November 1995. In 1997, Kong Mony, a renegade party founder, suspected to be aided and abetted by Prime Minister Hun Sen, orchetsrated a break away faction and staged a claim to the party name. Eventually, Mr. Sam Rainsy and other party members decided to rename the party to the Sam Rainsy Party to make it impossible for any possible party coup d'etat to be repeated.