| Opposition MP Mu Sochua files lawsuit against Hun Sen on grounds of defamation |
| By Duong Sokha | |
| 23-04-2009 |
At a press conference held on Thursday April 23 at the headquarters of her formation, the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) in Phnom Penh, opposition MP Mu Sochua announced she would file a complaint with the Phnom Penh Municipal Court via her lawyer. This lawsuit is filed against Cambodian prime Minister Hun Sen, for defamation.
The SRP representative intends to protest against words the head of government said about her, on April 4th, as she was away in the Kampot province where she was re-elected. Hun Sen is said to have publicly declared that Mu Sochua’s behaviour was “provocative” and that she “lunged towards a man to kiss him, so much so that the buttons [of her blouse] popped out”.
“I have nothing against Samdech the Prime Minister. As a Member of Parliament, I respect him. But the words of Samdech the Prime Minister said in public affect my honour and my dignity as a Khmer woman. With this complaint, I only want justice and honour, as a Khmer woman”, the former FUNCINPEC-affiliated Minister of Women’s Affairs said. She added that she only claimed a 500-riel (0.12 dollar) compensation as a token, and a public apology on the part of the head of government.
According to Kong Sam Onn, Mu Sochua’s lawyer, the lawsuit will be submitted to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday April 24th. “How is it possible to file a lawsuit against him [Hun Sen] when he is a Member of Parliament, the prime Minister and the vice-chair of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) [...]? The Constitution does say that Khmer citizens stand equal before the Law”, the lawyer said, hoping that his request would be accepted by the Court.
Reached on Thursday by Ka-set, the spokesperson for the government and for the ruling party Khieu Kanharith(CPP) claimed that as he was himself with the prime Minister when the latter pronounced his speech in Kampot, he could assure that he did not pronounce her name. “We are awaiting her complaint. But Samdech [Hun Sen] did not say her name”, the government spokesman and Minister of Information added. “What she [Mu Sochua] is doing here is reacting for her own reputation”.
The prime Minister, indeed, did not directly pronounce the name of the opposition MP, but her lawyer say he added elements of evidence to the case file showing that the prime Minister did indeed have those words in Kampot and that his declaration directly aimed at his client.
In his speech, Hun Sen was making an allusion to a case pitting the SRP MP against a military general in Kampot. He was condemned by the National Election Committee (NEC) to pay out a 10-million riel fine to Mu Sochua) for having attacked her and torn her blouse as she was trying to prevent him from using a car of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) to crusade in favour of the CPP as part of the July 2008 legislative elections.
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