Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07PHNOMPENH418
2007-03-14 11:10:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Phnom Penh
Cable title:  

KEM SOKHA REENTERS POLITICS

Tags:  PGOV PREL CB 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO4898
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0418/01 0731110
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 141110Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8188
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PHNOM PENH 000418 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/12/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL CB
SUBJECT: KEM SOKHA REENTERS POLITICS

Classified By: Political Officer Gaurav Bansal, Reason 1.4 (b),(d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PHNOM PENH 000418

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/12/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL CB
SUBJECT: KEM SOKHA REENTERS POLITICS

Classified By: Political Officer Gaurav Bansal, Reason 1.4 (b),(d)


1. (SBU) Summary. Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR)
President Kem Sokha's March 11 announcement that he is
reentering politics by forming a new political party is not a
surprise, except with respect to the timing of the
announcement coming before April 1 elections. Many observers
from civil society and politics had been expecting him to
enter politics but few expected that he would make the
announcement before the upcoming nationwide commune
elections. Most observers agreed that this is a gain for Kem
Sokha but a loss for civil society and risks further damage
to Cambodia's already divided opposition. Civil society
leaders agree that the timing of the announcement was
probably designed to do maximum damage to the opposition Sam
Rainsy Party (SRP) in the upcoming elections by causing
potential Kem Sokha supporters to stay home -- although it
remains an open question how Kem Sokha benefits if the CPP
wins even more seats at the SRP's expense. End Summary.

Kem Sokha Announces a New Political Party
--------------


2. (U) On March 11, Kem Sokha announced that he would
reenter politics by forming his own political party,
confirming persisent rumors since his January 2006 release
from prison that the human rights leader would return to the
political scene. Kem Sokha noted that he would officially
step down as the leader of the Cambodian Center for Human
Rights (CCHR) in May, and that his decision was predicated on
an outpouring of popular support for his return. The
announcement signals a further splintering of the democratic
opposition parties in Cambodia, and raises questions about
Kem Sokha's motives. Kem Sokha and key opposition leader Sam
Rainsy have had an uneasy relationship since the CCHR leader
began flirting with the idea of returning to politics after
seeing his popularity soar following his December 31, 2005
arrest. The two leaders have met sporadically since Sokha's
subsequent release and Rainsy's return to Cambodia, and have
discussed the possibility of joining forces. Relations
between the two men have soured over the past year and rumors

of a Kem Sokha announcement of a new party have been rife for
several months. There appeared to be tacit understanding
between Sokha and Rainsy, however, that the CCHR leader would
not go public on his political future until after the commune
elections. The announcement on March 11 is oddly timed, as
Kem Sokha cannot field any candidates, and has left many
observers scratching their heads.


Good for Kem Sokha; Bad for Democracy
--------------


3. (C) Dr. Kek Galabru, President of the human rights NGO
LICADHO, commented that she was afraid that Sokha's
reentering politics would divide the voices of democracy in
Cambodia. She said that she had discussed with Sokha and Sam
Rainsy and his wife Saumura the idea that Rainsy and Sokha
might joining forces to create a united front to oppose the
ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP),but had gotten little
positive response. Although Sokha and Rainsy appeared to be
willing to unite, Saumura did not seem prepared to put
personal ambitions aside. (Comment: This tracks with our
reading of the dynamic as well; Rainsy has repeatedly told us
that he would gladly welcome Kem Sokha in his party and that
if the latter proved the leader of choice within the party
and was the person deemed by polling as most likely to unseat
Prime Minister Hun Sen, Rainsy would happily step aside.
Saumura, however, has always been wary of Kem Sokha's
ambitions. She appears not to trust the CCHR leader,
believing that he may be being pushed directly and/or
indirectly by the CPP as a tool against Rainsy. End
Comment.) Concerning Sokha's widely published comments that
no existing political party was truly democratic and that in
his party the leader would not have total control, Galabru
thought this was an obvious jab at the SRP's internal
democratization efforts and the behind-the-scenes power
Saumura has wielded over the SRP.


4. (SBU) Thun Saray, President of the human rights group
ADHOC, commented that Sokha's return to politics is a
reenactment of his leaving civil society in the early 1990s
to join politics. Saray opined that although Sokha has
credibility with the public, his leaving the Cambodian Center
for Human Rights (CCHR) is bad for the credibility of human
rights organizations. He agreed with Kek Galabru that
Sokha's comment about existing political parties not being
internally democratic was indeed meant as an attack at SRP's
internal democratization program. Saray said that Cambodian
opposition parties have a history of attacking one another

PHNOM PENH 00000418 002 OF 003


instead of the CPP; the timing of Sokha's announcement being
geared towards stealing votes from the SRP fits this
historical pattern.

Where is the Money?
--------------


5. (SBU) Theary Seng, President of the Center of Social
Development, thought Sokha's announcement was a step back for
democracy. She said that Sokha would find that he was more
influential as a human rights activist than as a politician.
Her biggest concern was where Kem Sokha would obtain the
necessary funds to start and sustain his party. As a
Cambodian-American, Seng mentioned that Sokha's claim that he
was obtaining most of his funds from Cambodian-Americans was
not true. She opined that a strong network is necessary to
build a proper funding base in the U.S.; she thought that it
was improbable that he had such a network in the U.S. On the
other hand, she commented that she had heard that a wealthy
Cambodian businessman had offered to help fund Sokha's party,
although she did not have a name of this individual. On the
timing of the announcement, she admitted that she had not
thought very much about it but offered that Sokha had timed
his announcement to coincide with the lead up to the commune
elections. She noted that Kem Sokha's announcement creates
confusion among opposition leaders and helps the ruling party.

SRP Not Surprised
--------------


6. (C) SRP's Secretary General Mu Sochua and National
Assembly Whip Son Chhay were not surprised at Kem Sokha's
announcement; both claim they were aware that Kem Sokha was
planning to go ahead with his own party. Son Chhay allowed
that Kem Sokha had contacted him to alert the SRP MP in
advance of the announcement; Son Chhay said that Kem Sokha's
decision would not make much difference in the April 1
elections. Son Chhay noted that Constitutional Council
member Son Soubert would likely be one of the people
supporting the new party, as Kem Sokha would probably accord
more respect to the Son Sann party of Son Soubert's father,
having worked with Son Sann in the past. Both SRP figures
noted that Kem Sokha was faced with the loss of USG financial
support for CCHR and wanted a new platform by which he could
continue his real objective -- which, they say, has always
been a return to politics.


7. (U) In a press interview, Kem Sokha responded to the
issue of why he was not joining with the Sam Rainsy Party by
declaring that the SRP does not follow democratic principles.
He added that the SRP is managed by a single individual, and
also stated that the SRP is in conflict with other political
parties. Kem Sokha's party, he continued, will cooperate
with all the other political parties in the national interest
and will not view any other party as its enemy.

Comments from Other Parties
--------------


8. (SBU) The other major political parties gave mixed
responses to Sokha's announcement. Tep Ngorn, Second
Vice-President of the Cambodian Senate and Director of the
CPP Cabinet, stated that the ruling CPP was not afraid of the
new party or of any other party and that voters will decide
how successful the new party will be. FUNCINPEC spokesperson
Nouv Sovatharo opined that he wished that Kem Sokha had
stayed as a NGO leader because he had won the respect of the
public through his public forums; he predicted that Sokha
would lose the respect of the public in the political arena.
Meanwhile, Noranarith Anandyath, spokesperson for the Norodom
Ranariddh Party, said that Kem Sokha's new party would merely
divide the democratic opposition further, but he predicted
that the SRP would lose many key supporters to the new party.

Comment
--------------


9. (C) The inability of Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha to
overcome their differences and add a sense of direction to
Cambodia's democratic opposition in the advance of the 2008
national elections is unfortunate but not surprising. In
Cambodian politics, personality and ego reign supreme. Kem
Sokha's announcement of a decision to start his own party was
the easy part; the difficult part will be the development of
a party structure on a national level. We understand that
the CCHR leader plans to use participant information and
networks developed through CCHR's public forums as a basis
for establishing a party structure. It is likely that he
will also tap existing SRP officials; SRP MP Keo Remy has
complained to us on numerous occasions about Rainsy's

PHNOM PENH 00000418 003 OF 003


management style and he may jump ship. Much will ride on the
April 1 election results -- if the SRP does well and makes
some incremental gains, it could bode poorly for Kem Sokha.
On the other hand, if the SRP falters and loses ground, Kem
Sokha could emerge as a winner without even participating in
the elections. End Comment.
MUSSOMELI