I think it is more about someone saving face.

They wanted to quietly take him away without much people knowing about it but royally fucked up when he was not in his car. Now, if he is actually at the HQ (which I doubt he is) if they were to come in to the HQ to arrest his it would cause more shit than if they had got him while the car was traveling. My thoughts are they are leaving a window open for him to ''escape'' like the Rainman, they don't actually want to arrest Sokha they want him to go away like Rainsy.

If Sokha is actually at the HQ and is standing his ground as he is saying then he is making Rainsy look very bad for running away and could become the martyr that people are looking for.

Either way, this could get interesting not only for the politics in general but the CNRP going forward and how they will approach the next election and who will be at the helm for it.

In the latest news from the Kem Sokha saga, the Interior Ministry spokesman suggests that the arrest warrant could be ignored, at least temporarily, for the sake of public order.

Police May Choose Not to Apprehend Sokha
by Alex Willemyns and Ben Sokhean | June 3, 2016 | អានជាភាសាខ្មែរ

Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said on Thursday that police may choose not to execute an arrest warrant for deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha, which the courts say is forthcoming, if they believed his arrest would cause “blood to flow, clashes or acts of violence.”

The CNRP has threatened mass protests if Mr. Sokha is arrested for failing to show up for court questioning last week as a “witness” in his own sex scandal. On May 26, police unsuccessfully tried to arrest him, and he was provisionally charged the next day.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court director said on Monday that an arrest warrant was on the way, but General Sopheak said in a radio interview with Vayo FM on Thursday that police could ignore the warrant.

“According to the law, if we have a warrant from the courts to arrest, the competent authorities have to implement the warrant,” Gen. Sopheak said.

“But we think that if implementing this arrest warrant will cause blood to flow, clashes or acts of violence, I think the authorities will think—will not implement it.”

Gen. Sopheak explained only that the Interior Ministry had the responsibility to ensure social order, but did not say whether that meant the arrest warrant would be ignored forever. The spokesman could not be reached by telephone.

Kem Monovithya, Mr. Sokha’s daughter and the CNRP’s deputy public affairs director, said on Thursday that Gen. Sopheak’s remarks did not give the CNRP hope that the current political tensions were over.

“This is not about Kem Sokha, it’s about calling for an end to judicial abuses once and for all. Enough is enough,” Ms. Monovithya said in an email. She did not respond to follow-up emails on the case...
Full article: https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/poli ... ha-113418/

kiwiincambodia wrote:I think it is more about someone saving face.

They wanted to quietly take him away without much people knowing about it but royally fucked up when he was not in his car. Now, if he is actually at the HQ (which I doubt he is) if they were to come in to the HQ to arrest his it would cause more shit than if they had got him while the car was traveling. My thoughts are they are leaving a window open for him to ''escape'' like the Rainman, they don't actually want to arrest Sokha they want him to go away like Rainsy.

If Sokha is actually at the HQ and is standing his ground as he is saying then he is making Rainsy look very bad for running away and could become the martyr that people are looking for.

Either way, this could get interesting not only for the politics in general but the CNRP going forward and how they will approach the next election and who will be at the helm for it.

Exatomundo!

CEOCambodiaNews wrote:In the latest news from the Kem Sokha saga, the Interior Ministry spokesman suggests that the arrest warrant could be ignored, at least temporarily, for the sake of public order.

Police May Choose Not to Apprehend Sokha
by Alex Willemyns and Ben Sokhean | June 3, 2016 | អានជាភាសាខ្មែរ

Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said on Thursday that police may choose not to execute an arrest warrant for deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha, which the courts say is forthcoming, if they believed his arrest would cause “blood to flow, clashes or acts of violence.”

The CNRP has threatened mass protests if Mr. Sokha is arrested for failing to show up for court questioning last week as a “witness” in his own sex scandal. On May 26, police unsuccessfully tried to arrest him, and he was provisionally charged the next day.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court director said on Monday that an arrest warrant was on the way, but General Sopheak said in a radio interview with Vayo FM on Thursday that police could ignore the warrant.

“According to the law, if we have a warrant from the courts to arrest, the competent authorities have to implement the warrant,” Gen. Sopheak said.

“But we think that if implementing this arrest warrant will cause blood to flow, clashes or acts of violence, I think the authorities will think—will not implement it.”

Gen. Sopheak explained only that the Interior Ministry had the responsibility to ensure social order, but did not say whether that meant the arrest warrant would be ignored forever. The spokesman could not be reached by telephone.

Kem Monovithya, Mr. Sokha’s daughter and the CNRP’s deputy public affairs director, said on Thursday that Gen. Sopheak’s remarks did not give the CNRP hope that the current political tensions were over.

“This is not about Kem Sokha, it’s about calling for an end to judicial abuses once and for all. Enough is enough,” Ms. Monovithya said in an email. She did not respond to follow-up emails on the case...
Full article: https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/poli ... ha-113418/

Which combined with popo going to CNRP HQ and walk away because the prosecutor not present had the warrant (according to the media confirms my observation as well..

Coup coup-a-chew? How bout you?

Kem Sokha refuses to budge.

Court Summons Kem Sokha for Ignoring Summonses

CNRP Vice President Kem Sokha, the acting opposition leader, has again been summoned to court, this time for failing to heed two summonses issued over the past month relating to a case involving his alleged mistress.

https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/cour ... es-113493/

Comparing Sokha to Rainsy. Analysis from the Cambodia Daily:
Where Rainsy Would Not, Sokha Stands Up

“Kem Sokha is more of a figure of the interior, and Sam Rainsy is well known internationally, so it’s good that they share this responsibilities,” Mr. Soubert said.

“In reality, if Kem Sokha was away from the country—if he ran away from political pressure— the CPP would be very happy with that. This is the scenario the CPP wants,” he said.
“It is their game. And he understands their game. That’s why he is here.”

https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/wher ... up-113369/

And the merry-go-round that is Cambodia politics continues to spin.......

PM takes shots at Sokha as ACU takes up new probe

Tue, 7 June 2016
Vong Sokheng and Lay Samean

Prime Minister HE yesterday taunted embattled opposition lawmaker Kem Sokha, telling the CNRP acting president that if he was confident of victory in upcoming elections he should just remain holed-up in his party’s headquarters.

Although the comments yesterday appeared to mark a further softening in the ruling Cambodian People’s Party’s stance on Sokha – who authorities tried to arrest two weeks ago – they came amid news of another potential legal case against the acting CNRP leader as the Anti-Corruption Unit announced yesterday that it was probing human trafficking accusations against the lawmaker.

Speaking at the inauguration of a Buddhist temple in Takeo province’s Tram Kak district, the premier, without referring to Sokha by name, at first condemned efforts to protect the Cambodia National Rescue Party leader, who sought refuge in the party’s headquarters after the attempts to arrest him and now remains surrounded by dozens of supporters.

“There is some matter which is not necessary for me to talk about but should be understood,” HE said. “A person who has done wrong has used the place of a political organisation to organise a group of people as actors, to play a role to defend [him]. Moreover, that political organisation has protected the bad man in order to challenge the law. Therefore I hope this matter is clearly considered.”

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/p ... -new-probe

John Bingham wrote:

Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said on Thursday that police may choose not to execute an arrest warrant for deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha, which the courts say is forthcoming, if they believed his arrest would cause “blood to flow, clashes or acts of violence.”

This would seem to point at an internal division in the CPP - Sar Kheng's faction coming into conflict with the big guy's plans.

About Sar Keng

Sar Kheng is a long-time member of the ruling Cambodian People's Party, which, according to international observers, has dominated politics and held on to power in Cambodia since 1979 through corruption, including extralegal killings, election fraud, control of the media, and at times, open violence such as the 1997 coup and 2015 intimidation of the opposition CNRP deputy leader, Kem Sokha.[5][6][7][8] Within the CPP, Kheng is its Vice President and a standing member of its Central Committee,[9] the body responsible for all core decision making.[10] Kheng is also brother-in-law to former Khmer Rouge commander Chea Sim,[11] who was CPP president until his death in 2015.

Kheng and other current leaders of Cambodia, including HE, Tea Banh, Heng Samrin and Chea Sim, were senior cadre leaders of the Khmer Rouge in the Cambodian Civil War and the resulting Democratic Kampuchea[/b] Human Rights Watch Asia Director Brad Adams described governmental policies that included imprisonment without trial and torture of political activists.[14] By the late 1990s, however, Kheng's name was often floated by Western observers as a possible party "reformer".[13]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sar_Kheng

I wonder if the US have been having secret talks with one of their old friends.

Kem Sokha appears in public for the first time since his near arrest.
Kem Sokha Prays For Peace
KT/Mai Vireak
Acting Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) president Kem Sokha attended a Buddhist blessing ceremony outside his party’s headquarters in Phnom Penh yesterday, his first public appearance after military police tried to arrest him 12 days ago.
The ceremony was attended by hundreds of party activists and featured 123 monks, each representing the National Assembly’s 123 members. The ceremony involved praying for national peace, reconciliation and unification over the current political crisis.

Despite the risk of arrest, Mr. Sokha thanked supporters for their sacrifice.

“I really appreciate the hard effort of our Cambodian people. And this effort is clearly full of sacrifice. I believe once the struggle gets bigger, the people would be better understood and show even greater sacrifices,” he said.

Mr. Sokha is due to face court on his third summons on June 14, for failing to show up at his previous two summons when he was supposed to appear as a witness over his alleged affair with a mistress, a case that has been decried by many as a political witch hunt.

In the fallout of the case, CNRP members have boycotted the National Assembly and are refusing to appear if they get a court summons, arguing that doing so would be a violation of politicians’ immunity.

CNRP members have issued statements condemning the ruling Cambodian People’s Party’s (CPP) political pressure on the judiciary, while the EU and US embassies in Cambodia have also expressed their concern about the current political stalemate.

Meanwhile, at a public forum with garment workers in Sihanoukville yesterday, Prime Minister HE said no crisis existed and refused to be held responsible for the government’s actions.

“Cambodia has no political crisis. Those who claim there is a crisis are actually in their own crisis. They created it and I will not be responsible for that,” he said.
“I, as premier, am only responsible for the peaceful protection, political stability, security and social order for development and the prosperity of the people...”
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/25874/ ... for-peace/