Sam Rainsy to resign

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy has announced that he will resign from his position as president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP).

According to a letter signed by Mr. Rainsy in Paris and posted on his official Facebook page and sent to the steering committee of the CNRP, he will resign as president and as a member of the CNRP because of personal issues.
“I would like to inform the permanent and steering committee of the CNRP about my decision. This decision will be valid from when I sign [the letter],” the post on his Facebook page said.
“In all circumstances I will continue to cherish and to uphold the CNRP’s ideals in my heart,” he added.

Mr. Rainsy has been living in self-exile in Paris and has been sued by many members of the ruling party for defamation.

Eng Chhai Eang, a senior CNRP member and a party spokesman, said the party had already received Mr. Rainsy’s letter.

“We will hold a meeting of the permanent and steering committee over this issue tomorrow [Sunday],” he said, adding that the resignation was linked with a proposed amendment of the law governing political parties.
He added that Mr. Sam Rainsy had decided to resign because he did not want to have another problem with the law and he saw no option but to resign.

When asked about Kem Sokha becoming the next CNRP president, he said Sunday’s meeting of the steering committee would discuss the issue.

http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/35343//

Couldn't hurt could it?

Sent from my SM-G570Y using Tapatalk

Smartest move he could of made.

This is rather big news and makes things interesting.

didnt see that coming, maybe sokha told him that they have made a mistake of rocking the boat, when they only control small part of the boat, maybe discontent among the lower ranks as well, they join CNRP to get bigger and powerful so as to reap the rewards, but went bust and gotten jail sentence instead

he is a useless fuck anyway, and likes to foment hate against the Viets.
who does this remind me of?

FLB is dead right ... but WAS Sam Rainsy paid off to quit by HE?

Was Ranariddh sweetened with hard cash to show up as a rival attraction to Sam and thus drain off some of Sam Rainsy's support?

Any clues beyond wild speculation?

Mr. Rainsy’s resignation appears to be an effort to make sure his own legal issues will not be used as a pretext to erase his party. The united opposition party was formed with his deputy, Kem Sokha, who has served as its acting president, with Mr. Rainsy banned from returning to Cambodia and living in Paris.

CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann confirmed that Mr. Rainsy had resigned as the party’s president but referred further questions to Mr. Rainsy, who could not be reached.

The ruling party on Friday said that it was pushing through a new law on political parties, proposed by Mr. HE earlier this month. The premier said it would be drafted in the model of similar laws in Thailand that have seen parties dissolved after leaders became convicts, often in politically charged cases.

https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/sam- ... nt-124975/

Cambodia's exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy resigns
Lindsay Murdoch

Cambodia's opposition leader has resigned to save his party from forced dissolution after threats from the country's strongman HE.

Sam Rainsy, a popular figure who has been living in Paris, said the surprise decision was "for the sake" of his Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), which faces crucial commune elections in June.

"I remain the symbol and embody the spirit of resistance to the autocratic and corrupt HE regime, and this is what matters in the minds of the Khmer people," Mr Sam Rainsy said on his Facebook page, adding the resignation will have little impact on Cambodia's politics.

"In all the circumstances I continue to cherish and to uphold the CNRP's ideals in my heart," he said.

The resignation will be widely seen as a victory for Mr HE who has ruthlessly crushed political opponents during three decades of repressive rule.

But a veteran Cambodian analyst said the move will force Mr HE to back away from outlawing Mr Sam Rainsy's entire party, meaning it can still run at the elections.

Sources in Mr HE's Cambodian People's Party (CPP) predict the opposition party could win 30 percent of commune seats, up from less than five percent at the last election, which would be a huge blow to the ruling party.
"Sam Rainsy can come back later," the analyst said.

Mr HE earlier this month vowed to amend laws on political parties to keep convicts from holding leadership positions, among other rules.

In his resignation letter, Sam Rainsy accused the CPP of trying to dissolve his own party and to "institutionalise a one party system."

The opposition's deputy chief Kem Sokha, who has faced similar attacks, is now set to lead the party into the elections.

In recent months he has exchanged conciliatory words and gestures with Mr HE, who since taking office in 1985 has often used a carrot-and-stick approach to divide his political opponents.

Mr Sam Rainsy claimed fraud and vote-rigging robbed the opposition of victory at elections in 2013, shaking the CPP which lost 29 seats in the 123-seat parliament.

Under Mr HE's iron-fist rule Cambodia emerged from civil war and genocide but his standing has been eroded by land grabs, corruption and high unemployment among youths.

Mr Sam Rainsy appealed to many younger voters. A third of the country's 9.5 million voters are less than 30 years old.

The Cambodian analyst said as opposition leader Mr Sam Rainsy was "ineffective, strident, provocative and used racism repeatedly to stir up the pot unnecessarily."

"If he'd taken the higher more ethical road he would have had more support internationally," he said.
http://www.smh.com.au/world/cambodias-e ... uav6v.html