Cambodia: Rainsy returns as court keeps protesters in jail
Anguished cries from supporters and family members echoed outside the Appeals Court in Phnom Penh yesterday as they received the news bail had been denied. They had been hoping for the release of 21 people detained since a brutal government crackdown in early January. …
On Monday, as the leader of the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) Sam Rainsy was flying back from a lobbying trip in Europe, 150 of the detainee’s supporters met and marched in defiance of a government ban without a policeman in sight. …
Rainsy was in Europe to try to ramp up international pressure on the ruling Cambodia People’s Party and to attend Cambodia’s Universal Periodic review in Geneva. Internationalising the post-election deadlock has so far been a seemingly unproductive strategy for the opposition.
Rainsy returns as Cambodia enters its seventh month of political stalemate, with the opposition still refusing to take their seats in parliament. Although the election saw historic gains by the CNRP, they continue to view it as an election ‘stolen’ through massive voter fraud and irregularities. …
Daniel Quinlan
http://asiancorrespondent.com/119494/cambodia-rainsy-returns-as-court-keeps-protesters-in-jail/
