Cambodian govt warns foreign diplomats not to interfer in internal affairs over election dispute

The Cambodian government on Monday issued a statement, warning foreign diplomats against interfering in the country’s internal affairs over the contested July 28 election that handed victory to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling party. … “Cambodia does not need to resort to laws from other countries. Moreover, the country does not need at all the endorsement by any foreign envoy on the outcomes of the general elections on July 28, 2013 and the functioning of the National Assembly,” the ministry said. … The ministry urged foreign diplomats to Cambodia to respect the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which stipulated that foreign countries have “the duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of that State.” The warning came after the US embassy issued a statement, saying that the participation of US ambassador William E. Todd at the inaugural session of the fifth legislature of the National Assembly was not an endorsement of any election outcome or of any political party. Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the so-called irregularities in the July 28 general elections have been completely dealt with by the competent institutions of Cambodia, the National Election Committee and the Constitutional Council in accordance with the Cambodian laws. “The time in fact had passed already to discuss about addressing the issue of the election irregularities,” it said. …

Global Times News Staff
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/813413.shtml#.UkDwI9KBmN8