Cambodia’s King Invites Hun Sen, Sam Rainsy to Talks

Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihamoni has invited Prime Minister Hun Sen and opposition leader Sam Rainsy for talks this aimed at resolving a standoff over recent elections as Sam Rainsy’s party filed a lawsuit accusing the country election body of vote fraud. Both Hun Sen and Sam Rainsy have said they will attend the Saturday meeting, which will be their first since the hotly disputed July 28 elections. The king sent invitations to the two leaders on Thursday to join him in the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh “to participate in a meeting presided over by me to resolve national issues” stemming from the elections. The king had on Monday called for the country’s new parliament to convene Sept. 23 after official election results over the weekend confirmed a victory for Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). … Before announcing the talks, King Sihamoni, who returned Wednesday from a nearly month-long trip to China for a medical check-up, had come under criticism for not stepping in to help resolve the deadlock.

 Radio Free Asia News Staff
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/cambodia-09122013180350.html