Leave King Out of Politics, Royal Cabinet Demands

The Royal Palace has released a statement demanding that King and Queen Mother’s names be left out of politics and asked people not to “exploit” their names for political ends, state media claimed Thursday.

“The Royal Secretariat of Her Majesty Queen-Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk has issued a statement reacting against the use of the names of His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen-Mother to seek political solution,” according to a report published by state-run Agence Kampuchea Presse (AKP).

The statement was attributed to Oum Daravuth, chief of the Royal Cabinet, and was reportedly a response to calls from “intellectuals and retired politicians” who have been lobbying for King Sihamoni to call the ruling CPP and opposition CNRP together for negotiations to end a political dispute that is entering its sixth month.

On January 6, political analysts Lao Mong Hay, Kem Ley and Sok Touch sent a letter to the King asking him to bring the political parties together for talks. …

 Colin Meyn and Hul Reaksmey
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/leave-king-out-of-politics-royal-cabinet-demands-50990/