PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s leader has responded angrily to threats of nationwide demonstrations by the opposition, saying they could sink any chances of resolving political differences through negotiations.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said in a speech to graduating students Monday that the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party should speak politely and make a positive gesture if they want to ease tensions.

The opposition complains that it is being harassed by politically influenced courts, forcing party leader Sam Rainsy to stay in exile to avoid jail and his deputy Kem Sokha to take refuge behind supporters at party headquarters, where armed state security forces have been staging shows of strength. Kem Sokha says the party is considering calling for nationwide protests to force the government to ease the pressure. </s> PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia’s parliament voted on Monday to allow a court investigation into an opposition leader accused of procuring a prostitute, a vote that could push the country closer to political turmoil.

The case of the opposition leader, Kem Sokha, and his alleged assignation has dominated politics for weeks and has raised tension in the run-up to a 2018 election that could prove to be veteran Prime Minister Hun Sen’s most serious test at the ballot box.

Opponents of Hun Sen say the self-styled strongman is using the judiciary to neutralize his opponents. The government denies that.

Kem Sokha is acting chief of the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP).

Party leader Sam Rainsy, a former finance minister, lives in self-exile to avoid arrest for an old defamation case he was pardoned for. His party has denounced the new warrant as politically motivated.

All 68 members of parliament from Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party voted to allow a court to proceed with an investigation into Kem Sokha stemming from a secretly recorded, and leaked, telephone conversation between him and a woman who the government says he was having an illicit affair with.

Prostitution was made illegal in Cambodia in 2008 even though it is widespread.

Kem Sokha has neither confirmed nor denied having an affair with the woman and has dismissed the action against him as politically motivated. He has ignored court summonses, most recently last Thursday.

Trade unions allied with the CNRP have called for protests if Kem Sokha is arrested.

“The CNRP wants Cambodia to be ruled by rule of law and a multi-party democracy,” Son Chhay, a senior CNRP lawmaker, told a news conference.

The party said Monday’s vote was unconstitutional.

The last election in 2013 marked Hun Sen’s toughest electoral challenge in three decades of rule and the opposition is expected to mount a sterner test next time as younger voters seek change.

Hun Sen has warned that an election victory for the opposition would see a return to civil war.

The United Nations on Sunday voiced alarm at the escalating tension between Hun Sen’s party and the opposition, in particular the arrest or attempted arrest of politicians. </s> Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha was arrested in Phnom Penh early on Sunday and the government of veteran Prime Minister Hun Sen said he was accused of treason.

The government said in a statement it had a video clip and other evidence that pointed to "secret plans of conspiracy between Kem Sokha, others and foreigners to harm the Kingdom of Cambodia".

"The above act of this secret conspiracy is treason," the statement said.

Tension has been growing in the Southeast Asian country in the run-up to a general election next year in which the opposition party has been expected to pose a strong challenge to Hun Sen's rule of more than three decades.

Hun Sen is a former Khmer Rouge member who has become one of China's closest regional allies and has been making increasingly strident verbal attacks on the United States.

Kem Sokha's daughter Monovithya Kem, who is also an official in his Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), said on Twitter that Kem Sokha and his bodyguards had been taken away.

"Kem Sokha is in police custody at city hall. Handcuffed. No arrest warrant. After 100-200 police raided and vandalised his home," she said.

Fresh News, a pro-government website, earlier said it had video of Kem Sokha discussing overthrowing Hun Sen with support from the United States.

It showed a picture of him being led away in handcuffs.

Kem Sokha made no immediate comment and it was not clear if he had legal representation at this stage.

Last month Hun Sen's government stepped up attacks on the media, halting broadcasts by some radio stations and ordering an independent newspaper, The Cambodia Daily, to close if it did not pay a $6m tax bill within days.

The government also increased its rhetoric against the United States and ordered the expulsion of the US State Department-funded National Democratic Institute pro-democracy group.

READ MORE: Hun Sen rival Sam Rainsy resigns for 'sake of party'

Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party won local elections in June, although the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party fared reasonably well, increasing expectations of a close contest in the general election.

Kem Sokha took over the party leadership after his predecessor, Sam Rainsy, resigned in February. Rainsy said he quit to save the party in the face of a threatened ban on any party with a leader who has been convicted of a crime.

Rainsy lives in exile in France to avoid a defamation conviction he says was politically motivated. </s> Cambodian authorities have been accused of orchestrating a crackdown on critics of prime minister Hun Sen’s government after a prominent opposition leader was arrested and an independent newspaper closed down.

Kem Sokha, the leader of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party was arrested in a police raid in the early hours of Sunday morning. He was later charged with treason.

Kem Sokha had spoken with “American and Canadian professors” about how to instigate a revolution in Cambodia “with similar strategy as that done in Yugoslavia,” Cambodian authorities said in a statement released via Fresh News, a pro-government website.

Later on Sunday, the Cambodia Daily, an independent English-language newspaper published since 1993, said it was closing after it failed to pay a tax bill of $6.3 million. </s> PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s leader responded angrily Monday to the opposition’s threat to hold nationwide demonstrations, saying such protests could sink any chances of resolving political differences through negotiations.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said in a speech to graduating students that the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party should speak politely and make a positive gesture if they want to ease tensions.

“To be clear about that, don’t threaten to stage a demonstration for the reason of seeking to resume negotiations. That is no way,” Hun Sen said. “I would be a dog if I were to negotiate (with you).”

He said the opposition should be speaking out in parliament, whose sessions it has stopped attending in protest at the ruling Cambodian People’s Party majority voting to lift the parliamentary immunity of its leaders, a move the opposition considers illegal.

The opposition complains of being harassed by politically influenced courts, after legal cases have forced party leader Sam Rainsy to stay in exile to avoid jail and his deputy Kem Sokha to take refuge behind supporters at party headquarters, where state security forces have gathered in armed shows of strength.

Critics of the government have seen its actions as an attempt to disrupt the opposition’s organizing efforts ahead of local elections next June. The next general election is not until mid-2018, but holding power at the local level is an advantage when national polls are held. Hun Sen has led Cambodia for three decades.

In response to the government actions, Kem Sokha said last week that the party is considering calling for nationwide protests. The opposition has strong support in the capital, and street demonstrations have traditionally been an effective form of push-back, but recent efforts to take to the streets have generally fizzled.

Hun Sen said that if talks were resumed with the opposition, the topics would exclude the legal cases of opposition members. He and his government insist these are criminal matters and not political issues.

A statement issued earlier this month by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern “about the escalating atmosphere of intimidation of opposition politicians, their supporters, civil society, and peaceful demonstrators in Cambodia.” A joint statement issued by several foreign embassies expressed similar concern.

Activists and non-governmental organizations, which are generally critical of the government, have faced similar legal pressures. The murder in July of a prominent social critic, Kem Ley, allegedly by a man to whom he owed money, is widely regarded with suspicion.

On Monday, four prominent land activists were convicted and sentenced to six months each in prison for a protest they held five years ago.

The four women — Tep Vanny, Heng Mom, Bou Chhovy and Kong Chantha — are well known for protesting the eviction of residents from Phnom Penh’s Boeung Kak lake community, which was to be turned into a luxury commercial development. They were convicted of insulting and obstructing civil servants.

The Boeung Kak protesters are among the most tireless of the government’s critics. </s> PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia released eight protesters hours after police detained them for demonstrating against what activists described as the politically motivated imprisonment of a group of rights workers and an election official.

Two of the protesters were foreign men, one Swedish and one German.

They were freed on Monday night after being questioned for supporting rights activists who were jailed over an ongoing sex scandal investigation involving opposition politician Kem Sokha.

“They released us after over 10-hour detention,” Ee Sarom, one of those detained, told Reuters on Tuesday.

A series of legal cases filed against prominent members of the main opposition party have raised tensions in Cambodia, where self-styled strong man Prime Minister Hun Sen has held power for 30 years.

Rights groups have accused the government of using the legal system to neutralize the opposition to give Hun Sen an advantage in the run up to the next general election in 2018.

Sam Rainsy, the leader of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), is in exile to avoid prison on charges that were reactivated last year and for which he had previously received a royal pardon.

Kem Sokha, the party’s acting president in Rainsy’s absence, is facing charges for defamation and procurement of prostitution after recordings of a telephone conversation purportedly between Sokha and a woman were leaked.

Six other people - including a United Nations employee - allegedly paid the woman to deny she had a relationship with Sokha, and are facing trial on bribery charges.

The UN worker has not been detained. </s> related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery.

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Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Monday he was confident of keeping power in next year's general election after the opposition's gains in local elections fell short of their hopes.

PHNOM PENH: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Monday he was confident of keeping power in next year's general election after the opposition's gains in local elections fell short of their hopes.

Communal elections on Sunday were widely seen as a test of strength for opponents of Hun Sen, one of Asia's longest serving leaders, who is accused by rights groups of using threats, arrests and court cases to undermine his political rivals.

The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) won about 46 percent of votes announced compared with more than 51 percent for Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) in the ballot for 1,600 communes.

It was a big gain for the opposition over its showing in the last local elections, but it had hoped for 60 percent of the vote.

"It is already clear that the ruling party will remain a majority party in the National Assembly and continue to lead the government ahead," Hun Sen wrote in a Facebook posting, alongside pictures of himself playing golf.

Hun Sen has been prime minister for 32 years and politics in the Southeast Asian country has grown increasingly tense in the run-up to the elections.

The prime minister has repeatedly warned of violence if his party does not keep power, raising deep concerns in a country where some 1.8 million people died of starvation, violence, exhaustion or disease during the rule of the communist Khmer Rouge in the 1970s.

Voting went smoothly on Sunday and observers recorded little malpractice or intimidation.

The opposition said it was still pleased with its results. The ruling party won control of 97 percent of Cambodia's communes in the 2012 election, when opposition parties were divided.

"To get 46 percent today means at least 56 percent in 2018," CNRP senior member Monovithya Kem told Reuters.

The opposition did much better than expected in the last general election in 2013, leaving the ruling party with only a small majority in parliament.

"The momentum has always been on the opposition side," said Ou Virak of the Future Forum think-tank.

"Given that the 2018 election is the most important election, I think the opposition will be stronger and that makes the outcome of the next election pretty unpredictable."

The National Election Committee has not finished announcing all preliminary results of Sunday's elections and official results will not be published until June 25. </s> Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen made a rare appearance at his party's election campaign rally on Friday, calling on people to vote for his ruling Cambodian People's Party for bringing peace and development to the nation. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen made a rare appearance at his ruling Cambodian People's Party rally ahead of a commune election on June 4. PHNOM PENH: The Hun Sen Boulevard in Phnom Penh was flooded with a sea of people on Friday as tens of thousands of Cambodians gathered from dawn to welcome a special guest.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Channelnewsasia.com. </s> PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Police arrested the leader of Cambodia’s main opposition party in a surprise raid on his home in the capital early Sunday, and the government issued a statement accusing him of treason.

The arrest of Kem Sokha dealt a major blow to the opposition ahead of elections due next year and was sure to raise political tensions in the volatile Southeast Asian country.

The move comes amid a push by the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen, one of the world’s longest serving rulers, to shutter critical news outlets in what analysts say is a bid to strengthen its position before the 2018 vote.

Kem Sokha was taken away in handcuffs after a force of between 100 to 200 officers arrived at his Phnom Penh home around midnight, according his daughter, Monovithya Kem, who is also a member of his Cambodia National Rescue Party.

Monovithya Kem said on Twitter that police showed no warrant for her father’s arrest. She said later that his whereabouts were unknown.

His Cambodia National Rescue Party said the arrest violated the constitution because Kem Sokha has parliamentary immunity and called on the government to release him.

In an official statement issued after the arrest, the government said it had obtained a video clip and other evidence indicating “secret plans of a conspiracy between Kem Sokha … and foreigners to harm the Kingdom of Cambodia.”

The statement gave no details but called the actions “treason.”

The administration of Hun Sen, an authoritarian leader who has held a tight grip on power for more than three decades, has put increasing legal pressure on its critics, the media and political opponents ahead of national elections due in July.

Legal threats forced Kem Sokha’s predecessor, Sam Rainsy, to resign this year from the Cambodia National Rescue Party that he had led.

John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, said the arrest was “an extremely disturbing development and a setback for democracy in Cambodia.”

“The government’s charges lack credibility, given its long record of misusing its legal system to silence or intimidate critics and political opponents,” Sifton said.

Associated Press writer Matthew Pennington in Washington contributed to this report.
Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen says that he will continue his campaign against protests from the Cambodian opposition while Kem Sokha of the Cambodian National Rescue Party vows to remain as their leader.