Top Opposition Leader in Cambodia Resigns as Election Nears
and become a rich man," he said, referring to the Cambodian People’s Party, led by Mr. Hun Sen. Mr. Sam Rainsy, while clearly irritating the prime minister, proved
useful over the years by presenting an internationally visible opposition figure to run in elections, which Mr. Hun Sen always won, Mr. Strangio added.
Rainsy said that This guy is crazy,
Mr. Hun Sen and Mr. Sam Rainsy came to a brief rapprochement in 2014
and 2015, with the opposition leader extracting some important political concessions from Mr. Hun Sen, including equal representation on the National Election Committee and a television broadcasting license.
This month, Mr. Hun Sen proposed a measure that could dissolve any party led by someone convicted of a crime, which Mr. Sam Rainsy has been many times,
because of an abundance of criminal defamation suits filed against him by government officials, government allies and the prime minister himself.
Phay Siphan, a government spokesman, said the lawsuits against opposition figures were private matters,
and he accused Mr. Sam Rainsy of trying to generate publicity with a dramatic exit.
