Cambodian opposition MP arrested over 'fake' border map on Facebook

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A Cambodian opposition member of parliament has been arrested for posting a map on Facebook professing to show that the government had ceded territory to Vietnam to whip up opposition, a government spokesman said on Monday.

Cambodia has for centuries fretted about its much bigger neighbours - Vietnam to the east and Thailand to the northwest - encroaching on its territory. The issue remains emotive and many Cambodians are suspicious of both countries.

Um Sam An, a member of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was arrested on Sunday in the province of Siem Reap after arriving from overseas, a party colleague and fellow lawmaker said.

"He created a fake border map and used it as an incitement to overthrow the government," said government spokesman Phay Siphan.

Formal charges would be filed when he appeared before a court. Phay Siphan said he would be charged with forgery and incitement.

The opposition in Cambodia has for years accused Prime Minister Hun Sen of ceding land to Vietnam in the hope of turning voters against him.

The prime minister, who rose to power in the 1980s as part of a government that was backed by Vietnam, has dismissed the accusations.

The government spokesman said Um Sam An had repeatedly posted "fake" border maps on Facebook, accusing the government of ceding land.

Tension has been rising in Cambodia as Hun Sen's ruling party and the main opposition CNRP look to a 2018 general election that could be the biggest test of the prime minister's three-decade rule.

The CNRP condemned Um Sam An's arrest in statement on Monday.

An arrest warrant has been issued for CNRP leader Sam Rainsy on charges of defamation in several different cases.

He lives in self-imposed exile.

Another CNRP lawmaker, Hong Sok Hour, is in prison awaiting trial on an accusation that he posted on Facebook a fake government pledge to dissolve Cambodia's border with Vietnam.

(Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; Editing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Robert Birsel)

source http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-cambodia-politics-idUKKCN0X80HB

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UPDATED: CNRP lawmaker Um Sam An 'charged with incitement'

Mon, 11 April 2016

Mech Dara

Outspoken opposition lawmaker Um Sam An, who has incurred the government’s wrath in the past with his strident criticism of its Vietnam border policy, was sent to court on Monday afternoon after hours of questioning by anti-terrorism police at the Ministry of Interior.

Immediately following the questioning at the ministry, Sam An said he had been charged with “incitement to cause chaos in society”, though it was unclear whether the charge had been made official by the court.

“This is an injustice,” Sam An told reporters after his questioning, adding that he had “no regrets, and I planned and prepared for this”.

read more http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/updated-cnrp-lawmaker-um-sam-charged-incitement

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Um Sam An at the Atlanta International Airport, Aug. 18, 2015.

Photo courtesy of Um Sam An

Cambodian Opposition Lawmaker Held Amid Border Map Dispute

Authorities in Phnom Penh continue to hold opposition lawmaker Um Sam An and are expected to interrogate him for at least another day, officials tell RFA’s Khmer Service.

The lawmaker was arrested around midnight on Sunday in Siem Reap after he arrived in the country, according to authorities. Um Sam Am told reporters he is being held because of his criticism of the government’s Vietnam border policy.

Um Sam An and the CNRP have angered Prime Minister Hun Sen and his ruling Cambodian People’s Party, accusing them of giving Khmer land to Vietnam. The land dispute has been a potent political issue for the CNRP.

“He said the maps [of the border between Cambodia and Vietnam] are fake,” said Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak. “Authorities arrested him because he committed obvious crimes.”

U.S. concern

The arrest sparked expressions of condemnation from the CNRP and concern from Washington as Um Sam An is also a U.S. citizen.

U.S Embassy Deputy Spokesman Courtney Woods said the U.S embassy has asked the government of Cambodia to explain Um Sam An’s arrest because the lawmaker is a U.S citizen.

“We have called upon the Cambodian government to explain the charges against Mr. Um and to provide the embassy consular access,” Woods wrote in an email to RFA. “The Department of State takes its obligation to assist U.S. citizens overseas seriously. We stand ready to provide all appropriate consular services.”

CNRP lawmaker Son Chhay told RFA that the government was once again abusing lawmakers’ constitutional immunity privileges.

“A lawmaker has the right to address all issues, not only the border issue,” he told RFA. “All rights are protected by the constitution.”

Son Chhay added that Um Sam An didn’t commit any obvious crimes that can be prosecuted.

“Talking about border issue, showing images or express opinions are not obvious crimes,” he said. “The CNRP can’t accept this kind of abuse.”

Disputed maps

In 2015, the government matched a map from France issued prior to Cambodian independence in 1953 and a set of 1964 maps from the United Nations delineating the border between Cambodia and Vietnam to its own official chart to dispel allegations that it was giving Vietnam land.

Afterwards, Hun Sen ordered police to arrest anyone who accused the government of using “fake” maps and ceding national territory amid an ongoing political dispute over the demarcation of the country’s border with Vietnam.

The move came after Cambodia’s parliament voted to strip opposition senator Hong Sok Hour of his immunity, prompting criticism from rights groups, after Hun Sen accused him of treason for posting a disputed diplomatic document online relating to the Cambodia’s border with Vietnam. Hong Sok Hour is awaiting trial on the charges.

Written for RFA's Khmer Service by Moniroth Morm and Chandara Yang. Translated by Samean Yun. Writen in English by Brooks Boliek.

http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/cambodian-opposition-lawmaker-held-04112016135535.html

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