Human Rights Party President Kem Sokha says two merger options proposed by opposition leader Sam Rainsy last month are aimed at dissolving his party and bringing it under the control of the Sam Rainsy Party.

In a letter dated yesterday, Kem Sokha said Sam Rainsy’s merger formulas – put forward in a January 24 letter – did not have the national interest in mind.

“The HRP understands that the formula of such a merger is not the exact aim of the majority of Khmer patriots,” Kem Sokha wrote. “On the contrary, this formula is just the desire to melt the HRP to bring it under the aegis of the SRP.”

He said that the HRP-SRP merger should aim to rally Khmer patriotic forces into a  widespread democratic movement, in order to cut into the majority of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party.

“So, if [Sam Rainsy] and the SRP have an intention to merge, I would like to request to have quick talks between the work teams of both our parties,” letter read.

The two parties have been in merger talks since the CPP won a landslide victory at the 2008 national elections.

SRP spokesman Yim Sovann declined to comment in detail yesterday.