The French magazine which, last week, published extracts from Piseth Pelika's diaries

is standing by its story accusing Hun Sen's wife of having had the actress murdered

and says it has additional proof which it will produce in court if threatened legal

action goes ahead.

The thorn between two roses: Prime Minister Hun Sen, and right, his wife Bun Rany,

left, Piseth Pelika

The additional evidence they say includes witnesses, documents, business papers and

personal objects of Hun Sen which prove the Prime Minister was involved in an affair

with Pelika and that his wife had her killed out of jealousy.

L'Express journalist Alain Louyot said the diary itself had been verified through

the hand writing and finger prints.

However a full copy of the diaries has not been made available for scrutiny of the

contents. Nor could copies of diary pages used for L'Express article and obtained

by the Post (full translations page 5) be compared with the original which is believed

to be being kept in a bank vault.

The story in L'Express magazine cited diary entries in which Pelika spoke of her

relationship with Hun Sen and her fears that Hun Sen's wife Bun Rany was jealous

and planned to kill her.

The diaries say the relationship began in August 1998 and continued until earlier

this year when Hun Sen ended it at the insistence of Bun Rany.

They go on to say that national police director Hok Lundy met with Pelika to warn

her off the relationship because of the danger of incurring the wrath of Bun Rany.

They also say by the end of the relationship Bun Rany had forced Pelika to hand back

the house Hun Sen had given her, seized most of the money in her bank account and

demanded the return of all of Hun Sen's gifts including a 4wd vehicle.

In the diary she says she went to the Canadia Bank to withdraw the money from Hun

Sen ($200,000) but she was told Bun Rany had put a hold on the account and she only

managed to obtain $50,000 and $2,000 interest.

In addition to the diaries the paper published a poem by Hun Sen which the story

says was found among Pelika's possessions after her death.

All protagonists in the story are now moving swiftly to build up arguments and counter

arguments.

On Wednesday, Hun Sen advisor Om Yentieng issued a statement denying the allegations

of an affair and Bun Rany's involvement in the actress's death and blaming opposition

politician Sam Rainsy for the revelations. However he conceded that the poem was

written by Hun Sen but denied it was intended for Pelika but was instead an expression

of sentiments many people felt.

The statement went on to say that Bun Rany would "seek justice" from courts

in Paris and Phnom Penh.

It also says that there were inconsistencies in the diaries text specifically that

the relationship was supposedly consummated a month after Hun Sen had undergone surgery

to remove his appendix.

Yentieng said that Hun Sen still had stitches and an intravenous drip and was incapable

of such actions.

A western doctor spoken to by the Post said that generally stitches for such an operation

would have been removed a week after surgery. He did not feel proficient to give

a generic opinion on how soon a patient could resume marital relations.

The allegations that the Sam Rainsy Party had influenced the story appear to have

some substance but Alain Louyot said that was irrelevant to the veracity of the story.

"Yes of course it is true that Sam Rainsy's sister in law works for our magazine,"

he said.

"It is also true and understandable that members of the opposition are exploiting

this story.

"However Pelika herself wrote this diary and explicitly mentioned death threats

from Mrs Hun Sen. Pelika's sister has confirmed to me - she has sworn, to be precise,

on the memory of Pelika - that her sister had told her, when she was still alive,

about this diary and the death threats.

Additionally Piseth Pelika's sister, Ouk Divina, who was with Pelika the day she

was murdered and provided L'Express with the diaries is married to Sam Rainsy's bodyguard.

However Rainsy denies he concocted the story or that he influenced the story through

personal connections.

"They tend to blame me for everything bad they encounter. As we say in khmer:

'if you do bad things you will suffer from bad things' this is a fundamental law

in Buddhism," he said.

"They should follow Lord Buddha's teaching and meditate,

instead of seeing Sam Rainsy's hand everywhere."

Rainsy similarly dismisses the involvement of his sister-in-law.

"They show their Khmer Rouge background and their communist culture according

to which you can do everything with power, money and connections (corruption, cronyism).

This communist culture, which is at the root of a totalitarian regime, leaves no

room for principals, human dignity, freedom, integrity and conscience. L'Express

is not what the Pravda used to be in the former USSR."

Meanwhile other people mentioned in the story are denying the accuracy of the diary.

Bun Rany said in the statement issued by Om Yentieng that her husband had never indulged

in the type of extra marital relationship outlined in the diaries during their 24

years of marriage.

Hok Lundy also denied the meeting with Pelika and said he believed the whole matter

to be a political move by Sam Rainsy.

"L'Express and the local newspapers have defamed Bun Rany, Hun Sen. This is

a political ruse by the Sam Rainsy Party," he said.

"I never met with Pelika. If I met her and told her to escape, she would have

escaped."

However he has ruled out taking legal action himself.

"My habit is not to complain to the press," he said.

They use my name to embroider their stories."

Ouk Divina, however is sticking to her story, when spoken to by the Post she said

that the diaries were true and accurate.

"My Pelika started her diary when she started seeing Hun Sen.

"She started to be worried for herself and her family.

"If one day something happened to her family, she wanted the world to know what

happened."

In answer to Hok Lundy's suggestion that if he had warned her Pelika would have left

the country Divinia said Pelika had planned to go to France with the Royal Ballet

soon after the meeting and decided to wait.

"Hok Lundy was sorry for my sister," she said.

"He advised her to go away.

"She thought of going by plane but Hok Lundy told her that she would not be

able to leave from the airport as Bun Rany could have her passport seized."

It is now to be seen if the matter will be tested in court. A law suit in Paris is

possible but likely to be embarrassing for Hun Sen and Bun Rany no matter what the

outcome.

It is yet to be seen if Hun Sen would be comfortable being cross-examined on his

sex life in a foreign court.

The alternative is to do nothing and accept further salacious revelations from the

diary being drip fed to the media over the coming months.

Head of the investigation into Pelika's death, General Teng Savong, said that inquiries

were proceeding but refused to discuss the allegations against Bun Rany.

The poem in

Hun Sen's handwriting

and in English

translation

I sleep and dream of your fragrence

My life has meaning when I met love

I cannot escape from life's inheritance

The ties from past life ties you with me

I very much miss the loving life

18th August will always be remembered

This life and the next with pity

I ask for your real love, please pity me

 

Marrying with no music but meaningful prayer [to ancestors]

because you and I have faithful hearts

and sacrifice our body without regret

I was very nostalgic over our love

I very much pity your tears

what karma made you so unfortunate

life as an orphan with separation

You have a husband with a traitorous heart adding to your misery

I understand your heart with tolerance

Being a man I must dare to say

you must be brave to go through the storm

for the love which you are satisfied with

I ask you for your pity

really pity me, my heart

both you and I have the same sorrow

this is the inheritence of the life

If you have a child I won't say anything

but please, darling, don't switch off your phone

Pity me and correspond with words

and we won't be separated forever