T HE National Assembly's second session re-opening was forced to adjourn because

MPs disagreed on the conditions necessary for former separatist leaders Prince

Chakrapong and Sin Song to become members of parliament.

Funcinpec MP

Ahmad Yahya said: "The question of Prince Cha-krapong and Sin Song, backed by

the CPP to become MPs, was among the problems causing the session to be canceled

on April 5."

He argued: "I'm not against Chakrapong and Song but I want

to be strict on the law because there is too much pressure from the CPP who want

to insert them into the National Assembly.

"According to Untac election

law members of the constitutent assembly must be elected, Chakrapong and Song

resigned from running for the elections and are therefore not

eligible."

Song was the head of the former SOC special police division

"a-92" which UN investigators found was responsible for assassinating and

intimidating political opposition in the run-up to last year's polls.

After the election loss Chak-rapong and Song masterminded a short lived

military secession in seven eastern provinces which pressured Funcinpec to form

a coalition with the CPP.

Yahya said: "We don't want our assembly to be

a rubber-stamp assembly, we had the election because we had Untac law, without

election law we would not have had the 120 of us and without the 120 of us we

would not have had the Constitution, procedure and internal regulations which

determine parliamentary eligibility."

He added: "I will not accept a

party forcing me to act against the law. This is a matter of history, is

Cambodia ruled by regulation or by parties? All MPs must answer this

question."

"Leaders of the two parties will have to negotiate this issue

prior to the reconvening of the next assembly session, scheduled after the New

Year."

Altogether 17 Funcinpec and CPP members, backed by their parties,

are waiting to replace MPs in the current parliament.