F irst Prime Minister Norodom Ranariddh had an angry response when questioned
about dissident MP Sam Rainsy on his return form the ICORC meeting in Paris.
"I'm sorry that he is a Khmer. I'm sorry that he is a Member of Parliament. I'm
sorry that he is a member of Funcinpec. I'm sorry to have that man," said
Ranariddh . Saying that he had at one stage thought Rainsy a "great patriot" he
said he no longer believed that. "I' don't admire him very much. He's traveling
around taking badly about his own country and asking [foreign] governments to
[stop] providing aid not only to the Royal government, but to the people
directly. It's very bad."
Rainsy - who has stated ad nauseam that he is
not opposed to aid to Cambodia, country to Ranariddh's belief, but only that
conditions should be imposed on the giving of it -was also in Paris for the
ICORC meeting.
He held public meetings with Cambodians living in Paris
and made appeals to ICORC members to urge the Royal government to do more about
matters such as human rights, government transparency and accountability and
deforestation.
