Prime Minister Hun Manet has mounted a spirited defense against accusations that his government and the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) were behind the assassination of a rival politician in Bangkok earlier this month.
While attending the inauguration of a new village, Hun Manet broke his silence on the death of Lim Kimya, a dual French-Khmer citizen and former member of parliament for the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), urging calm while Thai authorities carried out their investigations.
“No matter how clean we act, we’ll be accused. So, let Thailand handle it. If we don’t comply, even Thailand will criticize us,” he said, while criticizing Sam Rainsy, the leader in exile of the outlawed CNRP, for behaving like a “supreme court.”
That was according to one translation offered by the government’s mouthpiece Fresh News, which was headlined, “Transfer of Lim Kimya’s Killer to Thailand Reflects Cambodia’s Integrity.”
Lim Kimya was shot twice and died near the Khao San Road tourist precinct on January 7 by former Thai naval marine Ekkalak Pheanoi who then fled into Cambodia where he was apprehended and extradited. Thai police say Ekkalak has confessed to the murder.
Sam Rainsy is adamant that the government was involved, and has pointed to other high profile assassinations, which have blighted this country. They include the political organizer Kem Ley, the environmentalist Chut Wutty, and the trade unionist Chea Vichea.
“Hun Sen is behind the assassination of Lim Kimya, as he was behind the killing of Kem Ley in 2016,” Sam Rainsy said in a post on X. He added on Facebook that: “Hun Sen’s hand can be seen behind the assassination of Lim Kimya.”
Ekkalak implicated two Cambodian accomplices, Pich Kimsrin, who acted as his spotter, and Ly Ratanakrasmey who allegedly ordered and paid 60,000 baht for the hit.
Both men have been linked to the government. Ly Ratanakrasmey once worked as an advisor for Hun Manet’s father and former Prime Minister Hun Sen.
“If we were truly behind this assassination,” Hun Manet said, “we would have taken sufficient measures to hide the killers. Instead, we handed over the killer to Thailand at the request of that country’s authorities, which proves that we are not involved in this assassination.”
The prime minister also expressed his condolences to Lim Kimya’s family while urging all politicians to refrain from exploiting his death for political gain and he called for an end to protests that might hinder the investigation process.
No mention of Pich Kimsrin or Ly Ratanakrasmey was made despite the issuance of red notices by Interpol and arrest warrants by a Thai court. Thai media speculation suggests both men have fled to Cambodia.
The prime minister was backed by the government-friendly Khmer Times, which posted a photo of Ly Ratanakraksmey arm-in-arm with Sam Rainsy and a caption claiming that Ly Ratanakraksmey had once worked as Sam Rainsy’s personal bodyguard.
Under the headline: “New evidence clears Cambodian leaders of involvement in Kimya murder,” the daily newspaper produced two CPP documents. The first confirmed Ly Ratanakraksmey as an advisor to Hun Sen from January 23, 2024.
A second document said he was dismissed by the CPP about two months later, on March 13, after he “committed wrongdoing that goes against the party’s political agenda and principles.”
The story hardly justified the headline nor did it tackle the credibility issues confronting the CPP and the government, which has conducted a crackdown on opposition politicians, the independent media, and civil society activists ever since the Cambodia Daily was forced to close over a tax dispute in 2017.
Hun Manet’s defense was timely, given it was delivered as civil society groups gathered around a statue of Chea Vichea in Phnom Penh on the 21st anniversary of his murder, where they demanded an independent inquiry into his death and that his killers be brought to justice.
Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeurn were falsely convicted of his murder on January 22, 2004, and jailed for almost five years before their convictions were eventually overturned.
As for the killing of Lim Kimya, who served as a CNRP member of parliament between 2013 and 2017, one can only assume Cambodia will do all it can to assist the Thai authorities, which would include the extradition of Pich Kimsrin and Ly Ratanakrasmey, if required.
