Cambodia National Rescue Party

Cambodia National Rescue Party
គណបក្សសង្រ្គោះជាតិ
AbbreviationCNRP
PresidentKem Sokha
Vice PresidentsEng Chhai Eang
Mu Sochua
Pol Hom
FoundersSam Rainsy
Kem Sokha
Founded17 July 2012
Registered9 April 2013
Banned16 November 2017
Merger ofSam Rainsy Party
Human Rights Party
Norodom Ranariddh Party
Succeeded byCambodia National Rescue Movement
Khmer Will Party[1] (self-declared; not legally)
Candlelight Party (unofficial)[2]
Youth wingCNRP Youth[3]
IdeologyLiberalism
Liberal democracy
Civic nationalism
Populism
Anti-Vietnamese sentiment[4][5]
Political positionCentre
International affiliationLiberal International
Regional affiliationCouncil of Asian Liberals and Democrats
Colors 
Slogan"សង្គ្រោះ បម្រើ ការពារ" (English: "Rescue, Serve, Protect")
Party flag
Website
https://nationalrescueparty.org/ (defunct)

The Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP; Khmer: គណបក្សសង្គ្រោះជាតិ, UNGEGN: Kônâbâks Sângkrŏăh Chéatĕ, ALA-LC: Gaṇapaks Sanggroaḥ Jāti [keanapaʔ sɑŋkruəh ciət]) was a major political party in Cambodia. It was founded in 2012 as a merger between the Sam Rainsy Party and Human Rights Party.[6]

The party believed in the strengthening of freedom and human rights, institution of free and fair elections, and defending Cambodia's "national integrity". It became the sole challenger to the Cambodian People's Party after the 2013 election. Its official motto was "Rescue, Serve, Protect" (សង្គ្រោះ បម្រើ ការពារ Sângkrŏăh, Bâmreu, Karpéar) and the logo for the CNRP is the rising sun.

Party leader Kem Sokha was arrested in September 2017, after which the party was in danger of being dissolved, allegedly for being part of a foreign plot to overthrow Prime Minister Hun Sen.[7][8][9] The case was heard by the Supreme Court of Cambodia which is headed by Chief Justice Dith Munty, a member of the ruling CPP's permanent committee.[10]

On 16 November 2017, the Supreme Court ruled to dissolve the CNRP. Charles Santiago, Chairman of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, called this move "the final nail in the coffin for Cambodian democracy".[11] As a result of the ruling, all CNRP office holders, including 489 commune chiefs and 55 MPs, lost their positions and had their seats allocated to other parties. Additionally, 118 senior party officials were banned from politics for five years.[12] About half the party’s former MPs, including its vice president Mu Sochua, had already fled Cambodia before October out of fear of arrest by the ruling party.[7] The forced dissolution of the party prompted condemnation and calls to reverse the decision from the international community.[13]

  1. ^ "Khmer Will Party seeks to rope in 3M voters before national poll".
  2. ^ "How the Candlelight Party Can Restore Political Pluralism to Cambodia". The Diplomat. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  3. ^ Buth, Kimsay; Meyn, Colin (27 September 2016). "CNRP Youth Leader Resigns Ahead of Reforms". The Cambodia Daily. Archived from the original on 3 August 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  4. ^ "Anti-Vietnamese sentiment boils in Cambodia". UCANews. 10 January 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Cambodia's opposition leader plays racist card". Deutsche Welle. 5 March 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  6. ^ Vong Sokheng and Bridget Di Certo (17 July 2012). "Parties to form Cambodia Democratic Movement of National Rescue". Phnom Penh Post. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  7. ^ a b "Cambodia's government asks the courts to abolish the opposition". The Economist. 12 October 2017.
  8. ^ "Interior Ministry files complaint to dissolve CNRP". The Phnom Penh Post. 6 October 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  9. ^ "CPP rewriting rules again, with amendments planned to political laws to redistribute CNRP seats". The Phnom Penh Post. 11 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  10. ^ "Cambodia's main opposition party dissolved by Supreme Court". Reuters. 16 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  11. ^ Pengly, Horng (14 November 2017). "Live blog: Supreme Court rules to dissolve CNRP". Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  12. ^ Reid, Jenni (16 November 2017). "Breaking: Supreme Court rules to dissolve CNRP". Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  13. ^ "US calls on Cambodia to 'undo' opposition party ban". Digital Journal. 17 November 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.