WASHINGTON: Prime Minister Hun Sen has called on Cambodian-Americans who support the Royal Government to rise up to defend their freedom in the United States, for fear that the United States may revoke the citizenships of any Cambodian-American citizens who support the Royal Government of Cambodia.
Speaking from Washington, D.C., during a meeting with more than 2,000 Cambodians from the United States and Canada on Wednesday, 11 May 2022, Prime Minister Hun Sen called on the United States Government to protect Cambodian people from intimidation, and he informed Cambodian-Americans who support the Royal Government to stand up against any threat of having their US citizenship revoked by the US Government for supporting the Royal Government of Cambodia. The Prime Minister also urged Cambodian-Americans to ask their state legislators to explain the threat.
The Prime Minister said, "Some people say that Hun Sen's administration threatens certain parties, but in the past, some who have said they support Hun Sen, the CPP or the Royal Government, [have faced the risk of] the US revoking their citizenship and deporting them to Cambodia! Is this not a kind of threat? It's time for our people to stand up and defend their freedom on American land! I’ll say this, I have an obligation to protect all my compatriots who live in the country that is called the ‘Father of Democracy,’ but you are threatened. Which US law mentions this?”
During his November 2021 forum in the United States, Sam Rainsy stated that he would like to propose the US government to revoke US citizenship from Cambodians who support the CPP. He said that, in American law, he expects those who are members of the CPP and have dual citizenship, both Cambodian and American, to likely have their US citizenship revoked by the US government.
At that time, Prime Minister Hun Sen was at the inauguration ceremony of the Cambodia-China Stung Trang-Kroch Chhmar Friendship Bridge on 23 November 2021, where he said that the revocation of American citizenship from Cambodians who support the Cambodian government would reflect the undemocratic nature of the United States. He further asked Cambodian-Americans based in the United States to protest and question such a law like Kem Sokha proposed being implemented.
The chairman of the Future Forum, Cambodian-American, Ou Virak, also wrote on his Facebook page that political participation in the United States is a right, and no one can revoke citizenship for such a reason. He added that revoking US citizenship would only be possible if someone engaged in mass deception or joined a terrorist group.