Phnom Penh: Prime Minister Hun Sen has asked the court to stop the arrest warrant for Dr. Seng Sary, saying his explanation is acceptable. The Prime Minister took to Facebook to say that he accepted Dr. Seng Sary's explanation contained in his interview with The Cambodia Daily on the night of 18 September, saying that it was “a reasonable and acceptable interpretation”.
On Facebook he wrote: “On behalf of the Head of the Royal Government of Cambodia, I call on the judiciary to consider stopping the arrest warrant for Dr. Seng Sary. At the same time, I would like to encourage Dr. Seng Sary to continue his research and analysis of social issues for the benefit of social science research. I also call on Dr. Seng Sary's wife, children and parents not to worry”.
In late July 2021, Seng Sary wrote on his own Facebook page that there are six major political forces that could change Cambodian politics: pro-opposition forces, citizen forces, youth forces and internal forces within the ruling party, as well as the armed forces and international forces. Seng Sary, who since fled to Thailand, gave an interview to The Cambodia Daily over the weekend, explaining that his remarks were merely “analysis” and that he was not a pro-military politician or a political force that could create any resistance movement against the government.
He was quoted as saying, “What I am writing does not mean that I really support any political movement, but I want to show the way that it might happen. Because my writing is a conditional scenario analysis. That means it can only happen if there are a few conditions. My writing does not contain any expressions of support for any movement.”
He was back on Facebook on Monday morning asking his family to stop worrying about him after the Prime Minister accepted his explanation of his comments. Seng Sary posted: “Mom you can go to the pagoda on the day of Kan Ben and do not have to worry about anyone say you having a child as a traitor anymore, my wife, you can open the door for our child to run and play like before.”
It was on Friday 17 September that the Prime Minister warned about the arrest of Seng Sary, saying he thought his post on Facebook was in support of the anti-government movement.
