VZCZCXRO5700
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0310/01 0540904
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 230904Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8063
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PHNOM PENH 000310 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM KJUS CB
SUBJECT: LAWSUITS KEEP RANARIDDH OUT OF CAMBODIA; OUT OF 
POLITICAL SPOTLIGHT 
 
 
 ¶1.  (SBU)  Summary.  Legal action against Prince Norodom 
Ranariddh by his estranged wife on adultery grounds and by 
FUNCINPEC over the Prince's alleged improper handling of the 
sale of FUNCINPEC's party headquarters to a development 
company have acted to keep Ranariddh largely out of Cambodia 
since early December 2006.  The Phnom Penh court issued a 
warrant for the Prince's arrest on February 16 for not having 
appeared on two occasions at the court for questioning.  NRP 
officials plan to organize a demonstration to protest the 
RGC's treatment of their leader.  Norodom Ranariddh Party 
(NRP) officials accuse the government of using Cambodia's 
weak and politically biased judiciary to undermine the 
Prince's popularity and the NRP's prospects for success at 
the polls on April 1.  Despite the Prince's legal problems, 
the NRP managed to produce candidate lists for over 1,400 of 
Cambodia's 1,621 communes, following large numbers of 
FUNCINPEC defections to the NRP.  Meanwhile, the issue of 
royal family members' involvement in politics is once again a 
topic of conversation and debate.  End Summary. 
 
Ranariddh -- Out of Sight, But Still on the RGC's Mind 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Since the October 2006 split in FUNCINPEC between 
the Nhek Bun Chhay faction and the loyalists to former 
FUNCINPEC leader Prince Norodom Ranariddh, several lawsuits 
have been lodged against Ranariddh.  The first legal action 
against the ex-FUNCINPEC leader came from estranged wife and 
recently appointed RGC senior minister in charge of the 
government's program to fight HIV/AIDS, Princess Marie 
Ranariddh.  Ranariddh's estranged wife brought suit in early 
December 2006 against her husband through the country's 
adultery law, passed by the National Assembly earlier in 
¶2006.  At the time, many observers predicted the legislation 
would be used to discredit Prince Ranariddh, whose long-time 
companion (and mother of his three-year-old son), Ouk Phalla, 
had been publicly castigated by PM Hun Sen, who described 
Phalla as "an evil fox."   Princess Marie's lawsuit, however, 
has receded from public attention since it was filed on 
December 7, 2006.  Ranariddh's advisors claim that the 
Princess was pushed into filing the lawsuit by FUNCINPEC and 
CPP officials in an effort to undermine Prince Ranariddh's 
new political party.  According to these same sources, there 
has been disagreement within Ranariddh's family over the 
legal action, and the couple's children are reportedly 
unhappy over the public nature of their parents' feud. 
Former King Sihanouk has also weighed in, publicly chiding 
the Princess for allowing herself to be used for political 
ends. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Senior NRP officials note that the Prince long ago 
ceded much of the couple's joint property to Princess Marie, 
and Ranariddh reportedly has agreed that his estranged wife 
should retain those assets she requires in order to drop the 
suit against him.  One FUNCINPEC MP who remains loyal to the 
Prince also told us that the Cambodian public recognizes that 
passage of the adultery law was politically motivated, and 
the public has not reacted negatively to the Prince as the 
government had hoped.  Therefore, the RGC has realized 
pushing the adultery issue will only raise questions about 
FUNCINPEC and CPP officials known to have mistresses, he 
explained, and the hypocrisy of focusing only on Ranariddh 
will backfire for the government. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Two additional lawsuits are potentially more 
serious for the Prince.  The first was lodged by FUNCINPEC on 
November 8, 2006 and accused the Prince of improprieties 
surrounding the sale of the FUNCINPEC party headquarters to a 
private development company headed by businessman Ly Chhoung. 
 FUNCINPEC Secretary General Nhek Bun Chhay brought the suit 
against Ranariddh, and accused the former FUNCINPEC leader of 
an "abuse of confidence" and of personally profiting from the 
USD 3.6 million transaction.  According to the complaint, 
Ranariddh allegedly sold the property to Ly Chhoung in 2005, 
with USD 1.2 accorded for the purchase of the new FUNCINPEC 
headquarters site and USD 2.4 retained by Ly Chhoung's 
company for use in building the new facility.  The suit 
maintains that Ranariddh proceeded with the sale without the 
knowledge of FUNCINPEC officials, and that Ranariddh put the 
title of the new headquarters property in his name.  NRP 
officials insist that FUNCINPEC officials were aware of the 
sale, including Nhek Bun Chhay, who the NRP claims was 
instrumental in brokering the deal with Ly Chhoung -- a 
relative of CPP Standing Committee member and National 
Assembly parliamentarian Cheam Yeap.  Ranariddh's advisors 
maintain the Prince did not make any money from the sale and 
the Prince's legal team has circulated a rejoinder accusing 
Nhek Bun Chhay of political motives in bringing the baseless 
suit against Ranariddh.  Meanwhile, the Phnom Penh Municipal 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000310  002 OF 003 
 
 
Court began taking testimony and collecting documents related 
to the case in January 2007. 
 
¶5.  (U)  In early January 2007, PM Hun Sen requested the RGC 
to investigate the details surrounding the May 2000 contract 
awarded to a Taiwanese construction firm for the renovation 
of the National Stadium.  The government's spokesperson, 
Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith, claimed to the press 
that the investigation was at the behest of opposition Sam 
Rainsy Party (SRP) MP Son Chhay, but the opposition figure 
suggested that the RGC's desire to add another legal battle 
to the NRP leader's headaches could be the reason.  Son Chhay 
noted he has raised questions about the stadium deal in the 
past, but his inquiries had been dismissed.  Calling for an 
investigation that was brokered nearly 7 years ago at this 
time raises questions regarding the PM's motivation, say 
Ranariddh supporters, who deny that the Prince had any part 
in the Stadium deal. 
 
Latest Developments 
------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  For his part, Ranariddh has maintained a low 
profile and spent much of his time over the last several 
months outside Cambodia.  The Prince returned to Cambodia 
briefly over the New Year to celebrate his 63rd birthday on 
January 2, but left the country again shortly afterwards and 
reportedly is in France.  NRP officials report that Ranariddh 
has no immediate plans to return.  Meanwhile, FUNCINPEC 
Secretary General Nhek Bun Chhay has called on Cambodian 
 
SIPDIS 
authorities to arrest the Prince should Ranariddh come back 
to Cambodia.  On February 16, the Municipal Court of Phnom 
Penh issued a warrant to detain the Prince on his return to 
Cambodia.  The court explained that the warrant was issued 
following the Prince's non-appearance at two previous 
hearings over the FUNCINPEC headquarters transaction. 
Ranariddh's lawyers have cried foul, saying that the Prince 
is too busy with academic duties in France to return to the 
country at this time, but will clear his name on his return. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Most recently, NRP officials have told us that 
they are planning a peaceful protest of NRP members 
throughout Cambodia to highlight the RGC's unjust tactics 
towards Ranariddh.  They estimate that as many as 10,000 NRP 
members would participate, although the NRP has not yet 
requested RGC permission to stage a demonstration nor have 
they determined a date. 
 
What to Do with the Royals 
-------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  Coincident with Ranariddh's legal problems has 
been renewed public discussion and debate over the future 
role of Cambodian royal family members in politics -- a topic 
that continues to emerge and recede in the news.  Most 
recently, the PM has publicly discussed the possibility of 
the royals being excluded from running for political office 
in exchange for pensions and charitable roles as public 
figures in support of government activities.  Prince Sisowath 
Thomico claims that the CPP efforts to remove royals from 
politics are geared towards symbolically eliminating former 
King Sihanouk's influence in Cambodia's political affairs as 
well as getting rid of the royals before the 2008 national 
elections.  It would also lower the profile of royal family 
members in Cambodian life, and the public would disassociate 
royals from politics, said Thomico.  The former personal 
secretary to former King Sihanouk told us that he should not 
 
SIPDIS 
be prevented from serving his country, and Cambodia needs all 
its citizens, royal family members included, to run for 
office if they have something to contribute. 
 
¶9.  (SBU)  NRP officials have said that Ranariddh would 
simply renounce his title and continue his political life as 
a private citizen if the CPP tries to legislate the royal 
family members out of politics.  To date, FUNCINPEC MPs have 
been silent as to whether they continue to support the party 
or have shifted their allegiance to Ranariddh in order to 
retain their positions in the National Assembly.  Commune 
counselors, on the other hand, were forced to declare in 
advance of the April 1 elections, fearing that they would 
lose their re-election bid if they ran under the FUNCINPEC 
banner against a Ranariddh candidate.  However, the national 
elections in 2008 will force the MPs to decide, and the NRP 
estimates that roughly two-thirds of the FUNCINPEC MPs will 
likely go with Ranariddh if the NRP does reasonably well in 
the commune elections.  For that reason, they say, FUNCINPEC 
will probably insist on a show of hands in the near future 
and replace Ranariddh loyalists with Nhek Bun Chhay 
favorites. 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000310  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU)  The PM's tactics of using politically motivated 
lawsuits to undermine the political opposition and keep its 
leaders out of the country is a tried and true formula, 
having worked most recently against Sam Rainsy for much of 
¶2005.  At that time and as a coalition partner in the 
government with the CPP, Ranariddh and FUNCINPEC were happy 
to see their political rival weakened and unable to return to 
Cambodia.  Ironically, with Rainsy back in Hun Sen's good 
graces and Ranariddh on the outs, the tables have turned. 
Rainsy, however, has no sympathy for Ranariddh and hopes that 
his party will benefit from the NRP leader's woes on April 1. 
 While the CPP would also welcome new voters, observers 
generally agree that the CPP's primary aim in keeping 
Ranariddh out of the country is to help FUNCINPEC retain as 
much of its dwindling political support as possible.  The PM 
announced in December 2006 that the CPP would retain 
FUNCINPEC as a coalition partner following the 2008 elections 
(assuming a CPP majority), hoping that the promise of 
continued public sector employment would be an added 
incentive to FUNCINPEC loyalists to stay with the party 
following the unexpected wave of defections to the NRP for 
the commune elections.  End Comment. 
MUSSOMELI