Sunday, January 3, 2010

Cambodian politician ordered arrested

PARIS, (UPI) -- Opposition leader Sam Rainsy says he will let the Cambodian government try him in absentia on charges of racial incitement and destruction of property.

Cambodia's Svay Reing provincial court ordered Rainsy's arrest Friday after he failed to appear for a hearing on charges he uprooted border markings between Cambodia and Vietnam in October.

In a story published Saturday, Rainsy told The Phnom Penh Post the border markers were illegally placed by Vietnam and encroached on the land of Cambodian farmers.

"I can resolve my own problems, but justice (must be had) for the farmers who lost their rice fields," Rainsy said, speaking with the Post by telephone from France.

Cambodia and Vietnam are three years into a six-year process to demarcate their shared 800-mile border.

Rainsy accused the Cambodian People's Party of pressuring the provincial court to order his arrest and revoke his status as a parliamentarian, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported Saturday.

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