Cambodia's ousted First Prime Minister Norodom Ranariddh will be granted amnesty and be allowed to participate in the country's general election next May, Second Prime Minister Hun Sen indicated Friday in Tokyo.
He made the comment during a meeting Friday with Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and at a press conference later. "To my understanding, the law will not prohibit a person that is not guilty from joining the election. So in the case of Ranariddh, after he receives amnesty (for an earlier indictment by the Cambodian court), he would have the right to participate in political life as well as in the election," Hun Sen told the press conference at the Japan National Press Club.
The participation of Ranariddh in the election has been called for by Japanese political leaders as well as by the international community. Hun Sen said that he is not opposed to Ranariddh being granted amnesty, something which only the king of the country can provide.
"My nonobjection to and support of amnesty (being) provided to Ranariddh stem from my spirit of respect for the Constitution, national reconciliation, humanity ... (It) is in the common interest to build a nation of liberal democratic pluralism and a state ruled by law," Hun Sen said in a statement issued Friday.
Ranariddh was overthrown by his political rival Hun Sen on July 6. He has been indicted on charges of illegally smuggling weapons and negotiating with the outlawed Khmer Rouge. The Cambodian military court will deliver its judgment on the ousted leader by the end of November, Hun Sen told Foreign Minister Keizo Obuchi on Thursday, according to Foreign Ministry officials.