PHNOM PENH, Aug 17 (Reuters) – The daughter of a recently pardoned Cambodian opposition figure who was jailed for alleged treason has been appointed special envoy to Prime Minister Hun Manet, a royal decree showed on Monday, in a rare concession to the political opposition.
• The appointment of Kem Monovithya could be significant in Cambodia, where Western governments and human rights groups have long accused the ruling Cambodian People’s Party of monopolising politics by persecuting its opponents, which it denies.
• The role gives Kem Monovithya a rank equivalent to a minister and was granted at the request of Hun Manet. The decree, signed by King Norodom Sihamoni on Monday, did not provide further details on her position.
• Kem Monovithya’s father Kem Sokha was pardoned by the king in May just weeks after losing his appeal against a 2023 conviction and sentence of 27 years of house arrest for treason, a charge he rejected.
• Kem Sokha was arrested in 2017 accused of conspiring with the United States to overthrow then premier Hun Sen, the father of Hun Manet.
• Kem Sokha’s Cambodia National Rescue Party was dissolved in 2017 and hundreds of its members fled into exile and were later jailed in absentia. Kem Monovithya, 44, was a CNRP member.
• Hun Manet, 48, on Friday posted a picture on Facebook of himself standing beside Kem Monovithya, describing her as his “sister”, which said: “As a new generation of politicians alike, there are some things we can collaborate on for the betterment of our country, especially on the international stage.”
• The appointment comes a day after the still-influential Hun Sen, who is now Cambodia’s Senate president, posted a picture of himself on social media shaking hands with Kem Sokha at a meeting where Kem Monovithya was present.
(Reporting by Chantha Lach; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Alison Williams)
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