Move Forward dismisses Cambodian group’s claim of political meddling

BANGKOK: The opposition Move Forward Party has rejected an allegation by a Cambodian political group that it is supporting “propaganda” and anti-government activities against Phnom Penh from Thai soil.

The Thai liberal party, which won the most MP seats in the most recent general election in May, said in a statement that the claim by the Khmer Unity Great Nation Party (KUGNP) was untrue.

“The Move Forward Party has never organised or supported any activity that is involved with a political group in Cambodia,” said the statement released on Thursday (Dec 28).

Move Forward said that it has interactions with political parties and groups from around the world, sharing views and experiences about democracy and political matters. However, the party has never had a bilateral relationship or agreement with any foreign political group, it added.

The party’s cooperation with foreign political groups has been in the form of multilateral alliances, such as the Network for Social Democracy in Asia-Pacific (SocDem Asia Pacific). That network is under the Progressive Alliance, which is an international network of more than 140 progressive and social democratic political parties and organisations, according to Move Forward’s statement.

On Wednesday, the KUGNP – a group of seven Cambodian political parties and six civil society organisations – urged Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin to monitor Move Forward’s activities.

“The Move Forward Party has acted in support of a group from an anti-government movement in Cambodia and they use Thailand as a safe haven for their propaganda against the government,” KUGNP president Heang Kimsroeun said in a statement.

He also claimed that Move Forward provided space and training for extremist politicians abroad, the Khmer Times reported on Thursday.

“These are against the Cambodian government, and the KUGNP considers the Move Forward Party’s activities an interference in Cambodia’s internal affairs, which undermines good relations between the two governments,” the group’s president said.

Cambodia’s Democracy Movement Party, which is part of the KUGNP, accused Move Forward of training Cambodian opposition politicians in Thailand who “have arbitrarily accused Cambodia of human rights violations,” according to the Khmer Times report.

The Cambodian party’s president, Kong Bunthoeun, was quoted as saying that alleged actions of Move Forward could undermine diplomatic relations between Cambodia and Thailand, both economically and politically.

“We hope that Srettha Thavisin will help monitor the activities of foreign opposition politicians who have been using Thai territory as a base to attack Cambodia, and have acted against the government in Thailand under the umbrella of the Move Forward Party,” the Khmer Times quoted Kong as saying. - The Nation/ANN