PHNOM PENH: Senate president Hun Sen met with former opposition leader Kem Sokha on Sunday (Aug 16) morning. The leader of the ruling party announced that he spoke with Sokha and his family for three hours, singling out Sokha’s daughter Kem Monovithya as “an excellent human resource for the nation”.
Hun Sen has had increasing contact with Sokha, once one of his principal political rivals, following Sokha’s pardon and his gradual re-emergence in public life.
In a social media post, Hun Sen noted that Sokha visited him at his home several weeks earlier, before the former opposition leader travelled to meet Cambodian troops and displaced civilians affected by the Cambodia-Thailand border conflict.
“Several weeks ago, His Excellency Kem Sokha came to meet me at my home before he went to visit the troops and displaced people,” Hun Sen said.
He said Sokha returned on Sunday accompanied by his wife and daughter, with their conversation lasting three hours, from 9am until noon.
The Senate president did not disclose what the subjects of the three-hour discussions were, or whether political issues were among the subjects raised.
One of the most notable elements of Hun Sen’s post, however, was his direct praise for Monovithya, with the veteran politician saying he had spent much of the meeting talking with Sokha’s daughter.
“I talked a lot with my niece Kem Monovithya, who truly is an excellent human resource for the nation,” Hun Sen said.
The comment was significant, given Monovithya’s previous prominent association with the former Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which was led by her father before its dissolution by the Supreme Court in 2017.
The latest meeting also comes amid growing public attention on contact between Sokha’s family and Cambodia’s current political leadership, as the former opposition leader has begun making public appearances following years of legal restrictions.
Sokha, a co-founder and former president of the CNRP, was sentenced in 2023 to 27 years in prison on a treason-related charge of conspiracy with a foreign power. He was placed under house arrest and subjected to restrictions on his political activities and movements.
The Phnom Penh Appeal Court upheld his conviction on April 30, 2026, maintaining the 27-year sentence and imposing a five-year overseas travel restriction.
However, Sokha received a royal pardon on May 25, ending his remaining prison sentence and house arrest. Restrictions preventing him from participating in political activities remained in place.
A subsequent royal decree issued on July 24 lifted his five-year overseas travel ban, further easing the restrictions that had surrounded the former opposition leader, although his prohibition on political activity remain.
Days later, on July 28, Sokha made a notable public appearance when he travelled to Banteay Meanchey province to meet displaced families affected by the Cambodia-Thailand border conflict.
During the visit, Sokha said he was acting as a private citizen rather than representing a political party or state institution. He also said he had raised the plight of displaced Cambodians with members of the international community.
Hun Sen and Sokha stood on opposing sides of Cambodia’s political landscape for years, particularly when the CNRP emerged as the country’s largest opposition force challenging the ruling Cambodian People’s Party.
The CNRP made major electoral gains in the 2013 national election and the 2017 commune elections before being dissolved by the Supreme Court in November 2017, two months after Sokha was arrested.
Against that history, the two recent private meetings, Sokha’s renewed public appearances and Hun Sen’s direct praise of Monovithya are likely to draw attention to the evolving relationship between the former political adversaries.
Hun Sen’s description of Monovithya as a “good human resource” is particularly noteworthy given her political background, although he gave no indication of whether the remark was intended to signal any prospective public or political role for her.
Neither side has announced that the recent meetings are connected to a political agreement, reconciliation process or plans for a political role for Sokha or Monovithya. - The Phnom Penh Post/ANN
