JOINT STATEMENT BY THE SAM RAINSY PARTY (SRP)
AND THE HUMAN RIGHTS PARTY (HRP)
In meetings between the SRP, led by its president Sam Rainsy, and the HRP, led by its president Kem Sokha, in Manila on July 16 and 17, 2012, the two parties made the following decisions:
1. The SRP and the HRP will unite in accordance with the Khmer people’s will in order to save Cambodia by bringing about political change to put an end to a dictatorship serving destructive foreign interests.
2. The two parties will merge to form a new party that will unite all patriots and democrats so as to establish a democratic regime that will properly defend our national interests.
3. The two parties will push for the holding of free, fair and genuine elections that will peacefully lead to the desired democratic change. In this respect, the two parties absolutely insist on a change in the composition of the National Election Committee and an overhaul of the current complicated election procedures that make voting unnecessarily difficult.
4. The two parties absolutely insist on the free and full participation of the leader of the opposition in the election process, so as to make any election legitimate and acceptable. In this respect, they demand that the authorities stop using the judiciary to harass political opponents and human rights defenders.
5. The two parties will ensure close cooperation between recently elected leaders and members of commune councils who are party members in order to improve the efficiency of local governments and to promote democracy at the grassroots level.
While the new party is being formed, the SRP and the HRP have decided to set up the Cambodia Democratic Movement for National Rescue, to unite all patriotic and democratic forces so as to begin immediately to fulfill our national mission.
Manila, July 17, 2012
SAM RAINSY KEM SOKHA
SRP President HRP President
