Free thought with limits cambodias Opposition Leader is released from house arrest bot his colleagues face hurdles as they try to return from exile can they maintain pressure on the Prime Minister despite a government crackdown this is inside story. Hello and welcome to the program im the stasi attain cambodias Prime Minister hun sen has silenced nearly all voices of dissent in recent years his government has shut down independent media and dissolved the main Opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party or c. An r. P. Now a prominent c. An r. P. Leader has been freed after a year of house arrest but still faces severe restrictions and is banned from leaving the country meanwhile his colleagues including Prominent Party cofounder sam rainsy are facing challenges of their own as they try to return to cambodia from exile and this is all happening as the Government FacesInternational Pressure for undermining democracy and human rights will bring in our guest in just a moment but 1st this report from wayne hay whos in phnom penh. The president of the Opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party spent his 1st full day of relative Freedom Still in his home in the capital phnom penh he met diplomats the 1st was the ambassador of france which is one of the countries applying most pressure on the cambodian government. Didnt talk to the media but his spokesman said the meetings were an opportunity to say thank you its just to visit to express greetings. And trucks and the personal. Is still banned from Political Activities and the charge of treason against him stands the decision to end his house arrest came the day after the acting president of his party sam rainsy flew into malaysia from exile in france saying hell return to cambodia. The security has been deployed on the streets of phnom penh as a warning to anyone thinking of helping him achieve his stated goal of overthrowing the government on tuesday the European Union will deliver a report to Prime Minister hun sens government outlining its concerns over a decline in democracy and human rights. Its threatening to withdraw cambodias preferential trade agreement if significant improvements arent made but the ruling party says the courts decision on cam was not made in response to that threats. This is the opinion of outlawed rebels who have always taken up the issue of the cambodian government came so close cases under the control of the courts so its not relevant. The developments come in the middle of an important holiday in cambodia the annual water festival. Politics is absent as crews and boats from around the country converge on the capital to mark the end of the wit season when the tunnel asap river changes direction even if the government is able to appease the European Union there are big. Question marks over whether theyll be any significant space in the short term for the Cambodian National risky party Prime Minister who in sin has tried very hard to destroy the threat posed by the opposition that undoing the damage completely now seems unlikely. Still the members of the band party see the International Pressure and attention as an opportunity to try to restart their political careers and resume the campaign to change this countrys direction when hate paying for insights to. Now that crack down on the Opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party or see an r. P. Intensified after it made gains in elections in 2002017 party cofounder sam rainsy went into self exile hes been convicted of several crimes in absentia charges his supporters say are all politically motivated fellow cofounder of the c. An r. P. Cum soccer was arrested for treason more than 2 years ago the Supreme Court dissolved the National Rescue party in the run up to last years general election several independent Media Outlets have been forced to shut down and dozens of see an r. P. Supporters have been arrested this year accused of plotting to overthrow Prime Minister hun sen. Well lets bring in our guests now in kuala lumpur we are privileged to have sam rainsy acting president of the Cambodian National rescue party on skype from singapore that is graham on the web hes a Research Fellow at the s. Rajaratnam school of International Studies and also on skype from bangkok benjamins a wacky who is an independent Southeast Asia analyst and author welcome to you all mr randi i have to start with the big question here do you plan to return to cambodia despite the threat of new assassin a rest when you get there diffidently. We will go back to cambodia it is not only our right but its our duty to go back to our country to our home country how soon could we see you go back to cambodia and how do you plan to get there get there have been a number of the just call tandon so far things can change because we are combining internal pressure with external pressure on the one side and the regime so that they were left in it a peaceful way we will go back to cambodia mr india talk me through your decision to return to cambodia at this time because i know you set yourself deadline almost of the 9th of november and we are having this this European Union decision that we will hear about on tuesday about the preferential trade agreement and you talked about internal and external pressures so is this a strategic time then for you to go back to cambodia in the hope that you might be able to leverage some of that for some change yes very much so have the Thai Government not blocked me from prevent that the from going back to cambodia i would have been in cambodia already by the names of for november but now these another date important date is when the European Union is going to release their report and make their decision whether to suspend the system of trade privileges are not and the decease a very powerful leverage to put pressure under one side regime to restore democracy so mr raines even let me ask you the question again when do you expect to return to cambodia. It can be any time because the population is still more belies our network is ready and the International Pressure is mounting so we are the turning point i would say at the Tipping Point you talk about this Tipping Point and its also a Tipping Point potentially for the c. N. R. P i know animal cam soccer has now been released from house arrest but he is still facing restrictions and isnt allowed to participate in politics i know you and he have had some differences of opinion in the past so where do you see your role in the party now. We would call for a Popular Uprising if one side does not restore democracy then there will be International Sanction factories will be close workers hundreds of thousands of workers will lose their job then we will call on those factory workers and their families to rise up it is because of one sign that they lose their job if you dont do anything they will lose their job so we have to do our best to preserve the jobs of hundreds of thousands of workers and the livelihoods of their families when you say you are calling for a Popular Uprising then is there a concern that there could be violence we have seen this crackdown on the part of the government and now you are asking potentially thousands of people to come out onto the streets and there has been a lot of violence in cambodia and its history could there be as a civil war no we will follow the example of the filipino people are a 9096 when there was a peaceful Popular Uprising forcing the dictator at that time Ferdinand Marcos to lead a country i think this can happen in cambodia always one sign also fleeing the country and depression from. The crowd let me ask you this then mr rains at a time of great tension in cambodia you faced criticism from some people who have questioned your courage about not returning from selfimposed exile and you still havent yet managed to make it back to the country what would you say to those people. I did return asked promise on did 19th july 23rd teen it was a successful return and i was well come by hundreds of thousands of people and we made significant again the election that took place or 10 days later had the election been on s. And transparent fury and fair we would have won already so in the meantime the popular discontent against on sunday sheen has increased so do people really waiting for a change a positive change i did look at the change they are waiting for a signal the signal will be d. Return of the c. N. R. Be the Opposition Leadership once we are into country there will be a Popular Uprising we call on the army not to shoot others and to turn down a gun against the dictator so this will be really the turning of the Tipping Point well at this Tipping Point i mean to broaden out the discussion graham let me ask you as someone whos been watching can i get politics fan from outside of the country how united in your mind is the cambodian opposition now and is is an uprising like thats possible. Well i think any any of photos of our terrible year theyd have been in a country where theyd have been or 2 found in europe brought within the region on high see what the level of support is i mean you know to support a significant are if im not wrong figures put it with our team in supporters of the senior c. N. N. R. T. And with the 10000000. 00 dismantlement of us the marquee of years ago you can wish we treat 3000000 supporters just like that and theres also a sense from various respects that can broaden use maybe very well aspiring to change unlike with the. Mobile site guys if you like for thoughtful more space for the freedom of expression which comes at loggerheads with all the demographic with jim so i think that is not grounds to suppose that it is support receiving r. P. But of course you only only when the rubber hits the road wins some rienzi mixes such as return to b. C. What the kind of our support and genders benjamin let me throw that question at you because then the next election will actually only be in 2023 rights but give me a read on your take on the pledge of atmosphere in the country at the moment if an election where to happen tomorrow would we say one cent hold on to power. Well that depends on whether or not the voice of the people will be allowed to stand and whats very interesting is when surveys that have been conducted of late among people and what they show is that the population for the large part supports the kind of pressure being placed on homes and government by the e. U. As as mr ramsey said and also by the United States the development or results or at least the results that were not allowed to stand in the in 2018 election suggest that that person would be under considerable pressure domestically as well as as mentioned internationally to see the results to the Opposition Party which is one of the reasons i think hes breathing much more easily knowing that you doesnt need to stand again for what for for 33 or 4 more years at this point so the kind of the domestic and external pressure will have some more time to get to work on the situation there. Lets talk about this timing and graham i do want to ask you about this this timing around the e. U. Decision and to potentially remove this trade deal with cambodia which could potentially affect up to a 3rd of cambodian exports so right now and here think that this is a potential diplomatic sleight of hand to try to get can suck out of house arrest and get everyone looking the other way say look this is this is a relaxation of restrictions we are opening up to the Democratic Change potentially and so please dont dont take out trade partnership. Now senator because this is all well timed and this is a complete that just schools not only by dont want in government in response to the easy precinct measures by the European Union was you maybe by a stretch by the ministration not so much and of course you will see an arche and thats why i send you an easy another us in order to. Time it to death certificate bondage so if things are time do we send somebody pence then will cost you on it going to spend more you have presumably if i can say so he will touch when he. Doesnt get arrested but he does get us the because there will be a game changer there was the response by you you will see this very harshly and you will presumably trigger these sanctions on the seizing of the trait i think it preferential trade on states as a kind of what is known joints at benjamin so this trade agreements the everything that honest trade agreements and if that is dropped who will then suffer the most because as as mr randi was saying that there is a large amount of low income wackos within the government to industry presumably theyre going to todays their jobs and will it have the intended effect when it comes to political change all or could it just manage a huge amount of economic suffering well it really depends i mean when you look at the International Situation for example china could could make a move to do step in and try to mitigate against the ill effects on the average person should that that the trade preferences be dropped china is at the moment the largest trading partner with cambodia its largest foreign investor its single largest bilateral donor and happens to be its largest source of forms or ism the belt Road Initiative chinas Signature International policy has been largely embraced within cambodia at least at the top through the c. N. N. Bill especially Economic Zone in a related highway and so. Definitely possible that if the local economy and local people are are are hurt either by e. U. Or e. U. Or or u. S. Sanctions relating to trade preferences the same things are being considered by the us congress as are being considered by by the European Union its possible that china will seek to to further deepen its influence in the country by by filling that void and stepping in and trying to give it enough to not only to to mitigate the ill effects of of that but also to turn the tide of Public Opinion that i mentioned earlier whereby you have a population thats largely in support of the pressure thats being applied and sent even if the government itself is resisting that pressure mr been talking to various different western palace about change and in cambodia and youve also been watching the cambodia china relationship quiet closer and closer in recent is how much has that changed things has that given you some leverage in tens of encouraging and perhaps western nations to want to might want to chinese influence in the region to maybe get a little bit more proactive about whats happening in cambodia. Yes a real source for concern. Is becoming a chinese so quality for the 1st time we see china sending hundreds of thousands of settlers they are not ordinary tourists they have come to cambodia to stay through said though theyre so we are very worried and they come they they bribe the or 30 days or to take our land to take our jobs or they behave as if they were the best of the land so people are very upset and on top of that the government has given china a lot of fuss cities and those facilities can be turned into military facilities over that very quickly so it is not only a source of concern for economic reason but it is a source of tension in the region this can a certain peace and stability in the region it is why did issue of restoring democracy in cambodia and the issue of maintaining just neutrality preventing china from a Building Military capacity in cambodia is interrelate that one sign has. Chosen to be on china as a side this is a danger not only for cambodia but for the whole region so restoring democracy in cambodia means also or ensuring. Neutrality and independence and preventing any foreign power from building any military facility in cambodia mr n. Z. You are talking about increasing regional tensions there you are currently in malaysia and malaysia and cambodia are both both members of asio and assy and has a policy of noninterference in each others affairs but i think that malaysia has detained a number of opposition members from your party and in the last few days at the request of phnom penh do you think that asio and as a body is doing enough to pressure cambodia. Things are changing i think the values of democracy of human rights are being promoted more and more clearly by a number of countries im thinking of malaysia im thinking of indonesia so i think somethings are changing and im very grateful to the malaysian government for allowing d. C. And not be leadership to be on malaysia soil or even though these make it sound very angry but they have made it clear that malaysia is an independent country and malaysia. Holds a one to uphold so universal values human rights and democracy and malaysia set a good example when the opposition one day last election this gave a lot of hope to become good young people because of the similarities between 2 countries well i see here actually that malaysian Prime MinisterMahathir Mohamad did actually say in the last few days that malaysia doesnt want to be used as a base for political activists or to interfere and it has stuck by that policy for some time now graeme i see you nodding there do you have the same take what is asked and doing within the context of whats happening in cambodia. Well im sure that san remzi is very appreciative for all the horsemanship is deceiving from the authorities right now but i respectfully disagree with that because its got to the amount of support within these of the supports for human rights. In the region i think yes that are because of the obvious climate of our deepening of the origins of across various. Countries so militia only very well be an exception to the rule of all im sure there are right now i think there was a tightening you might want to find much advantage for example arsons for you right now with the would you get rid you go to church here in the street philip i do much there the 2nd military group grip of the bible if you want to are in thailand not very much will there as well and also in places like laos and vietnam to rather to all systems singapore many external zones look question. Whether or not its become more democratic when theres been a tightening of political will by country and so i think this is a very. Poor. Of the score to. Receive Democratic Changes in the cards of the country benjamin let me throw that question about hope to you as well because i see that one sent out just last year that he was going to to rule for another another decade and then just a month ago i believe he announced that his eldest son could monette would be the possible future leader of cambodia and he is a he is a very strong man in the military that so could we see a continuation of the one political dynasty here or is there hope for change. We certainly could see the continuation hes only 66 years old hes been explicitly in power for 22 years and he shows very little sign of loosely his grip i would agree with graham that if youre looking at ozzy honestly as the answer youre probably looking in the wrong place its been historically difficult process to speak with a single voice on any major rights issue far easier it is been for them to speak with their collective silence you look over the past 2 years at the genocide thats taking place then myanmar about which has done very little and looking looking out eastward in the South China Sea on the on has been ineffective ineffectual at at speaking with a single voice at chinese encroachment in the South China Sea and i would add that has really aided and abetted china in all of that it is several times frustrated and at least once blocked the on from issuing a joint communique about the South China Sea at the request of the of china china essentially leaning on on cambodia as as as ozzy and sharon the time in saying we dont want to be on speaking with a single voice on this it has very much ben chinas m. O. Within the region to sort of divided influence within ozzy on it and cambodia has been a very willing office to that let me ask just one last question and to mr and say at this point do you say having been out of the country for all these yeahs and potentially attending various stand do you feel hopeful for your country at the state yes it would be about so because theys not only to issue restarting democracy in cambodia but the issue of. Expansionist policy with. A restart a in cambodia. Yeah we would be a fact of pisa and. Not allowed china not to build any military facilities i think this so conceded ation has has opened a discussion about the border and we will leave it there for now at story will be continuing to watch very closely thank you to all of our guests sam rainsy graham on the web and benjamins a wacky and thank you too for watching you can see the program again any time by visiting our website aljazeera dot com and for further discussion do go to our Facebook Page thats facebook dot com ford slash a. J. Inside story you can also join the conversation on twitter handle is at a. J. Inside story for me the whole team here in the house by fanatics. Dreams dunst and entertainments away the people to rise above the violence around so its my role to give these girls a different idea that they can leave the ruins of this community 3 short films show how performance creates a home and family and gives hope and opportunity. A. J. Selects on aljazeera. U. S. President donald trump is about to host takis president rejected to run at the white house with their countries and odds over syria and threatened u. S. Sanctions. Join us for extensive coverage to disney on. An investigation into the real powers that control the World Health Organization their obligation to their shareholders completely overwhelms any consideration of Public Health can they be trusted with building a healthier future if their loyalty becomes questionable. Better each morning and one push isnt getting much difficulty thank you now oh yes theres chaz who says dont you trust that you trust our knowledge is the. Peace it will be in doha the top stories from aljazeera at least 3 people have been killed in israeli airstrikes in gaza funerals have been held for a Palestinian Islamic jihad commander and his wife who died in an israeli air strike on their home in gaza overnight israeli airstrikes have also hit apartment buildings on a hamas facility in gaza. The Israeli Military says around 50 rockets have been fired from gaza prompting the closure of schools and some transport Services Video released by the Roads Authority showed what appears to be a rocket exploding on a busy highway. Its really warplanes of fired missiles towards damascus into the neighborhood of meds are to hit a house belonging to another commander of Islamic Jihad its unclear what happened to him but his son and granddaughter have been killed rob matheson has more now from west jerusalem the situation is very significant also because this is the 1st time since the end of the gaza war in 2014 that israel has used a targeted attack on such a senior figure it has carried out targeted attacks on other individuals but not at this level of seniority on com police have been firing tear gas and engaging in running battles with protesters across several parts of the city antigovernment demonstrators set up barricades paralyzing streets and public transport the hong kong leader kerry called the protest quote a very selfish act. A large area of eastern australia has been given one of the countrys most serious bushfire warnings the sydney region has been given a catastrophic danger level for the 1st time i winds and rising temperatures