Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister H.E. Prak Sokhonn, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has sent a letter to his Cypriot counterpart H.E. Nikos Christodoulides, seeking the latter’s assistance to do justice to the integrity and dignity of Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen.
“I have the honour to bring to Your Excellency’s attention to the Guardian’s report, published on Sunday, 3 October 2021, with a false claim that … ‘Cambodian leader Hun Sen was discovered to have been among the thousands of non-Europeans who received Cyprus passports.’ I am extremely disturbed by this grossly false reporting,” he wrote in the letter dated Oct. 6.
“Cambodia considers that this a very serious matter affecting our national honour. Therefore, I would like to seek Your Excellency’s good offices and kind assistance to rectify this false, if not outright ill-intent, reporting and do justice to the integrity and dignity of Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen, most importantly in the eyes of the public within and outside Cambodia,” he added.
H.E. Prak Sokhonn informed H.E. Nikos Christodoulides that Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen is a Cambodian hero who, since an early age of 18, resolved to sacrifice his flesh and blood to lead the struggle to defeat imperialism and the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime. The Premier also devoted his life to fighting for the cause of genuine national unification and for building and developing the nation from scratch after the day of national liberation in 1979.
Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen’s attachment of his life to the life of our people in all circumstances is without a doubt; and his patriotism is absolute, said H.E. Prak Sokhonn, stressing that Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen is honoured, dignified and proud to be a Khmer national and national leader. Thus, the thought of applying for citizenship or a passport from any foreign country, would have never crossed his mind.
“Considering the ties of friendship between our countries, I hope to receive your kind cooperation in this regard. Allow me to avail this opportunity to express my gratitude to Your Excellency for your understanding and attention on this matter,” he concluded.
After getting many reactions from the Cambodian side, The Guardian, a news agency based in the United Kingdom, on Oct. 6 amended its article clarifying that Samdech Techo Prime Minister did not receive a Cypriot passport, but accusing “[…] some members of the Cambodian leader Hun Sen’s inner circle were discovered to have been among the thousands of non-Europeans who received a Cypriot passport.”
Source: Agency Kampuchea Press