Phnom Penh, Cambodia
AP
–
Cambodian lawmakers on Monday approved a bill that grants the government the power to revoke citizenship of those who find themselves committed crimes of conspiring with foreigners to harm the national interests.
The Nationality Act amendments, which were approved by all 120 members of the 120 existing parliament, are viewed by critics as a way to curb and control internal dissent against Prime Minister Hun Mane and political opponents of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party.
Prior to Sunday’s vote, the 50 Cambodian non-governmental organisations issued a statement saying they were deeply concerned by the “blushes” content of a bill that would allow the government to strip Cambodians of their citizenship. They argue that it will “have a disastrously calm effect on the freedom of speech of all Cambodian citizens.”
“This new amendment to the Nationality Act puts all Cambodians at risk of losing our identity in our behaviorism. If we are stripped of our citizenship, we will lose the foundation of all rights in our home country,” the statement said.
Before it becomes law, the bill must be approved by Cambodian Senate and King Norodom Sihamoni, head of state. Although Cambodia is officially a democratic, Hun Mane’s Cambodian People’s Party holds 120 of the 125 seats in the Diet, controlling all the levers of the government.
The passage of legislation comes during a period of growing nationalism among Cambodians following the border dispute with neighboring Thailand, which fell into a five-day armed conflict in late July.
Cambodian Home Minister Sal Soka told lawmakers that the latest in the law is essential to raising strong feelings among Cambodians.
He suggested that a small group of Cambodians were commenting and acting in ways that are detrimental to the interests of the nation and national security. Appealing to the sentiment of nationalists, he said that “we should no longer qualify as Cambodian citizens” with those who directly or indirectly harm the nation and its people.
This law applies to lifelong Cambodian citizens, people with double Cambodian citizenship, and people from other countries who have been granted Cambodian citizenship.
Some prominent government critics and opposition politicians are known to have double citizenship. Hun Mane and his father Hun Sen resigned as prime minister in 2023 after 38 years of power and have often seen opposition through court cases.
The Cambodian National Rescue Party, the country’s leading opposition, was disbanded by court order in 2017 after accusing Hun Sen’s government of supporting foreign forces and trying to defeat it. Kem Soka, the party leader at the time, was arrested and later convicted of treason after being accused of conspiring with the United States.
Many countries have laws that allow citizenship to be revoked, but often on narrowly defined grounds.
Speaking to villagers and government officials in northern Kampong Thom province in July, Hun Mane argued that out of nearly 200 UN member states, 150 have laws allowing citizenship revocation, including the United States.
“Don’t worry if you are a patriot and you will not oppose the interests of the nation. But if you conspired with foreign forces to destroy Cambodia, yes, you need to worry, and in such cases, you are not Cambodian,” Hun Mane said. “True patriots will not conspire with foreign forces to destroy their nation.”
