Skip to main content

Religion ministry defers decision on lawsuit against activist monk

Activist monk But Buntenh attends the funeral of political analyst Kem Ley. The Ministry of Cults and Religion said yesterday it had not decided whether to take action against Buntenh for allegedly insulting the King. Heng Chivoan

Niem Chheng and Leonie Kijewski | The Phnom Penh Post 
Publication date 07 March 2018 | 07:23 ICT

The Ministry of Cults and Religion said yesterday it had deferred a decision on whether to file a complaint against activist monk But Buntenh to the monks’ council, which said it cannot act with Buntenh out of the country.

The ministry had criticised comments by Buntenh last week suggesting Cambodians, including the King, drank contaminated water – leading to speculation that Buntenh may be accused of violating a new lèse majesté law. Seng Somony, spokesman for the ministry, had said on Monday the government would wait for a decision from the monks’ council.

Supreme Patriarch Nun Ngeth condemned the remarks yesterday, but said no decision had been taken. “How can we educate him?” he said of Buntenh. “We don’t decide on anything because he is outside the framework and responsibility. ”

“The secretariat of the monk council said they were considering finding a way to make [Buntenh] come back to Cambodia,” he added.

Buntenh, who is also subject to another complaint levelled by a litigious politician, said he would remain abroad another two-and-a-half years. “No one can convince me without my will [to come back],” he said.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hun Sen’s lawyer receives promotion

Ky Tech, lawyer for Prime Minister Hun Sen, speaks with reporters after filing a complaint against former Funcinpec official Lu Lay Sreng last October. Pha Lina Mech Dara | The Phnom Penh Post Publication date 07 March 2018 | 07:32 ICT After leading the legal team that won the widely condemned dissolution of the CNRP at the Supreme Court in November, Ky Tech, lawyer for the Council of Ministers and Prime Minister Hun Sen, has been given a rank equivalent to minister just weeks after he was inducted into the CPP’s Central Committee. Tech has filed a slew of defamation cases against ex-opposition leader Sam Rainsy on behalf of Hun Sen, and represented the Interior Ministry in its legal effort to disband his Cambodia National Rescue Party. A royal decree, signed on February 3 by acting head of state Say Chhum, elevated the lawyer to the rank of minister. Cambodian People’s Party spokesman Sok Eysan said that the promotion reflects Tech’s achievements for the people, including the CNRP’s d...
Post a Comment
Read more

Im Chaem converts to Christianity

Former Khmer Rouge cadre Im Chaem reads a Bible at a makeshift church next to her house in Anlong Veng district, Oddar Meanchey province on February 25. Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP The Phnom Penh Post | Publication date 06 March 2018 | 07:05 ICT by Suy Se and Sally Mairs, AFP Breaking into a broad smile, former Khmer Rouge cadre Im Chaem describes the relief she has felt since her baptism – part of a new spiritual journey for the 75-year-old after she dodged charges of crimes against humanity. “My mind is fresh and open with blessings from God,” the frail but sharp-tongued grandmother told AFP from her stilted wooden home in a village outside Anlong Veng, the dusty Cambodian border town where the Khmer Rouge fought their last battles. From radical communism to Buddhism and now Christianity, Im Chaem’s latest conversion marks another twist in a tumultuous life. She was until recently facing charges of murder, enslavement, imprisonment and other “inhumane acts” linked to her time as a distr...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bhutan showcase: Film fest to feature flicks from over the hills and far away

A screenshot from The Prophecy, which will screen this evening at the Cambodia International Film Festival. Photo supplied Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon | The Phnom Penh Post Publication date 07 March 2018 | 07:44 ICT With three feature films at this year’s Cambodia International Film Festival, the Buddhist mountain Kingdom of Bhutan this week gets a rare moment in the spotlight for Phnom Penh’s audiences. In town for the screenings, actor Loday Chophel breaks into a smile when asked how he came to play the leading role in The Prophecy, one of just a handful of movies produced by his country each year. “Can I tell you?” he asks tentatively before launching into an explanation. Born in an eastern roadside village called Wamrong, consisting of no more than 15 houses perched on a mountainside, the 38-year-old recalls that there was just one television set in the whole town, at a local convenience store. “I would go sneak in and watch films,” he says. TV and film was a novelty at the time...
Post a Comment
Read more