Sam Rainsy's clarification letter to The Phnom Penh Post

Sir,

The article titled “Sam Rainsy slams VN incursions” in the November 20 edition of the Phnom Penh Post, did not reflect the main point I wanted to stress in my November 19 message to the Cambodian people.

When I said, "Prime Minister Hun Sen is currently playing a dangerous game” affecting Cambodia, I was referring not to his "understating the threat posed by Vietnamese territorial encroachments" as you wrote, but to the fact that he is playing with fire while handling Cambodia’s relations with Thailand.

My message reads, "Mr. Hun Sen is using a classical tactic to divert the Khmer people's attention [from other more serious problems] by exacerbating tensions [with Thailand]."

It concludes, "Cambodia should remain neutral in any internal dispute in any other country. Any spillover from the current tension or unrest in Thailand could be very detrimental to Cambodia, [which could be] set ablaze as past experiences have shown when we unnecessarily and unwisely took side in our neighbours' internal disputes."