Bangkok [Thailand], August 26: Cambodia's parliament on Monday passed a controversial law that allows citizens to be stripped of their citizenship for "co-operation with foreign countries," prompting an outcry among dozens of human rights groups.
All 120 members of the National Assembly present in the Phnom Penh legislature voted in favour of the bill, including Prime Minister Hun Manet, local media reported.
Although the Senate and the president must still approve the law, this is considered a mere formality.
According to the Phnom Penh Post newspaper, the National Assembly said in a statement that the law serves to "purify the patriotic spirit of Cambodian citizens towards their homeland and people."
However, human rights activists fear that it will primarily be used to force critics of the authoritarian ruling Hun family into exile. Amnesty International decried the bill as a "heinous violation of international law" in July.
"Revoking a person's citizenship must not become a political tool to silence and intimidate critical voices," the London-based organization said. At the weekend, 50 human rights organizations issued a joint statement warning of a "disastrously chilling effect on the freedom of speech of all Cambodian citizens."
Source: Qatar Tribune
