BANGKOK, Nov 13 - Exiled Cambodian opposition figure Sam Rainsy denounced a gathering of leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, in Phnom Penh this weekend as a "sham", saying political persecution and organised crime in the Southeast Asian nation made it an inappropriate venue.
Heads of state and senior ministers are meeting in the Cambodian capital for a summit of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF). The organisation promotes cooperation between French-speaking nations and lists peace, democracy and human rights among its core tenets.
"I think the summit is going to take place at the wrong place at the wrong time," Rainsy told Reuters on Friday by phone from Paris. He lives in self-exile after fleeing Cambodia, where he has been convicted of multiple offences in absentia and his political party has been banned.
"Cambodia is in a very difficult situation in terms of democracy, the rule of law, human rights, independence of the judiciary...which is totally contrary to the values that the Francophonie is supposed to represent," he said. "I think it is a sham. It is a strange summit."
Neth Pheaktra, Cambodia's minister of information, said the government had "no time for polemics" and was focused on making the gathering a success.
On Monday, Tom Andrews, the United Nations'
