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Reuters

Cambodian authorities have thwarted an exiled opposition activist’s plot to set off two blasts days before traditional new year celebrations, Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Tuesday.
Veteran leader Hun Sen is preparing for a July general election that he is widely expected to win, with the main opposition party banned and its leaders lumbered with legal cases that have blocked them from politics.
Hun Sen, speaking to students at a university ceremony in the capital, said Sam Serey, leader of an opposition group based in Denmark, had plotted to set off explosions on Thursday in Phnom Penh and the tourist hub of Siem Reap.
“This is by a leader traitor whose name is Sam Serey, who is ordering attacks to cause explosive activities,” Hun Sen said, adding he had disrupted the plots.
“I’m in control of the situation.”

He gave no more details of the plots  except to say one blast was planned at a landmark Phnom Penh Buddhist stupa, and another in Siem Reap, home to the Angkor temple complex. 
The traditional new year, this weekend, is one of Cambodia’s main holidays.
Sam Serey, leader of a little-known group called the Khmer National Liberation Front (KNLF), could not be reached for comment.
Authorities have in the past accused the group of various plots and a court in 2014 convicted 13 members of plotting to overthrow the government. Rights groups said at the time the case was an attempt to discredit the opposition in general.
Sam Serey was sentenced in absentia in 2016 to nine years in prison.
Despite the reports of anti-government plots, Hun Sen has maintained a firm hold on power for decades.

Critics say he has intimidated opponents and rigged elections while human rights groups criticise his government’s record on rights.
Hun Sen and his government deny violating human rights and say they have brought peace, stability and relative prosperity to one of Asia’s poorest countries after decades of war and instability.
Political analyst Lao Mong Hay said the latest suspected plot should not be used as an excuse to crack down.
“I hope alleged planned attacks will not be used as an excuse to further tighten the security measures and to further curtail the rights and freedoms of the Cambodian people,” he said.
A court dissolved the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party last year after it was found guilty of plotting to take power with the help of the United States.
The CNRP and the United States denied the accusation, which followed the arrest of CNRP party leader Kem Sokha on treason charges. 


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Cambodia strongman Hun Sen accuses exiled opposition ‘traitor’ of plotting bomb attack in tourist hub Siem Reap

PM Hun Sen gave no more details of the plots expect to say one blast was planned at a landmark Phnom Penh Buddhist stupa, and another in Siem Reap, home to the Angkor temple complex (pictured). Photo: AFP 

epa06638202 Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen arrives for the sixth Greater Mekong Sub-Region Summit (GMS-6) in the National Convention Center (NCC) in Hanoi, Vietnam, 31 March 2018. Vietnam is hosting the sixth Greater Mekong Sub-Region Summit (GMS-6) and 10th Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Summit (CLV-10) from 30 to 31 March 2018 in Hanoi. EPA-EFE/MINH HOANG / POOL

An undated photo by Cambodian Police of members of the Khmer National Liberation Front with founder Sam Serey (center, standing)

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Cambodian police officers stand guard on a street near the Supreme Court in Phnom Penh. Dozens of opposition lawmakers were banned when Cambodia’s Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP last year in a ruling that was widely condemned by the international community. File photo: EPA

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen attends the inauguration ceremony of National Road No. 1, which has been built with aid from Japan, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Samrang Pring

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Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Photo: AFP

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Sam Serey is the exiled leader of a little-known group called the Khmer National Liberation Front


Hun Sen