The opposition Move Forward Party has denied an allegation by a Cambodian political group that it is supporting activities against the Phnom Penh government from Thailand.
It was responding to a claim made by the Khmer Unity Great Nation Party (KUGNP), which has asked Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin “to monitor the activities of the Move Forward Party”.
“The Move Forward Party has acted in support of a group from an anti-government movement in Cambodia and they use Thailand, a neighbour country, as a safe haven for their propaganda against the government,” the alliance of seven political parties and six civil society organisations said in a statement.
Heang Kimsroeun, the KUGNP president, said the Move Forward Party provided space and training for extremist politicians abroad, the Khmer Times reported.
Move Forward trains opposition politicians abroad who have arbitrarily accused Cambodia of human rights violations, the newspaper quoted Kong Bunthoeun, president of the Democracy Movement Party, as saying.
The parties that made the allegations are allied with the Cambodian People’s Party, which won 120 of 125 seats in the general election in July in which it faced no meaningful opposition. Shortly after the vote, Prime Minister Hun Sen passed on the premiership to his son, Hun Manet.
Move Forward said in a statement that it exchanges views with political parties and groups from around the world on democracy and political issues. However, it has never had a bilateral relationship or agreement with any foreign political group, it added.
“The Move Forward Party has never organised or supported any activity that is involved with a political group in Cambodia,” the statement said.
It is not clear what prompted the complaint from the Cambodian group. However, Move Forward acknowledged that a Cambodian labour rights advocate who helps migrant workers in Thailand had visited the party’s headquarters. A photo of the meeting was posted on social media.
In a post on X, the party said the meeting took place when it introduced its Social Security Progress team, which was organising support for progressive candidates in the recent election for Social Security Fund board seats.
The Cambodian visitor, it said, had come “to talk with the Social Security Progress team about policies to protect the rights of migrant workers”.
The complaint about Move Forward was not the first to come from Cambodia. In June Hun Sen falsely claimed that the party planned to expel Cambodian workers from Thailand if it formed a government.