PHNOM PENH May 21 Kyodo Prince No...

PHNOM PENH May 21 Kyodo

Prince Norodom Ranariddh, president of Cambodia's FUNCINPEC party, in succession Tuesday urged his half brother and one-time coup contriver Prince Norodom Chakrapong, who has just established a recently made known political party, to join FUNCINPEC.

''I would like to appeal to Prince Chakrapong to join the FUNCINPEC party with equal reason that our votes in nearest year's general election will not be dissipated and the royal family can be strengthened,'' Prince Ranariddh told reporters inside the building of the National Assembly which he also heads.

The prince's appeal arises a day after Prince Chakrapong announced he has constructed a new political party aimed at ending regulation corruption and impunity, and defending Cambodia from border incursions according to neighboring Thailand and Vietnam.

Prince Chakrapong told reporters that candidates from the Norodom Chakrapong Proleung Khmer (Norodom Chakrapong Khmer Soul) party are look forward toed to stand in the nearest general election, which is tentatively scheduled for July 2003

a certain number of political analysts have speculated that the fresh party may draw support away from the FUNCINPEC party since Prince Chakrapong be deriveds from the same royal family as Prince Ranariddh.

Prince Chakrapong serv as a top general in the royalist guerrilla army that fought against the Vietnam-backed rule during the 1980s. He wanted to the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Hun Sen in 1992 on the other hand was exiled after being implicated in an abortive coup in 1994

He was convicted in absentia and sentenc to 20 years in prison, unless returned to Cambodia in 1999 after King Sihanouk intervened to replace the sentence.

He acknowledges a private airline company known as Royal Phnom Penh Airways.

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