Vietnam border was just one of many issues concerning the party. He also said the party’s leadership had yet to organise negotiations with the ruling Cambodian People’s Party about releasing 15 imprisoned CNRP activists, including Sam Rainsy Party Senator Hong Sok Hour. The men, say the opposition, were jailed in response to the CNRP’s claims of government complicity in territorial loss to Vietnam, either by way of improper demarcation or neglecting to halt territorial violations. Since the crackdown, the party has increasingly sought to draw a distinction between its official stance and those of individual lawmakers such as Um Sam An, Real Camerin and Mao Monyvann, all outspoken critics of the government’s border policies. Yim Sovann, also a CNRP spokesman, said the party’s future border campaigning would be guided by five principles developed by Rainsy. Posted on Facebook, they include ceasing direct attacks on the CPP and individuals, not rising to accusations, reframing the issue as a bilateral dispute rather than a political clash, and improving research. Saying the party wanted to shift its focus away from the focus on maps, he added: “There’s not just the map, but how the demarcation has been implemented and whether neighbouring countries have respected that.” Cambodian People’s Party spokesman Sok Esyan welcomed the CNRP’s new approach. “We have never been narrow-minded with people sharing opinions, but the opinions must be in a constructive spirit,” Eysan said. Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong yesterday met with newly appointed UNICEF representative to Cambodia Debora Comini, reportedly reminding the Italian national that it was the organisation’s role to cooperate with the royal government, not criticise it. According to a statement released after the meeting, Comini welcomed the government’s commitment to UNICEF’s mission of realising the right of all Cambodian children to survive and develop as healthy adults, calling the government “very supportive to UNICEF’s mandate”. “Making a difference for children is not something we can achieve alone. It is the result of adding up the skills and the passion of everyone involved, working together to achieve a common goal for children. That includes the government, civil society, donors, the communities themselves, and the United Nations,” Comini was quoted as saying. In the same statement, Namhong, who is also a deputy prime minister, affirmed UNICEF’s longstanding collaboration with the Cambodian government over previous decades, counting it “among a few international organisations that was present in Cambodia during the difficult time after the fall of the Khmer Rouge”. However, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Chum Sounry, Namhong also recalled unwelcome interventions made earlier this year by Comini’s UNICEF predecessor regarding the government’s development of controversial NGO laws. “Debora Comini was informed by the deputy prime minister about previous criticism made by the UNICEF country representative to the media while the Cambodian government was drafting laws, which was misconduct as stated in the mandate of UNICEF,” Sounry told reporters after the meeting. “The mandate of UNICEF is to cooperate with the government
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