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Posted: 10 February 2006 1331 hrs

Exiled Cambodian opposition leader returns, vows to work with rivals PHNOM PENH : Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy has returned home, following a year in self-imposed exile after winning a royal pardon that appeared intended to end a political battle with the government.

"I'm very happy to be here," he said as he was mobbed by supporters on the tarmac at Phnom Penh airport after stepping off his plane.

"I am very moved. It's a new chapter of Cambodian politics which starts today," he told AFP.

"The conflict with the prime minister is over right now," he said.

When asked whether he could work with Prime Minister Hun Sen, his biggest political rival, Sam Rainsy said: "Of course. I will work with anybody to develop the country".

An enormous cheer erupted from the crowd as Sam Rainsy made his way to a waiting car.

He later jumped into the back of a pickup truck, waving to supporters as it drove back to his party headquarters in Phnom Penh.

Thousands of people had gathered to see Sam Rainsy arrive, with most of them crowding onto the road outside the airport as police blocked the entrance.

"I came here to welcome my leader," said Huot Samnang who was standing amid the mass of supporters, many of them holding up signs with the Sam Rainsy Party logo.

"I hope the presence of my leader will help Cambodia."

Sam Rainsy had been in France for a year since fleeing Cambodia after being stripped of his parliamentary immunity.

In December, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison for defaming Hun Sen and National Assembly president Prince Norodom Ranariddh.

The verdict sparked intense criticism from foreign rights groups and diplomats who accused Hun Sen of using the courts to crush dissent.

But in an abrupt reversal, the premier last week successfully petitioned King Norodom Sihamoni to pardon Sam Rainsy and lawmaker Cheam Channy, who was serving a seven-year sentence for fraud and trying to topple the government after also losing his immunity.

Prior to Hun Sen's clemency offering, Sam Rainsy had publicly recanted his accusations that the premier was behind a deadly grenade attack and other violence against his party.

Sam Rainsy has said his party will drop its confrontational tactics and move towards dialogue with Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party, but denied he has abandoned his opposition to the government in return for being allowed home.

In an apparent bid for reconciliation with his rivals, Hun Sen also dropped defamation complaints against seven prominent government critics who have accused the premier of handing Cambodian territory to Vietnam under a controversial border pact.

The recent detente has been hailed by some foreign governments as strengthening democracy in Cambodia.

But rights groups warn that repression still occurs under Hun Sen, who has held on tightly as Cambodia's sole strongman since ousting then co-premier Prince Ranariddh from power in a 1997 coup.