My dear Kacvey,

So, the world is now aware that on 9 November 2019, a big event would take place in Srè Khmok as announced by VOA and RFI on 16 August 2019:
– លោក ​សម រង្ស៊ី កំណត់​យក​ថ្ងៃ​ឯករាជ្យ​ជាតិ​ ៩ វិច្ឆិកា ​ត្រឡប់​ទៅ​កម្ពុជា​វិញ
https://khmer.voanews.com/a/sam-rainsy-set-a-date-to-return-to-cambodia/5044869.html
– ​លោកសមរង្ស៊ី​នឹង​ធ្វើ​មាតុ​ភូមិ​និវត្តន៍​នៅ​ថ្ងៃ​ទី០៩​វិច្ឆិកា​ខណៈ​អាជ្ញាធរ​កម្ពុជា​ប្រកាស​ត្រៀម​ចាប់​ខ្លួន​ http://km.rfi.fr/cambodia/sam-rainsy-is-coming-back-soon-16-08-2019

The exiled will return to Cambodia on 9 November 2019. So, have stated the press statements from his party, unequivocally, precise and direct.

The return of the prodigal son!

When politicians speak, either one believes them or doesn’t. Also, some politicians keep their promise, some don’t. It’s the politics of the politicians. When promises are kept and honored, the constituents would later reward them handsomely, but if they are not kept, the constituents would feel that they are cheated. Constituents can be cheated once, twice but not thrice. Political suicide doesn’t need to jump off the cliff to the abyss.

You may recall that, during the past 4 years, letters with titles “On the 62nd Anniversary of Independence of Cambodia“, 63rd, 64th and 65th were sent to you. So, according to the above news pieces, unless “force majeure” or “act of God” [could a philosopher ask: Why would God interfere with mortals’ businesses!?] would interfere, the exiled would return to Srè Khmok on the day that coincides with the official day when Srè Khmok had successfully wrestled and obtained its independence from France. There is nothing wrong to choose that date, strategically speaking, but to associate the date and its national and historical connotation with the return is a risky business if the return turned out to be a “delayed-or-postponed return”. A shorter order, sometimes is better than a tall one when so many parameters are factored in the unknown equation. Incidentally, the Bonn Om Touk or Water Festival would traditionally commence the following morning, 10 November, if the water level on the Tonlé Sap is not affected by the drought. With millions of people are on holidays and in festive mood, you may wonder what the full moon will bring to Cambodia after 34 years under the corrupt yoke of an ex-KR.

Oh, Kacvey, have you noticed that the English version of the press statement, unlike the Khmer language version, did not mention anything related to the independence?

As a matter of political curiosity, your students might ask why telling the whole world about such a particularly precise date of return? How about leaving that question to reporters or journalists to extract the worms out of his nose, bearing in mind that the strategists or planners who surrounded him know what they were doing. For our part,  a poem by James W. Foley: “Drop a Pebble in the Water” could be metaphorically referred to:
“Drop a pebble in the water: just a splash, and it is gone;
But there’s half-a-hundred ripples circling on and on and on,
Spreading, spreading from the center, flowing on out to the sea.
And there is no way of telling where the end is going to be.

Drop a pebble in the water: in a minute you forget,
But there’s little waves a-flowing, and there’s ripples circling yet,
And those little waves a-flowing to a great big wave have grown;
You’ve disturbed a mighty river just by dropping in a stone.”

Las Vegas bookies, what are the odds?

Enough taking about the return, how about the “welcoming party”?

It has now been many months that the weak strongman’s war apparatus has been put on alert or war path at every inch on the country land borders or seashores, every port, kampong or airport, every train or bus stations, every embassy or consulate, every river, lake pond, mountain and forest, every នំបញ្ចុក stand that exists on the planet, every bar, karaoke or drug den, every pagoda or hospital, every market, mall or school, every radio or TV station, every stadium, park or playground, etc … The Northern Capital has also supplied additional war materials and equipment to reinforce the existing war machines against the Khmer. The net seems so tight that even water would have difficulty to seep in. So how the exiled is going to get into Cambodia without being detected?

History told that in 1976 the weak strongman sneaked into Vietnam without his leader Pol Pot knew about it. His master in the Northern Capital knew a lot about how the outlaws operated in the classic “Water Margin 水浒传” or how the warriors assaulted the fortresses in “Three Kingdoms 三国”. And how about parachuting in the night? or flying with Hoverboard like Franky Zapata very recently did over the Channel? or dressed up in a swimsuit as a shark and landed in Kg Som and changed into a Chine$e gambler or a dumpling street vendor? Inspiration could be had from Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne or Ian Fleming’s James Bond, couldn’t it? Enough of fantasizing!

By the way, 9 November 2019 is also written as 9/11/2019 in Gregorian calendar format or 11/9/2018 in the U.S. Calendar format.

Let start the count down: 83 …
Comptons à rebours: 83 …