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Khmer Politics Alternatives Circle

~ Thinking outside the box about Cambodia

Khmer Politics Alternatives Circle

Monthly Archives: October 2019

Two Editorials

28 Monday Oct 2019

Posted by KhmerPAC in Issue, Politics

≈ Comments Off on Two Editorials

My dear Kacvey,

Please share the full text of two editorials with your students and hope they would further share them with their parents, relatives and friends.

1) Bangkok Post of 26 October 2019: Hun Sen must compromise

As a result of his brutal political purge against the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) and its senior members over the past few years, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has got what he wanted. His ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) won a “fake”, uncontested election last year and he has prolonged his stay in power. But he has left the future of his country and its people in disarray.

Since the court dissolved the CNRP and banned its 118 members from politics for five years in 2017, Cambodia has become a de facto one-party state, and democracy is practically dead there. The country is facing the prospect of trade sanctions by the West which could put its economy in jeopardy.

Now opposition leaders are calling for a fresh election and reinstatement to their political roles. Their return could help rebalance power in politics, a good thing for the country. Hun Sen should have compromised to let it happen as he has done in the past.

But asking for political pluralism in Cambodia nowadays has proven to be a request too far for the strongman. Since the CNRP’s acting president, Sam Rainsy, and other exiled opposition leaders pledged in August to re-enter the country by land on Nov 9, the country’s Independence Day, Hun Sen has had dozens of CNRP supporters and leaders arrested and threatened to deploy the armed forces against those who dare to return.

The Thai government, for its part, has signalled that it will not allow the opposition leaders to execute their plan to lead Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand on a march back into their homeland as part of a “people’s movement” against Hun Sen. Last Sunday, Mu Sochua, the CNRP deputy leader, was denied entry to Thailand at Suvarnabhumi airport and has returned to the US where she is also a citizen.

While some doubt whether Sam Rainsy’s plan could succeed, it does not supersede the fact that Cambodia and its people would be better off if the opposition party were reinstated and its members allowed to participate in politics again.

For Hun Sen, he cannot overlook the fact that his political crackdown and the flawed election could cost his country trade benefits from the EU and the US. The EU is considering whether to scrap trade preferences — duty-free access for all exports to the EU, except arms — which are vital to Cambodia’s economy, while the US has already begun introducing diplomatic sanctions and reviewing its preferential trade scheme with the country.

Hun Sen may have banked on investment from China over the past few years, but there has been growing unease among many Cambodians regarding Chinese influence, especially given that the benefits of these deals have not been widely shared with local people.

Some may hail Cambodia’s “political stability” as a boon that has helped spur economic growth, but such stability was the result of Hun Sen’s ruthless crackdown on his rivals. Deep down, there must have been resentment among many Cambodians.

Hun Sen should stop gambling on his reliance on investment from, and trade with, China. There is no need to risk losing trade benefits with the West.

To most outsiders, as well as many Cambodians, the political purge against the CNRP is politically motivated and unjustified. Hun Sen should start letting the opposition leaders reenter politics before sympathy towards them grows further — not just among their supporters but also from within the ruling CPP and among the military top brass. A return to democracy will benefit his country politically, socially and economically.

2) The Washington Post of 27 October 2019: Cambodia’s strongman wants ‘democracy’ without competition

HUN SEN, the authoritarian prime minister of Cambodia, is worried, and is using every trick in the book to threaten Sam Rainsy of the banned opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, who plans to return to Cambodia from exile on Nov. 9. Mr. Hun Sen dominates parliament and politics — his ruling party won all 125 seats in parliament in the 2018 election — but still shows signs of insecurity over the return of Mr. Rainsy, an exponent of democracy, returning for the first time in four years.

Mr. Rainsy’s supporters have been flashing a nine-fingers sign to mark the date. The prime minister told students during remarks at a recent graduation ceremony, “Don’t ever join the nine-fingers campaign. If you dare do it, you should have one of your remaining fingers cut off.” Speaking of Mr. Rainsy, he added, “It is a plot to carry out a coup d’etat, for regime change! Millions of people and armed forces are waiting for you on November 9. Your head is not made from iron.”

Mr. Rainsy, who led his party to large gains in the 2013 and 2017 elections, has also been blunt about his intentions, telling Radio Free Asia’s Khmer Service that the goal of his return is to lead a “tsunami” of his followers to restore democracy and arrest Mr. Hun Sen. He also vowed to “liberate” Kem Sokha, a co-founder of the banned party, who has been under house arrest since 2017 on fabricated charges of treason.

Since Mr. Rainsy’s return was announced in August, Cambodian authorities have launched a fresh crackdown on members of the outlawed party. More than 50 have been charged with crimes, and 31 have been jailed, according to Human Rights Watch. All the charges “appear to be baseless and politically motivated,” Human Rights Watch said. Ideally, Mr. Rainsy’s return should be an opportunity to breathe some competition into the political scene. Mr. Hun Sen prefers “democracy” in which voters have only one choice.

Not surprisingly, the prime minister would also prefer to be unbothered by independent journalism. A trial of two journalists has moved from being unjust to being just farce. Espionage charges should never have been brought against Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin, who worked for Radio Free Asia. Their trial concluded Aug. 9. Instead of a verdict, the judge ordered a new investigation. The case stems from Radio Free Asia’s closing of its bureau in Phnom Penh in September 2017, following threats from the government. Three days after the bureau’s closure, the reporters filed one more story, which was published. Nevertheless, the Cambodian government warned that any journalists still working for Radio Free Asia would be treated as spies. In November 2017, the journalists were charged with “illegally collecting information for a foreign source,” and a charge of producing pornography was later added. The journalists say they are innocent and have appealed. The case is a travesty of justice and should be dismissed.

Dirtier-Than-Dirt Hypocrites

20 Sunday Oct 2019

Posted by KhmerPAC in Culture, Governance, Issue, Justice, Politics, Social

≈ Comments Off on Dirtier-Than-Dirt Hypocrites

My dear Kacvey,

Hope your students have now learned where Cyprus is, its history that dated back eon years BC, its present relationship with Greece and Turkey, its difference between the Northern part under Turkey administration and the Southern part Cypriot etc …

If they don’t, this Special Report from Reuters will give them a hint how Cyprus has become a heaven for the dirtier-than-dirt hypocrites that pretend to serve the country under the weak strongman ex-KR-turned-autocrat.

In fact the Reuters Special Report complement the 2 previous reports by Global Witness and Human Rights Watch. The 3 reports are now put together for your students to have a comprehensive picture of the magnitude of corruption and deceitfulness that “those dirty guys” are destroying Cambodia and maximizing their personal interests immorally and devilishly. One can wonder are these guys openly betray the hands that feed them with corrupt wealth and power and the corrupter is so blind that he doesn’t feel that the rugs have been pulled away from under his feet? Autocracy also has big corruption problems inside its cancerous body.

Just wondering if some of your students might be related one way or another to these dirtier-than-dirt hypocrites!

1. Reuters
Special Report: Khmer Riche – How relatives and allies of Cambodia’s leader amassed wealth overseas

2. Global Witness
HOSTILE TAKEOVER – How Cambodia’s ruling family are pulling the strings on the economy and amassing vast personal fortunes with extreme consequences for the population.

3. Human Rights Watch
Cambodia’s Dirty Dozen

To paraphrase Mike Quigley, Cyprus has now a reputation as a laundromat for the corrupt group of Cambodians who are betraying and trying to escape the autocratic rule of their own corrupt leader.

One Month To Go

09 Wednesday Oct 2019

Posted by KhmerPAC in Event, Institution, Issue, Politics, Social

≈ Comments Off on One Month To Go

(continued from Two Months To Go)

The two swallows met again on the roof of Albert Sarrault Museum to chat. Both seem anxious and nervous.
Phkaï Mphéy: How did you hold it up with the trip to Inner River?
Chheu Smaa: Not great but OK. They were not as warm as before.
Phkaï Mphéy: No surprise. NXP is the 7th while you’re the same since ever; the other one is not that “sTrong” either.
Chheu Smaa: Not fun anymore. 1977 in the jungle was better than last week’s stiffness in the state buldings of the capital.
Phkaï Mphéy: Did you get their full support for 9 November issue?
Chheu Smaa: Not really. They implied that it’s my business; I’ve to handle it alone.
Phkaï Mphéy: Bad news, then?
Chheu Smaa: Not an encouragement.
Phkaï Mphéy: That’s why you started swinging like a mad man as soon as you got off the plane or as we talked last time about your « plan ».
Chheu Smaa: I don’t have many alternatives. Neither Duck nor White can assure that their men are all in the game.
Phkaï Mphéy: Your game?
Chheu Smaa: Yes, my game plan.
Phkaï Mphéy: Didn’t I warn you, did I?
Chheu Smaa: Yeah, that’s why I now have to use tough war language.
Phkaï Mphéy: Do you think that your words now have more salt than before?
Chheu Smaa: I know they don’t, that’s why I’m doubling down with the arrests.
Phkaï Mphéy: How are the judges are going to handle those cases without evidence?
Chheu Smaa: Look, arrest them first “chap veer sen” and will see after 9/11.
Phkaï Mphéy: That’s a dead game plan! Don’t put a nook around your neck!
Chheu Smaa: I’ve been very patient since 2013, and there it is: my patience has been burnt out.
Phkaï Mphéy: So, you think that bringing out big guns against EWA is the only answer to your solo stratagem!
Chheu Smaa: Who or what is EWA?
Phkaï Mphéy: “Everybody Without Arms”
Chheu Smaa: Look, Pol Pot did it, and nobody can tell me I can’t do it. Who rules the ECCC?
Phkaï Mphéy: Yes, so far nobody yet, but how certain are you that soldiers or policemen will press the triggers?
Chheu Smaa: Get to check it again with the intelligence son.
Phkaï Mphéy: You know what: you have not thought through yet. You let your emotion run your fear of defeat and your thirst for blind vengeance.
Chheu Smaa: I have thought through, and that’s what I’m going to do.
Phkaï Mphéy: One simple question: What if you can’t catch him but he is inside the country?
Chheu Smaa: He can’t enter the country without being detected.
Phkaï Mphéy: How did Yingluck flee Thailand?
Chheu Smaa: He can’t hide as I have eyes everywhere.
Phkaï Mphéy: Are you sure what your “eyes” could truly see or they would only see what you want them to see? If so, what have they seen?
Chheu Smaa: Nothing critical yet.
Phkaï Mphéy: You still haven’t t thought through and your “eyes” need serious amounts of eye-drops. What if thousands of EWA spontaneously and simultaneously showed up like mushrooms throughout the country and marched towards one specific destination?
Chheu Smaa: That’s a different equation. What is your own plan?
Phkaï Mphéy: My kids will skip classes and will fly to join them. My wife and few relatives will do shopping in neighboring capitals. I’ll be near Poipet with multiple-entry visa to Espace Schengen, and the stars on my shoulders will be at Psar Thméy pawn shop. I have enough for the family to hang around in Espace Schengen for a few Years and waiting to see how the future of the country will turn to be.
Chheu Smaa: You’re deserting me.
Phkaï Mphéy: Not deserting you, but you isolate yourself from your true people that have been with you through thick and thin, and you seem to be totally lost in your own new universe with unprincipled sycophants.
Chheu Smaa: I don’t have my universe.
Phkaï Mphéy: Because nobody dare talk to you the way I do. You own them. Outside of your universe, it’s EWA that owes you nothing.
Chheu Smaa: Time for physical therapy and I will send you a signal for our next chat.

One flew back to its nest in Old Man Khmao, the other to join the swarm of conscientious swallows near the bank of Tonlé Buon Mouk.

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