Two Months To Go

09 Monday Sep 2019

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

My dear Kacvey,

In Old Man Khmao Town, two swallows sitting on an electrical cable over the Old Péth Chkuort building, were chatting quietly while the monsoon rain was threatening from Paris:
Chheu Smaa: Are you ready for the 9 November reception?
Phkaï Mphéy: Yes, I am.
Chheu Smaa: And your guys?
Phkaï Mphéy: Can’t ascertain for sure.
Chheu Smaa: What do you mean?
Phkaï Mphéy: Two things not clear to them: 1) What are they going to do with thousands and thousands of people in motion? and 2) how are they going to be split between the parade at the Monument of Independence and the reception?
Chheu Smaa: What are Duck-and-White’s plans?
Phkaï Mphéy: None. Same. None of them know what to do. They talk and threaten like you do on FB.
Chheu Smaa: Don’t they understand my mind and decision?
Phkaï Mphéy: That, they do. But there is an ocean between understanding and setting up execution plan.
Chheu Smaa: And the borders?
Phkaï Mphéy: They are on full alert and manned as usual.
Chheu Smaa: Thailand,Laos, Vietnam, sea coasts?
Phkaï Mphéy: All official checkpoints are fully equipped, but there are more than 500 miles of frontiers and we can’t post one soldier or policeman on every yard?
Chheu Smaa: And the airports?
Phkaï Mphéy: Airports? Why do you think he’ll fly in like a fly attracted by the bonfire?
Chheu Smaa: He doesn’t have the guerrilla disposition like I did with Pol Pot or the Vietnamese.
Phkaï Mphéy: Your past disposition is not the same as your present one. And no sign of full cooperation has been received from the 3 neighbors.
Chheu Smaa: You mean all 3?
Phkaï Mphéy: Yes, all 3.
Chheu Smaa: Why?
Phkaï Mphéy: Inner River is silent like midnight winter at South Pole. Have you received anything that you don’t want to share or be implemented?
Chheu Smaa: That’s why Silver is in Laos.
Phkaï Mphéy: Is Silver in the game, or is he like White or Duck? Could he answer the key questions about the reception?
Chheu Smaa: What key questions?
Phkaï Mphéy: 1) What if you can’t catch him? 2) If you caught him, what will you do the next hour?
Chheu Smaa: I’ll catch him and lock him up in the same cell as oppo No. 1 in Thbum Khmaung?
Phkaï Mphéy: OK, for question No. 2, but what would you do with him the next day or month? Don’t repeat the error you made with oppo No.1. How about my question No. 1?
Chheu Smaa: He has to come in, because otherwise he’ll loose all credibility with his people?
Phkaï Mphéy: His credibility with his people is not your problem for the moment. It’s his problem and he’ll own it. The question to you still is: if he’s in and you can’t catch him, what will be your order for us to execute?
Chheu Smaa: Now my question to you is: if he’s in, why can’t you catch him?
Phkaï Mphéy: We don’t know his whereabouts. Have you heard about Schindler’s List?
Chheu Smaa: My son, the Intelligence man, should know?
Phkaï Mphéy: That kid, your presumed dauphin, if only he knows where his underwear or shoes are?
Chheu Smaa: Easy on him, he’s learning.
Phkaï Mphéy: Bad teacher doesn’t make good teaching to unwilling kid!
Chheu Smaa: The circle doesn’t seem to close.
Phkaï Mphéy: No. You already made the first mistake by arresting oppo No.1, and now trying to arrest oppo No.2?
Chheu Smaa: I have to double down, otherwise I’ll lose face.
Phkaï Mphéy: Losing face should not be in such a big political and national equation.
Chheu Smaa: I can’t turn back the clock. I’ll make the clock going forward for me.
Phkaï Mphéy: You’re playing Mugabe’s game.
Chheu Smaa: What choice do I have, with hundred and hundred millions $ under my bed and the deal I’ve made with Northern Capital.
Phkaï Mphéy: I can’t address that. You threw the dice, and the number came out to haunt you.
Chheu Smaa: You’re not helpful.
Phkaï Mphéy: The idea and strategies are yours. I execute it. Unclear strategies create high risks in execution, because it will involve people lives.
Chheu Smaa: You talk differently now.
Phkaï Mphéy: Since 1975, we run a lot around on how to dominate, but the domination has turned out to be different from the original idea.
Chheu Smaa: What do you mean?
Phkaï Mphéy: Come on, “what do you mean?” Tonlé Sap, Bokor, casinos, dams, Kg Som, Dara Sakor, Ream, Hostile Takeover … that what I mean!
Chheu Smaa: You have a piece of it to, haven’t you?
Phkaï Mphéy: Yes I do, but nowadays and around my dinner table, the discussions are very tough with my kids who don’t know anybody beside you as the leader, whereas they perfectly know that the world is moving around with different ideas and people all the time. They might show up at the reception and they have already dared me to arrest or shoot them.
Chheu Smaa: You look soft!
Phkaï Mphéy: Age changes people. You still don’t answer my question No.1.
Chheu Smaa: I will be at the spot where he’ll be found and direct the operations myself.
Phkaï Mphéy: That’s not the answer. If we know where he will be, we’ll do it for you. And stay where you are to nurse your shoulder pain. Until I get the answer, I can’t justify the order to the troops to arrest him. Only exactly 2 months left to set up the stratagems.
Chheu Smaa: True, the pain in the shoulder affects my overall mobility that conditions my relationship with my surroundings. If you were me, what would be your answer to your own question No. 1.
Phkaï Mphéy: Pledge incompetence because if I were you I would have let the 2018 elections go on normally. And “Que será, será!” I would have listened to people’s voice and heartbeats and respect their ballots.
Chheu Smaa: You didn’t say that to me at that time.
Phkaï Mphéy: I did, but my suggestion was drowned by those closer and closest to you.
Chheu Smaa: You should have insisted.
Phkaï Mphéy: Very difficult to penetrate the many rings of brutal bulldogs.
Chheu Smaa: You still don’t answer my hypothetical question?
Phkaï Mphéy: OK, if you insisted: Be honest with yourself and go and tell the party directly that you have had enough with politics, you don’t have the physical ability to lead anymore, you resign from your position as party leader and LET THE PARTY DECIDE ON HOW TO PROCEED on your replacement. Take the next plane either to Northern Capital for medical treatment like Sihanouk did or to Singapore like Mugabe did.
Chheu Smaa: Won’t be that easy.
Phkaï Mphéy: What makes you thing that this whole stuff is easy to handle?
Chheu Smaa: The party won’t be able to decide.
Phkaï Mphéy: Why?
Chheu Smaa: There is no dominant person and there could be too many “suitors?”
Phkaï Mphéy: You never wanted White or the senator to be your replacement, in case… Instead you play around with the idea of junior. Unintended compounded problems! If you resigned, the party will find a solution the next hour. Same if you dropped dead.
Chheu Smaa: Give me one more good reason why I should resign?
Phkaï Mphéy: Ready: You will avoid or suffer the consequences of all the voluntary troubles you have created with oppo, the Vietnamese and the Chinese. The mess that you have created will be handled one way or another by your party or successor. Remember the thread David Cameron-Theresa May-Boris Johnson in the Conservative Party of UK politics on Brexit: Theresa May inherited David Cameron’s mess, Boris Johnson inherited Theresa May’s mess, and who knows who will inherit Boris Johnson’s mess?!The good thing is that Cameron and May enjoy their vacations while Boris Johnson is now having a s… of a time.
Chheu Smaa: It makes sense, bu I can’t do that.
Phkaï Mphéy: Why?
Chheu Smaa: History will wipe me out of its book.
Phkaï Mphéy: You’ve have made your history since your youth, but future history of the country will be the consequences of your own history. Why would you care about history?
Chheu Smaa: My family will live in shame.
Phkaï Mphéy: Have you talked to Pol Pot’s children?
Chheu Smaa: Do you really think that he will be in the country on 9 November?
Phkaï Mphéy: My opinion is worth nothing. It’s your perspective that I need to know.
Chheu Smaa: Would the soldiers or policemen drop their guns and shackles like Lon Nol troops did upon our arrival in Phnom Penh in April 1975 or like Pol Pot’s troops did upon our arrival in Phnom Penh in January 1979? That’s history.
Phkaï Mphéy: Either history repeats itself or rather like Mr. Kem Ley’s funerals procession in July 2017. My kids were in that procession too.
Chheu Smaa: Thanks for the chat. Time to take medicine and write few lines on FB to keep my fans in “like”.
Phkaï Mphéy: You don’t look good, do you?
Chheu Smaa: The shoulder pain’s episode.
Phkaï Mphéy: Do you know what are you doing or will be doing?
Chheu Smaa: Can’t say in few words, and can’t see through the 4 walls of my lair.
Phkaï Mphéy: Are you scared of tomorrow?
Chheu Smaa: Uncertainty feeds scare and anxiety. Can’t get rid of them. No more joy or fun like in the past.
Phkaï Mphéy: I’ll be waiting for the 9 November plan, if you come up with any.

Both swallows parted after leaving few droppings on the roof of the Old Péth Chkuort building.

*****
A few days later, the two swallows met again on a branch of a longan tree (doeum méan) in the fortress orchard.
Chheu Smaa: Did you get my plan?
Phkaï Mphéy: Yes, I did and I already shared with the commanders.
Chheu Smaa: What’s their mood or reaction?
Phkaï Mphéy: Cold. Expressionless. Stoic. Almost indifferent. And none of the ah-nhok has shown up.
Chheu Smaa: Why?
Phkaï Mphéy: Ah-Nhoks must be busy sending their people to go shopping abroad. Others didn’t talk or ask questions. They took the paper and left. By the way, who drew that plan?
Chheu Smaa: The quartet and the think-tankers, with my approval.
Phkaï Mphéy: Well, from my point of view, it’s not a plan, it’s a war paper like in Samloth. One, you can’t neglect the “unarmed people” factor, and two we are not trained to fight civil march.
Chheu Smaa: I hear you, but do as it’s planned. You are not convinced, aren’t you?
Phkaï Mphéy: Not only unconvinced but also not understand what do you actually have in mind and what will you do afterwards.
Chheu Smaa: We continue to design some models based on response from Asean.
Phkaï Mphéy: You’re mad to have sent that letter to Asean! Whose stupid idea is that?
Chheu Smaa: Silver drafted the letter.
Phkaï Mphéy: And you approved it without sounding it out first with their ambassadors?
Chheu Smaa: Yes and No.
Phkaï Mphéy: Well, Silver knows s… about diplomacy and international politics. Have you slept well?
Chheu Smaa: Not really. Rarely closed my eye for more than 2 hours. To fight for power when young was different from fighting to keep power now. Once, there was only one objective. Now, too many considerations.
Phkaï Mphéy: Your hands are trembling.
Chheu Smaa: A little bit. Pain in the shoulder.
Phkaï Mphéy: I’ll report later.

Then they flew off into different direction of the sky.

The Conversation That Did Not Take Place

11 Sunday Aug 2019

Posted by KhmerPAC in Politics, Stories

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My dear Kacvey,

Here is a transcript of a conversation that did not take place.

Paris XXI: Allô, Paris XXI vous écoute.
Tuorl Kôrk: Hello, it’s Tuorl Kôrk speaking.
Paris XXI: Good to hear your voice. Aren’t you afraid that your phone is wiretapped?
Tuorl Kôrk: It’s always been. What else is new! The more they wiretap, the more the world knows.
Paris XXI. Let’s go straight to the point.
Tuorl Kôrk: It’s August, and September is next.
Paris XXI. I know and I’m ready.
Tuorl Kôrk. Can’t greet you when you’re in, because they lay many rings of barbed wire around me.
Paris XXI. The “HCM trail” will carry the bag of rice to you.
Tuorl Kôrk. Thanks, but remember this: 以逸待劳.
Paris XXI. Yeah, choosing the time and place, and confusing the enemy.
Tuorl Kôrk. Few critical dates in September: 1: Death of Louis XIV, 2: London was on fire, 4: Los Angeles was founded, 9: Mao Zedong died, 11: Terrorists attacked World Trade Center, 11: I was released on bail but still in house arrest, 12: Germany unified, 15: Agatha Christie was born, 19: New Zealand, first country to grant women the right to vote, 25: William Faulkner was born…
Paris XXI: We have the map and the calendar.
Tuorl Kôrk: Make it one of the days of Khmer history!
Paris XXI. Is your phone on 5G?
Tuorl Kôrk: What’s the difference, 4G or 5G, both Chinese and Vietnamese are listening anyway, and it’s good that they do because they even know what time the other guy goes to pee or … if he still can.
Paris XXI. What’s the mood inside the lair?
Tuorl Kôrk: Pretty nervous ’cause the split is real inside each family. They only focus on arresting “you” by using 擒贼擒王 stratagem, and they don’t have a clue on what to do next. They don’t dare asking their masters because they are f… if their masters know their stupid ruse.
Paris XXI. Role reversal of 17 April 1975?
Tuorl Kôrk: And the “shoulder pain” of the other guy is not a good sign of encouragement to his sycophants.
Paris XXI: What’s the mood on the river banks?
Tuorl Kôrk: The tapes of your return in July 2013 and the funerals of Mr. Kem Ley in July 2016 are just too big for their mind. Fear isn’t even the right word.
Paris XXI. How the flood could be played?
Tuorl Kôrk: It’s neither good for you nor for him.
Paris XXI. And the Chinese?
Tuorl Kôrk: They won’t come out against you. Catch one who can’t speak Khmer or know nothing about Khmer, and the embassy will deny: it’s too risky for this master.
Paris XXI: And the Vietnamese?
Tuorl Kôrk: They will just watch and wait to see how the guy handles it.
Paris XXI. Any នំបញ្ចុក or “noum kruork” party before?
Tuorl Kôrk: Don’t be de-focused. Work first, eat later.
Paris XXI. That’s it, right?
Tuorl Kôrk. That’s it, for now.

A Fictional Theory

31 Thursday Jan 2019

Posted by KhmerPAC in Issue, Stories

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My dear Kacvey,

How are you coping with the flood of bad news that constantly come to face the weak strongman in the City of Tonlé Buon Mouk since his bitter and ugly victory after the sham election of 28 July 2018?

Yeah, it’s more than ugly and borderline with dangerous with not only the slow and open absorption of Cambodia by China, but also the continuous here-and-there appropriation by Vietnam since 7 January 1979.

So, you and your students do feel that too, ah!

Yeah, every day when Khmer wakes up, new faces of Chinese appear everywhere, and Chinese characters floating on those green nets and among the cranes like if it was in Shanghai.

Chinafication of Cambodia, courtesy of the weak strongman, isn’t it?!

Yeah, wondering how did he come to selling out Cambodia to China worst than what Chéy Chétha II did for Vietnam. Also wondering how he’ll manage his future, having simultaneously two masters on his back?

But Kacvey, you haven’t mentioned anything about EBA and the rice trade with Italy and Portugal?

Well, the weak strongman seems to pay no attention to the conditions set by EU, but instead he went to China to beg his master for more money leaving his not-very-intelligent-or-clever sycophants dispensing nonsense at the negotiation table in Geneva or Brussels. Either he has no empathy or he has no clue about the fate of the garments workers, so long his power is sitting solidly and autocratically.

How bout, the brouhaha of the possible return to Srok Khmer of the exiled and the bodyguard-militaro-police committee the weak strongman is setting up to “welcome or un-welcome” him?

If from the balcony, you see a pig flying, then you truly are a believer of charlatanism.

Okay, got it! Kacvey, you were earlier wondering how the weak strongman would manage his future, 1st having simultaneously two masters on his back, and if it may be added, 2nd facing with EBA withdrawal, and 3rd preparing for the exiled’s return?

Is there a plausible scenario?

Well, instead of scenario, let just call it: a fictional theory that would define that the weak strongman as having enough of everything, or reaching the end of his rope by giving all up.

To think like that would be crazy and insane!

Thinking crazily and insanely would be better than not thinking at all. Kacvey, how about you strongly keep this concept of “What if…” in mind that the fictional theory could happen like winning, against all odds, the lotto jackpot?

Okay, go ahead.

Just imagine the weak strongman, one morning, realizes that:

he has had enough of everything he has on earth: wealth, power, $3 million-dollar watch … except the “mokod” on his head; has any monk told him that he won’t take anything of that with hi when he “goes”, neither one green buck nor that hellishly expensive watch; any christian would tell him he can’t bring the power he has on earth to match with St Peter’s; his heirs would never burn a real dollar to soothe his soul, instead fake gold paper money will be offered in smoke;
he is physically tired and the pleasure and joy of being extremely wealthy and powerful is no longer shown on his face; instead, it shows permanent anxiety, fear and concern; he can’t spend his wealth or enjoy his power, instead he spends every Joule of his energy to protect the un-spendable wealth and non-enjoyable power; he makes money his servant to corrupt instead of to serve a good cause;
it’s no longer possible to serve two masters at the same time by continuing (1) to pay the eternal debt to Vietnam for the 7 January 1979 deal, (2) to beg for alms from China against relinquishing Khmer lands and bodies of water for Chinese casinos, buildings and “other considerations” in, for example,Koh Kong, and (3) the two masters start to be uneasy between each other, in other words, 3 in a bed have become cumbersome;
the number of immigrants and settlers from both Vietnam and China is getting bigger and bigger on a daily basis that the entire “corrupt” administration has neither authority nor capacity to control anymore;
his popularity is at rock bottom and he is isolating himself more and more inside his Takhmao “lion lair” and in front of his Facebook screen;
he runs out of arguments to convince the Western world to accept his corrupt regime without sanctions against him and his sycophants;
“Made in Cambodia” garments, and “Cambodian rice” are out of the Western world markets and cannot penetrate the Chinese markets, except may be for “rice”, Chinese being a rice eater;
he completely runs out of options on how to resolve the issue of the opposition leader who is under house arrest, as he was, at the first place, the one that created that problem through fictitious and unfounded charges;
his loneliness in making national and international decision and his love of always being the one and only at the top of combined legislative-executive-judiciary authority, as well as the one and only on the top of bodyguard-militaro-police forces have become the feeling of being unwanted and there is no more glory in being alone and at the top;
his sphere of spontaneous and convinced admirers and supporters are nowhere to be found except the artificial ones, gathered by his cronies, who sit like inert puppets listening to his monologue in Koh Pich, and
lastly, his secret scheme of transferring his power to his dauphin seems to hit a wall of internal or intestinal reluctance and criticism of his party members, old or young.

Then, what would happen?

Kacvey, this is where the fictional theory comes in to play. Because he cannot presently solve the two short-term major problems:

– the withdrawal of EBA privileges,
– the constitutional and legal issue regarding the opposition leader under house arrest,

and the two long-term others during his life time:

– the Vietnamese involvement and eternal debt,
– the Chinafication of Cambodia,

he would create a political atmosphere where the burden to solve all above problems would then fall on “somebody else”, and not even his dauphin. As a result, he would escape the blame, his blood pressure would drop, and Cambodia history might be written otherwise.

Who might be that “somebody else”?

Kacvey, it would not be a single person like in his case, but it could well be a mixed bag of elements from the ruling party (excluding the Dirty Dozen, plus) and from the opposition after the results of a “free-and-fair” anticipated legislative election. The earlier, the better, if he doesn’t want to be flown MEDEVAC to Singapore.

That’s absolutely preposterous! The weak strongman giving up all of that? Never. It’s his dream since his childhood. Never. Never ever.

Kacvey, he has realized all his dreams, including fecking Pol Pot in 1977, and his own Khmer Rouge 1979 and 1992. What more would he want? Remember Aesop’s “The Frog and The Ox”? Boom, and its belly bursts and it’s gone, you can’t even use it to make an “angkèp baurk” or its legs as “cuisses de groenouilles à la provençale”; but the ox remains alive. Please take your time to ponder over, alone or with your students, or to refine it, and it’s free! By the way, Gioconda Belli, once, said: “The world has always gone forward when people have dared to have crazy ideas.”

Quod Erat Faciendum!

Les Trois Grands “U”

14 Sunday Oct 2018

Posted by KhmerPAC in Culture, Governance, Institution, International, Issue, Politics, Social, Stories

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Mon cher Kacvey,

Vos étudiants devraient se gratter la tête pour comprendre qu’est ce qui se passe en ce moment dans la Cité de Tonlé Buon Mouk avec les déclarations de toute sorte des 3 trois grands “U”.

Les 3 grands “U”, c’est quoi donc?

Ouais! l’ONU, l’Union européenne, et les Etats-Unis. Tous les 3 ont un “U” dans leur nom. Simplifions l’orthographie, quoi!

Ah, sanctions économiques, EBA, critique internationale mitraillée de quatres coins du monde contre le faible homme-fort même au sein de l’Asean, lui même en désarroi au sein de son propre parti et ridiculement hué à Sydney, New York, Tokyo et bientôt Bruxelles et Genève!

Vous saisissez tous, Kacvey! Alors, vous vous débrouillez pour expliquer à vos étudiants les raisons, causes et effets de tous ces machins-là. Mais voici, en supplément, un téléphone arabe tout récemment intercepté par la déesse de l’année du chien (Tévoda Chnam Chôr) quand, au hazard, elle se promenait dans son chariot dans le ciel au-dessus de nos têtes:

Phnuoy Mék: Allô, mon Seigneur. C’est Phnuoy Mék à l’appareil. Je me prosterne à vos pieds pour vous présenter mes respects.
On Ze: Allô oui. Je vous entends. J’ai seulement 3 minutes avec vous. Washington est sur mes talons. Je vous écoute.
Phnuoy Mék: Les 3 grands “U” sont aussi sur mes talons et je ne sais pas quoi faire. J’attends un geste ou un mot de vous pour réagir contre eux.
On Ze: Je sais, mais vous êtes assez grand pour vous débrouiller, non?! Je ne peux pas mélanger votre histoire avec la guerre commerciale qui me menace en ce moment de Washington. Chaque chose a ses priorités.
Phnuoy Mék: Je vous ai attendu à New York pour montrer à ces 3 “U” que vous êtes le Seigneur en qui j’ai le plus absolu dévouement et qu’ils cessent de m’enquiquiner. Mais vous m’avez posé un lapin.
On Ze: Je ne voulais pas me mettre les pieds au pays des Yankees, mais il y avait pas mal de mes sujets déguisés en supporteurs pour vous encourager.
Phnuoy Mék: Vos “supporteurs” étaient dans les rues et en inferiorité numérique, mais il n’y avait personne de taille dans le grand hall de l’ONU pour me soutenir.
On Ze: Allez, arrêtez de vous plaindre. Quoi d’autre?
Phnuoy Mék: Si EBA passait dans quelques mois, j’aurai une grande crise dans mes bras.
On Ze: Ne comptez-pas sur moi pour acheter ou importer chez moi vos vêtements et chaussures fabriqués chez vous. S’il y a crise sociale, utilisez les millions de dollars qui sont dans vos chaussettes et matelas. Je peux exporter d’autres dollars pour vous, mais je N’IMPORTE ni vos vêtements ni vos chaussures. J’en ai déjà trop de tout ce bazard chez moi.
Phnuoy Mék: Mais, Seigneur, j’ai plus d’un million de travailleuses et leurs familles qui dépendent de la production et de l’exportation de ces vêtements et chaussures.
On Ze: Moi, j’ai plus d’un milliard et demi de bouches à nourrir. Savez-vous faire le math? D’ailleurs, pourquoi depuis tout ce temps-là n’avez-vous jamais réfléchi ou compris que vos usines fonctionnent et vos travailleuses vivent au dépens des dépenses de consommation des gens des 2 grands “U”?
Phnuoy Mék: Mais, c’est les entrepreneurs de chez vous, de Hong Kong, de l’Asean qui décident toujours pour moi.
On Ze: Ces entrepreneurs n’étaient pas chez vous ni avant ni après que vous arriviez de chez Ngouy en 1979. N’oubliez pas que c’est vous qui les invitiez à venir s’installer chez vous depuis 1995, et vous et votre famille en tirez énormement de profits personnels depuis lors. Pourquoi vous n’investissez JAMAIS vos énormes ressources accumulées au fur du temps dans ces usines-là, au lieu de dépendre éternellement et à 100% des facteurs extérieurs?
Phnuoy Mék: Soit. Je vous entends, Seigneur. Que ferai-je de vos entrepreneurs qui dirigent les usines de vêtements et de chaussures?
On Ze: Ils n’ont absolument pas besoin de vous parce qu’ils savent que vous ne pouvez rien faire pour eux. S’ils ferment leurs usines et rentrent chez eux, ce n’est plus leur problèmes de gérer les travailleuses qui n’ont pas de travail. C’est VOUS. Quant à moi, je ne leur dirai rien parce qu’ils savent déjà quoi faire. Sachez que les portes d’investissement sont ouvertes au Bengladesh, en Turquie ou même chez Ngouy!
Phnuoy Mék: Qu’est ce que je devrais faire pour qu’ils ne délocalisent pas leurs usines de chez moi?
On Ze: Si vous êtes communiste comme moi, soyez de vrai communiste avec la dictature du prolétariat. Le communisme et la démocracie sont deux ennemis idéologiques et politiques. Si vous êtes communiste par le biais des élections, même truquées, vous êtes un faux communiste. Regardez moi; regardez Ngouy.
Phnuoy Mék: Au sujet de Ngouy, que diriez-vous de son nouveau président?
On Ze: Au moins, il y a du changement chez Ngouy, comme chez moi. Il n’y a que chez vous que les dirigeants ont des racines comme les banians de Ta Prohm. C’est en changeant qu’on améliore. Même le communisme change les communistes qui changent la face du communisme.
Phnuoy Mék: Alors, Seigneur, vous n’êtes pas d’accord avec le choix de mon fils aîné comme mon successeur?
On Ze: Je ne répète pas ce que je vous ai déjà dit la dernière fois sur ce sujet.
Phnuoy Mék: Etes-vous fâché contre moi, Seigneur?
On Ze: L’émotion et les sentiments n’ont pas de place dans ma politique et la gestion du monde n’est pas un roman d’amour. Dernier point?
Phnuoy Mék: Oui, Seigneur. Si EBA, les sanctions imposées par Washington sur mes “sales 17” (Dirty Seventeen) et les résolutions de UNHRC contre mon autorité domestique deviennent réalité, que deviendraient vos sujets qui s’établissent à Kg Som et ailleurs, et leurs casinos?
On Ze: Je compte sur vous non seulement pour les PROTEGER mais aussi pour tenir vos obligations envers moi car vous avez déjà perçu d’énormes redevances en contrepartie.
Phnuoy Mék: Mais, Seigneur, si, pour une raison ou une autre, la crise sociale déborde et si les amis de Ngouy dans les maisons flottantes et les gros sampans de Tonlé Sap se croisent les bras?
On Ze: Alors, personne n’est indispensable. Je pourrais vous trouver une résidence luxueuse dotée de meilleure médecine traditionelle – comme jadis reservée pour le prince – pour vous dans la province natale de vos ancêtres, le “Nan Min” ou le “Bei Min.” Comme ça, vous pourrez goûter la douceur de la vie dans le communisme étranger avec plus d’un milliard et demi de gens comme voisins. Et soyez rassuré que vous ne manqueriez pas de “tréy ngiét” pour vos repas du soir.

Il y eut un click, et le téléphone arabe coupé. La déesse de l’année du chien jeta un coup d’oeil vers la terre et vit Phnuoy Mék titubant tout seul vers le Tonlé Buon Mouk, une main sur sa poitrine comme pour supplier son coeur de ne pas le lâcher.

Zorobabelos

16 Sunday Sep 2018

Posted by KhmerPAC in History, Stories

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My dear Kacvey,

This is a story that you may wish to share with your students about the notion of truth and its value, as truth has lately been subject of assault from liars, conspirators theorists and adepts of alternative truth or alternative universe. The story went way back to the pre-christian era.

In Book XI of Jewish Antiquities, Josephus narrated the story of Darius who went to bed, but, after resting a brief part of the night, awoke and being unable to sleep any longer, fell to talking to his three bodyguards. Darius asked his first bodyguard whether wine was the strongest thing, and the second whether kings were, and the third whether women were, or whether truth was the strongest of all. Darius also promised his three bodyguards that whoever should give the truest and most intelligent speech on the subject would be bestowed sumptuous and enormous gifts including the honorific title of “Kinsman.”

When Darius had set these questions for them to examine, he took his rest. Then in the morning he summoned the nobles, satraps and toparchs of Persia and Media, and, taking his seat in the place where he was wont to give judgement, he bode each of the bodyguards give his opinion on the matters in question in the hearing of all.

And the first bodyguard began to speak on the power of wine. When he ceased speaking, the second bodyguard began speaking about the power of the king. When he ceased speaking, the third bodyguard began to discourse on women, and then on truth, saying: “I have now shown how great is the strength of women, but none the less both they and the king are weaker than truth. For although the earth is very great and the heavens high and the sun swift, yet all these move in accordance with the will of God, and, since He is true and just, we must for the same reason believe truth also to be the strongest thing, against which no injustice can prevail. Furthermore, all other things that possess strength are by nature mortal and short-lived, but truth is a thing immortal and eternal. And it gives us, not beauty, that fades with time, nor wealth, of which fortune may rob us, but what is just and lawful, and from this it keeps away injustice and puts it to shame.”

The third bodyguard name is Zorobabelos. When Zorobabelos ended his speech on truth, whereupon the assembly acclaimed him as the best speaker, saying that it was truth alone which had unchanging and unaging strength. And the king directed him to ask for something beyond what he himself had promised, for, he said, he would give it to him for being wise and showing himself more intelligent than the others. “You shall,” he added, “be seated next to me and be called my Kinsman.”

When the king had said this, Zorobabelos reminded him of what he had vowed to do if he obtained the throne: this was to rebuild Jerusalem and construct the temple of God there and restore the vessels which Nebuchadnezzar had taken as spoil to Babylon.

“A Plausible Case” – 莫须有冤狱

23 Monday Oct 2017

Posted by KhmerPAC in Culture, History, Justice, Stories

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My dear Kacvey,

Let take a short break from the dirty and insane politics in the City Tonlé Buon Mouk and look back into the Chinese history during the Song Dynasty (宋代- 960-1279 A.D.)

In the Southern Song (北宋) there was a patriot and a general by the name of Yue Fei (岳飞). Yue Fei was known not only for his military prowess and successes, but also for his high ethical standards. To encourage him, his mother asked him to take off his shirt. She then tattooed four Chinese characters on his back: 尽忠报国 (jing zhong bao guo) “serve the country with the utmost loyalty.” Now able to fulfill both his mother’s wish and his duty to the country, Yue Fei promptly went off to battle. Yue Fei was undefeated in battle and was a national symbol of hope during difficult times.

In 1127, several years before Yue Fei became a general, the Jurchens (Jin 金) invaded northern China, forcing the Song dynasty out of its capital Kaifeng and taking Emperor Huizong 宋徽宗, and Emperor Qinzong 宋钦宗, and hundreds of palace officials prisoners including a minister named Qin Hui 秦桧 and his wife Lady Wang 王氏. This marked the end of the Northern Song dynasty 北宋, and the beginning of the Southern Song dynasty under Emperor Gaozong 宋高宗.

While being prisoner in the Jin court, Qin Hui groveled before Emperor Taizong 金太宗 and succeeded in impressing him with his ability to serve. He got himself appointed to a position in the Jin military staff. Meanwhile, the the Jin Dynasty witnessed with alarm the steady growth of anti-Jin forces in the Southern Song Dynasty and the pro-Song insurgency in the north. Staunchly hawkish generals such as Yue Fei and Han Shizhong posed a particular challenge. It was then decided that Qin Hui would be sent back to the south as a mole in the Song government. In 1130 A.D. Qin Hui and his wife were slipped back into Southern Song territory.

In 1138, Gaozong promoted Qin Hui to be Chief Minister. Then Gaozong and Qin Hui made up their mind to reconcile with the Jin Dynasty and put him in charge of deliberations with the Jin. Yue Fei, Han Shizhong 韩世忠, and a large number of officials at court criticized the peace overtures. Aided by his control of the Censorate, Qin Hui purged his enemies and continued negotiations. In 1141 the Jin and Song agreed to a treaty that designated the Yellow River as border between the two states and recognized Gaozong as a “subject” of the Jin. But because there remained opposition to the treaty in both the courts of the Jin and Song, the treaty never came into effect.

Meanwhile, Qin Hui set to work to engineer Yue Fei’s downfall. Qin Hui wrote a memorial which denounced Yue Fei for his arrogance. He invented out of white cloth the story that yue Fei refused to send his army to relieve defenders of Huaxi when they were under Jin attack.

Yue Fei knew that Qin Hui was out to get him, so he volunteered to resign from his post of deputy Military Affairs Commissioner. Emperor Gaozong readily approved his resignation.

The matter did not stop there. One of the top generals, Zhang Jun 张俊 , once Yue Fei’s superior, became jealous of Yue Fei for his feats on the battlefield. Aware of Zhang Jun’s resentment of Yue Fei’s successes, Qin Hui in collusion with Zhang Jun incited subalterns Wang Gui 王贵 and Wang Jun 王俊 in the Yue Army to falsely accuse another subaltern Zhang Xian 张宪 of intending to take control of Xiangyang 襄阳 in order to mount a mutiny to help Yue Fei wrest back his control over the army. They also falsely accused Yue Fei’s son, Yue Yun 岳云, of writing to Zhang Xian to make secret plans for mutiny.

Based on the false testimony of the traitors Wang Gui and Wang Jun, Qin Hui arrested Zhang Xian and put him in the jail of the Court of Judicial Review, where he was tortured. However, Zhang Xian adamantly refused to confess to the fabricated crime. Soon after, Qin Hui requested Emperor Gaozong to order the arrest of Yue Fei and Yue Yun and put them on trial before the Court of Judicial Review.

When Qin Hui’s people arrived to arrest him, Yue Fei said with a smile: “上有天，下有地，会证明我是无罪的。 Heaven and Earth be my witness! I will be vindicated and cleared.”

When Yue Fei and Yue Yun were taken to the Court of Judicial Review, they found a blooded, almost unrecognizable Zhang Xian covered with bruises and injuries sustained during his torture. The sight filled Yue fei with sadness and anger.

The trial judge was Moqi Xie, a Qin Hui political ally. He placed the false testimony of Wang Gui and Wang Jun before Yue Fei and asked in a stern voice: “Hasn’t the government been good to you? Why are you planning a mutiny?”

Yue Fei replied: “上有天，下有地，会证明我是无罪的。I have done nothing against the government. You are in charge of law and justice. You must not use trumped-up charges to frame officials loyal to the government and country.”

Other officials present also echoed Moqi Xie, insisting that Yue Fei had seditious intentions. Yue Fei understood the futility of arguing with these partisans of Qin Hui’s clique. He said with a deep sigh: “我今天落在奸贼的手里，虽然有一片忠心，也没法申诉了。I’ve fallen into the hands of a bunch of traitorous thugs. There is no point in trying to prove to you my loyalty and patriotism.”

Qin Hui had assigned Vice Censor-in-Chief He Zhu 何铸 to try Yue Fei. When he began questioning Yue Fei, Yue Fei pulled up his shirt without uttering a word and showed He Zhu his bare back. What greeted He Zhu’s eyes were the four deeply tattooed characters: “尽忠报国 – Serve the country with the utmost loyalty.” He Zhu was so shaken that he could not go on with the inquiry. He remanded Yue Fei to his cell. After reviewing some more material related to the case, he could find no evidence to support the allegation of Yue Fei’s seditious intent. He truthfully reported his conclusion to Qin Hui.

Sensing He Zhu’s sympathy for Yue Fei, Qin Hui took him off the case and instructed Moqi Xie to continue fabricating charges against Yue Fei. Moqi Xie insisted that Yue Fei had written to Zhang Xian to make plans for a mutiny. Unable to provide any material evidence, they alleged Zhang Xian had destroyed the letters.

Moqi Xie put the three defendants through more torture, but Yue Fei would not give them the satisfaction of a confession. One day, when Moqi Xie tried to force Yue Fei to compose a confession, Yue Fei wrote down these eight characters: “天日眧眧，天日眧眧 – Heaven be my witness, heaven be my witness.”

After dragging on for two months, the trial still had not produced any conclusion. Everyone in government knew Yue Fei had been framed. However, some who had the courage to petition the Emperor to clear Yue Fei’s name themselves became victims of Qin Hui’s reprisals.

The venerated Han Shizhong went to see Qin Hui, and demanded evidence of Yue Fei’s alleged plans for a mutiny. Qin Hui said in an arrogant and cavalier manner: “岳飞和张宪的信，虽然没有证据，但是这件事莫须有。 Although there is no evidence of Yue Fei’s writing to Zhang Xian, one can make a plausible case.”

Han Shizhong said angrily: ” ‘莫须有’ 三个字，怎能叫天下人心服！How can your plausible case convince the country? Han Shizhong’s repeated effort proved fruitless and he resigned as Military Affairs Commissioner.

One day after work, Qin Hui was drinking with his wife Wang by a window. Wang noticed him fiddling with an orange, absent-mindedly gouging the peel with his fingernail. Wang, who was even more ruthless than Qin Hui, understood that Qin Hui was still of two minds about whether to kill Yue Fei immediately. Wang said with a sinister snort: “你这老头儿，好没有决断，要知道缚虎容易放虎难啊！You indecisive coot! It’s easier to tie a tiger down than to set it free.”

Wang’s warning helped make up Qin Hui’s mind. He immediately wrote a note which was secretly delivered to the prison. In a night in January 1142 A.D. the patriotic national hero Yue Fei was murdered. He was only 39. Yue Yun and Zhang Xian suffered the same fate that night.

After Yue Fei’s murder, a prison warden in Lin’an 临安 (today’s Hangzhou 杭州) named Kui Shun 隗顺 secretly buried his remains. Yue Fei’s name was cleared only after the death of Emperor Gaozong, and his remains were moved to Qixia Peak 栖霞岭 for proper burial. A Yue Fei temple was added later east of his tomb. A statue of Yue Fei clad in battle gear now sits in the great hall of the Yue Temple 岳庙. Above the statue hangs an awe-inspiring board inscribed with four characters in Yue Fei’s handwriting: “还我河山 – Give back my country.” Opposite the tomb are four cast-iron kneeling figures with their hands tied behind their backs. They are the despised and hated Qin Hui, his wife Wang, Moqi Xie and Zhang Jun that for centuries ordinary Chinese have visited specifically to spit on. This arrangement is designed to reflect popular admiration for a national hero and revulsion for selfish and corrupted officials and traitors.

Archival Records

20 Wednesday Sep 2017

Posted by KhmerPAC in Book, Culture, Event, Governance, History, Human Rights, Institution, International, Issue, Justice, Politics, Social, Stories

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My dear Kacvey,

For ease and quick reference that your students and you might need in the future, this letter contains links that speak volume about difference when words were spoken and when the speakers change their attitude. Is this hypocrisy in Khmer politics, or are Khmer politicians truly hypocritical?

The New York Times
8 January 1979
Henry Kamm: Hanoi Reports Cambodian Capital Conquered By ‘Insurgent’ Forces; Long Guerrilla Conflict Feared

Le Monde
26 janvier 1979
GÉRARD BRISSÉ: Le Cambodge au futur antérieur

The Washington Post
28 April 1979
Jay Matthews: Cambodia Faces Threat of Famine

1980
Radio Quebec
YouTube: Prince Sihanouk claque la porte de l’émission ”Pierre Nadeau”

Le Monde
8 janvier 1980
R.-P. PARINGAUX: UN AN APRÈS L’INTERVENTION DE SON CORPS EXPÉDITIONNAIRE Le Vietnam n’a toujours pas atteint les objectifs qu’il s’était fixés

Le Monde
8 janvier 1981
PATRICE DE BEER: Deux ans après la prise de Phnom-Penh par les Vietnamiens La solution du problème cambodgien n’est toujours pas en vue

Le Monde
28 mars 1981
JACQUES DE BARRIN: Sihanouk est un criminel et un traître nous déclare M. Hun Sen, ministre des affaires étrangères

Le Monde
21 mai 1981
PATRICE DE BEER: Phnom Penh annonce la réunion imminente du congrès du P.C. provietnamien

Le Monde
5 octobre 1981
Quarante années de conflits

Le Monde
9 janvier 1982
PATRICE DE BEER: Cambodge TROIS ANS APRÈS L’INTERVENTION VIETNAMIENNE Le régime de Phnom Penh demeure toujours aussi dépendant de Hanoi

The New York Review of Books
10 May 1984
William Shawcross: The Burial of Cambodia

The New York Review of Books
27 September 1984
An Exchange on Cambodia – Nayan Chanda and Ben Kiernan, reply by William Shawcross

Le Monde
15 janvier 1985
AFP: M. Hun Sen devient premier ministre

Le Monde
7 juin 1985
JACQUES BEKAERT: Visite à Phnom-Penh d’une importante délégation vietnamienne

Le Monde
5 décembre 1987
La fin des entretiens sur le Cambodge Le prince Sihanouk et M. Hun Sen se rencontreront à nouveau en France en janvier

Le Monde
19 décembre 1987
CAMBODGE: le dialogue Sihanouk-Hun Sen Phnom-Penh propose que la négociation reprenne le 27 janvier

The Washington Post
22 June 1989
Keith B. Richburg: HUN SEN MAKING AN IMPACT

Cultural Survival Quarterly Magazine
September 1990
Tarr Chou Meng: A TALK WITH PRIME MINISTER HUN SEN

Academia
August 1995
Sophal Ear: CAMBODIA’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: A Contribution to the Study of Cambodia’s Economy

Phnom Penh Post
12 August 1994
Nate Thayer: Chinese city of dreams

UPI
1 May 1995
TRICIA FITZGERALD: Cambodia opens floating casino

The Phnom Penh Post
19 May 1995
Matthew Grainger: Hun Sen: the power and the politics
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/hun-sen-power-and-politics

Academia
May 1995
Sophal Ear: THE KHMER ROUGE CANON 1975-1979:The Standard Total Academic View on Cambodia

The Economist
10 July 1997
A coup in Cambodia
http://www.economist.com/node/370230

The Phnom Penh Post
12 July 1997
Jason Barber: Democracy from the barrel of a gun

Newsweek (through KI Media site)
21 July 1997
Ron Moreau: A coup in Cambodia

Stratfor Worldview
4 December 1997
Hun Sen Losing Control of Cambodian Countryside

Academia
2000
John Ciorciari: China and Cambodia: Patron and Client?

Journal of Democracy – Harvard University
2 April 2002
Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way: Elections Without Democracy – THE RISE OF COMPETITIVE AUTHORITARIANISM

Academia
2003
Martin Stuart-Fox: A SHORT HISTORY OF CHINA AND SOUTHEAST ASIA: TRIBUTE, TRADE AND INFLUENCE

Academia
Media Culture & Society
1 January 2003
Rachel Hughes: The abject artefacts of memory: photographs from Cambodia’s genocide

Academia
2004
Hong Pean: Ben Kiernan – Recovering History and Justice in Cambodia

Academia
International Communication Association, 2005
Erik Palmer: Richard Avedon, the Khmer Rouge & the Ideological Power of Portraiture

Academia
Journal of Democracy
2005
Duncan McCargo: Cambodia: Getting Away with Authoritarianism?

Academia
2005
Taum Yoseph Yapi: COLLECTIVE CAMBODIAN MEMORIES OF THE POL POT KHMER ROUGE REGIME

Academia
February 20016
Helene Lavoix: The “Khmer Rouge”: from emergence to power

Academia
Spring 2006
Sophal Ear: The Political Economy of Aid, Governance, and Policy-Making: Cambodia in Global, National, and Sectoral Perspectives

Academia
April 2007
Sophal Ear: The Political Economy of Aid and Governance in Cambodia

Intelligence Report
May 2007
Communism and Cambodia

Global Witness
31 May 2007
CAMBODIA’S FAMILY TREES

Academia
4 November 2001
Online Encyclopedia of Mass Violence
Hélène Lavoix: Cambodia

Academia – The Pacific Review, Vol: 20, No: 4
December 2007
Lee Jones: ASEAN intervention in Cambodia:from Cold War to conditionality

Academia
12 November 2008
The History of Cambodia from 1st Century to 20th Century – Sangkum Reastre Niyum of King Norodom Sihanouk 1955-1970

Academia
Asia Paciﬁc Viewpoint, Vol. 49, No. 3, December 2008
Rachel Hughes: Dutiful tourism: encountering the Cambodian genocide

Academia
2009
Sophal Ear: Transitional Justice Dilemma: The Case of Cambodia

Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (Cambodia)
18 February 2009
5th Publication: Rule of Law

Academia
Spring 2009
SOK UDOM DETH: The Geopolitics of Cambodia During the Cold War Period

Academia
June 2009
Stephanie Benzaquen: Mass Atrocity and Material Culture: Mediating the Cambodian Genocide into European Collective Memory

Academia
June 2009
Sok Udom Deth: The People’s Republic of Kampuchea 1979 – 1989: A Draconian Savior?

Academia
2009
James Tyner: Imagining Genocide: Anti-geographies and the Erasure of Space in Democratic Kampuchea

Academia
Winter 2009
Sok Udom Deth: The Rise and Fall of Democratic Kampuchea

The Observer
9 January 2010
Andrew Anthony: Lost in Cambodia

Academia
2010
Michael Vickery: Kicking the Vietnam Syndrome in Cambodia

Academia
2010
Matt Galway: From the Claws of the Tiger to the Jaws of the Crocodile: Pol Pot, Maoism, and Ultra-nationalist Genocide in Cambodia, 1975-1979

Academia
2010
Alvin Lim: Breakfast with the Dictator: Memory, Atrocity, and Affect

Academia
20 June 2010
Ian G. Baird: Different views of history: Shades of irredentism alongthe Laos–Cambodia border

BBC News
13 January 2011
Mukul Devichand: Has Cambodia become a country for sale?

Academia
June 2011
Stephanie Benzaquen: Witnessing and re-enacting in Cambodia: reflection on shifting testimonies

Richmond Times-Dispatch
20 June 2011
DENIS D. GRAY, The Associated Press: Cambodia’s king seen as a ‘prisoner’ in his palace

Academia
2011
Alvin Lim: Desiring Cambodia

Academia
2011
Stewart Clegg, Arménio Rego, Miguel Pina e Cunha: Pol Pot, alias Brother NumberOne: Leaders as instruments of history

Academia
2012
Sok Udom Deth: Cambodian-Thai Diplomatic Relations since 1950: Nationalism or Power Politics?

Academia
November 2012
Stephanie Benzaquen: DOCUMENTING THE KHMER ROUGE TRIBUNAL:NARRATIVES OF HISTORY, TRUTH, AND RESPONSIBILITY IN THE WORKS OFRITHY PANH AND THET SAMBATH

Roads & Kingdoms
29 August 2012
Paul Findlay: CAMBODIA’S CRAB COAST

Academia
Cross Currents: East Asian History and Culture Review, 2012
Julio Jeldres: “A Personal Reflection on Norodom Sihanouk and Zhou Enlai: An Extraordinary Friendship on the Fringes of the Cold War”

The Cambodia Daily
12 October 2012
PAUL VRIEZE AND PHANN ANA: Hun Sen Marks 25 Years as Country’s Prime Minister

Academia/Cambodia Daily
31 October 2012
Michele Vachon: Remebering the King Norodom Sihanouk (1922-2012) By Cambodia Daily News)
https://www.academia.edu/7843814/Remebering_the_King_Norodom_Sihanouk_1922-2012_By_Cambodia_Daily_News_

Academia
2012
John Link: The-khmer-heroes-sacrifice-in-the-dark-world-(english-version)

Academia
Performing Archives/Archives of Performance, 2013
Emma Willis: “‘All this is left’: performing and re-performing archives of Khmer Rouge violence” In G. Borggreen, R. Gade (Eds.) Performing Archives/Archives of Performance (pp.108-126 ). Copenhagen, Denmark: Museum Tusculanum.

The Cambodia Daily
14 April 2013
COLIN MEYN: Cambodia’s Long Battle Against Terrorist Groups

Academia
July 2013
Sovannarith Keo: LIPSTICK ON A PIG: CAMBODIA’S ELECTION, A TRAVESTY OF DEMOCRACY?

Academia
June 2013
John Ciorciari: China and Cambodia: Patron and Client?

Academia
24 June 2013
John D. Ciorciari: China and the Pol Pot regime

Academia
December 2013
Julio Jeldres: China King Sihanouk and Democratic Kampuchea-A Case study of twin-track diplomacy – December 2013

Academia
2014
Tem Oudom: Cambodia between China and the United States

United Nations – General Assembly
27 March 2014
Human Rights Council – Twenty-sixth session – Agenda item 6 – Universal Periodic Review
Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review
Rapport du Groupe de travail sur l’Examen périodique universel

Academia
28 April 2014
Casey Davison O’Brien: The Cambodian peace process, and the wider lessons for sustainable peace

Academia
Silpakorn University Journal of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts 14(2) [2014]
Christian Oesterheld: Cambodian-Thai Relations during the Khmer Rouge Regime: Evidence from the East German Diplomatic Archives

Academia
3 June 2014
10th International Academic Conference, Vienna ISBN 978-80-87927-02-1, IISES
CHRISTIAN OESTERHELD: SCAPEGOATING CAMBODIA’S “YUON”: HISTORICALPERSPECTIVES ON KHMER ANTI-VIETNAMISM

Academia
3 June 2014
James A Tyner and Christabel Devadoss: Administrative violence, prison geographies andthe photographs of Tuol Sleng SecurityCenter, Cambodia

Academia
2014
James Tyner, Sokvisal Kimsroy, Savina Sirik: Phnom Penh during the Cambodian genocide

Academia
Proceedings of the 10th International Academic Conference, Vienna, Austria, 03 – 06 June 2014
Prague: International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences
Christian Oesterheld: East German Socialism and the Khmer Rouge Revolution: Insights from the GDR’s Diplomatic Archives

Academia
2014
Sok Udom Deth: Factional Politics and Foreign Policy Choices in Cambodia-Thailand Diplomatic Relations, 1950-2014

Academia
June 2014
Ou Ritthy: CAMBODIA: Old politicians in a new society

Radio Radicale (Italie)
22 juillet 2014
Di Matteo Angioli: Interview with Saumura Tioulong on the deal between the government and the opposition in Cambodia

The Diplomat
11 September 2014
Heng Sarith: Cambodia’s Foreign Policy Grand Strategy

Academia
September 2014
Stephanie Benzaquen: Looking at the Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocidal Crimes, Cambodia, on Flickr and YouTube

Nikkei Asian Review
23 October 2014
Sebastian Strangio: In Cambodia, everything is different but nothing has changed

Academia
2014
James Tyner, Sokvisal Kimsroy and Savina Sirik: Phnom Penh during the Cambodian genocide

Academia
2014
Nicola Mocci: CAMBODIA 2014: THE CONTINUATION OF THE HUN SEN-SAM RAINSY POLITICAL DUEL AND THE SURGE IN SOCIAL CONFLICT

Academia
2014
RANDLE C. DEFALCO: JUSTICE ANDSTARVATION INCAMBODIA: THEKHMER ROUGE FAMINE

Human Rights Watch
13 January 2015
Cambodia: 30 Years of Hun Sen Violence, Repression
https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/01/13/cambodia-30-years-hun-sen-violence-repression

Foreign Policy
13 January 2015
SEBASTIAN STRANGIO: The House That Hun Sen Built

The House That Hun Sen Built

The Cambodia Daily
14 January 2015
ALEX WILLEMYNS AND KUCH NAREN: For Hun Sen, 30 Turbulent Years as Prime Minister

Jacobin
27 April 2015
BRETT S. MORRIS: Nixon and the Cambodian Genocide

Academia
European Academic research
May 2015
IM CHANBORACHEAT: Cambodia’s Bureaucracy and China, Friends for Benefits?

Nikkei Asian Review
15 June 2015
SEBASTIAN STRANGIO: Death of ruling party veteran boosts authority of Hun Sen

Foreign Affairs
September/October 2015
Stéphanie Giry: Autopsy of a Cambodian Election – How Hun Sen Rules
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/asia/autopsy-cambodian-election

Academia.edu
October 2015
Vicente Sánchez-Biosca: Le visage fluctuant des victimes. Images de l’affliction au Cambodge (1975-2003)
Cinéma & Cie, vol. XV, no. 24, Spring 2015, pp. 103-116. Perpetrator Images, Perpetrator Artifacts: The Nomad Archives of Tuol Sleng (S-21)

Academia
5 October 2015
Cables detail China-Vietnam Strains in 1975 Cambodia

Sanskriti
31 December 2015

Angkor Wat Temple is Larger and More Complex Than Thought Earlier

Academia
2015
Nicola Mocci: CAMBODIA 2015: 30 YEARS OF HUN SEN’S GOVERNMENT AND THE PROGRESSIVE CENTRALIZATION OF POWER

Academia
2015
Alvin Lim: Human Rights in Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge

Academia
2016
James Mah: A Small State’s Search for Relevance-Singapore in the Cambodian Conflict, 1978-1982

Academia
Australian Humanities Review
(April/May 2016). ISSN: 1325 8338 190-208
Lestie Barnes: ‘The Image of a Quest’: The Visual Archives of Rithy Panh

International Association of genocide Scholars – IAGS
Volume 10 – 2016
Julie Fleischman: Working with the Remains in Cambodia: Skeletal Analysis and Human Rights after Atrocity

The Guardian
7 July 2016
Oliver Holmes: ‘Stranglehold’: Hun Sen rules Cambodia and his family own it, says report

Griffith University – Griffith Asia Institute
25 August 2016
Lucy West: Rule of law in Cambodia – reflections from the field

ASEAN Studies Program
3 August 2016
Cheunboran Chanborey: The South China Sea and ASEAN Unity: A Cambodian Perspective

Academia
14 October 2014
Alvin Lim: Cambodia Joins the “Belt and Road”

BRAUNHAGEY & BORDEN LLP
13 December 2016
US District Court Northern District of California: Case CV16 80258 MISC.

Academia
2016
Alexander Hinton: MAN or MONSTER? The Trial of a Khmer Rouge Torturer (introduction)

Academia
2016
Serey Sam: Who Have Killed Khmer People until today

Academia.edu
2017
Anne Laure Poree: Tuol Sleng l’histoire inachevée d’un musée mémoire

Academia.edu
2017
Julie Fleischman: REMAINS OF KHMER ROUGE VIOLENCE: THE MATERIALITY OF BONES AS SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE AND AFFECTIVE AGENTS OF MEMORY

Academia
April 2017
Ou Rithy: CAMBODIA: Prime Minister Hun Sen Was A SuccessfulWartime Leader But Certainly Not One In Peacetime Cambodia

Asia/Pacific Group ON MONEY LAUNDERING
September 2017
Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures – Cambodia – Mutual Evaluation Report

Academia
September 2017
Po Sovinda: The Limits of China’s Influence in Cambodia: A Soft Power Perspective

The Phnom Penh Post
23 June 2017
Q&A: Chris Kelly on A Cambodian Spring

Academia
July 2017
Julio Jeldres: DEMOCRATIC KAMPUCHEA’S FOREIGN POLICY: A LEFTOVER FROM THE CHINESE CULTURAL REVOLUTION

Academia
September 2017
Matthew Galway: From Revolutionary Culture to Original Culture and Back: “On New Democracy” and the Kampucheanization of Marxism-Leninism, 1940-1965

ifex.org
20 September 2017
Cambodia: a hostile environment for rights defenders
https://ifex.org/cambodia/noimpunity-cambodia-profile/

Global Peacebuilding Association (Japan)
10 November 2017
Akashi explained how UNTAC brought about peace, national reconciliation and democracy in Cambodia.

The New York Times
12 December 2017
BRIAN CUDDY: Was It Legal for the U.S. to Bomb Cambodia?

Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (Cambodia)
December 2017
Book by DETH Sok Udom, SUN Suon, Serkan BULUT: CAMBODIA’S FOREIGN RELATIONS IN REGIONAL AND GLOBAL CONTEXTS

Academia.edu
Australian Folklore – Book Review 2017
A. Asbjørn Jøn: Chum Mey, Survivor: The Triumph of An Ordinary Man in the Khmer Rouge Genocide, translated by Sim Sorya and Kimsroy Sokvisal (Phnom Penh: Documentation Center of Cambodia, 2012). Paperback with black and white and colour illustrations, ISBN 9789995060244. 110 pages. USD $10.

Academia
Situations: Cultural Studies in the Asian Context: 2017
Rebecca Gidley: The Political Construction of Narrative and Collective Memory in Cambodia

Academia
2017
Kimkong Heng: ASEAN at 50: Challenges and Opportunities for Cambodia

Academia
2017
Rahul Goswami and Makara Hong: How Cambodia’s Lakhaon Khaol Thrives in a Riverbank Village

Academia
2017
Sophamonyoudom Prom and Theresa de Langis: Knowledge about the Khmer Rouge Genocide and Attendance at Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

Academia
2018
Matt Galway: A SHINING BEACON: GLOBAL MAOISM AND COMMUNIST MOVEMENTS IN PERU AND CAMBODIA, 1965-1992
Academia.edu
2018
Armin Selbitschka: The Early Silk Road(s)

Daniel R. Coats, Director of National Intelligence
13 February 2018
Statement of Record: The Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the South East Asia Journalist Unions (SEAJU)
23 February 2018
Cambodia’s Media on Edge

Senator John McCain
26 January 2018
SENATORS McCAIN, CARDIN & BIPARTISAN GROUP URGE UN AMBASSADOR NIKKI HALEY TO INCREASE PRESSURE ON CAMBODIA FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES

Academia
SAGE/Visual Communication
3 January 2018
Keith B Wagner and Michael A Unger: Photographic and cinematic appropriation of atrocity images from Cambodia: auto-genocide in Western museum culture and The Missing Picture

Academia
2018
Julie Fleischman, Sonnara Prak, Vythy Voeun and Sophearavy Ros: Khmer Rouge Regime Massacres: Skeletal Evidence of Violent Trauma in Cambodia

Academia
2018
Un Nang: Cambodia’s Foreign Policy and China’s Influence during the Khmer Rouge Era

World Justice Project
Rule of Law Index 2017-2018
Cambodia Ranked 112 Out Of 113 Countries on Rule of Law

Academia
SWP Comment
August 2018
Chum Chandarin and Felix Heiduk: Cambodia: The Winner Takes It All

Academia
August 2018
Alvin Lim: The Spiral Repetitions of Cambodia’s 2018 General Election

Academia
2018
Shihlun Allen Chen: The Development of Cambodia China Relation and Its Transition Under the OBOR Initiative.

Academia
22 October 2018
Alvin Cheng-Hin Lim: Will EU’s Sanctions Mean a Closer Embrace for Chinaand Cambodia?

Academia
Open Democracy
2018
Alice Beban and Laura Schoenberger: Authoritarian rule shedding its populist skin in rural Cambodia

Academia
undated/Cornell University
Hoang Minh Vu (Graduate student: Candidate Number 19558): Facing the Inevitable?Vietnam’s Decision to Invade Cambodia,1977-78

Academia
undated
Chandara Khun: Beneficial Interests: China, the ‘Most Trusted Friend’ beyond Doubt

Academia
undated
Sebastian Strangio: Cambodia Between the End of History and the End Times of Human Rights

Academia
undated
Céline Martin: Business and Human Rights in ASEAN: Case study of Cambodia

CEIC Data
12 E. 49th St, 8 Floor, New York, NY 10017
undated
Cambodia External Debt: % of GDP

Academia
Bijdragen Tot de Taal, Land- en Volkekunde, 2019
Derek Heng: Premodern Island-Southeast-Asian History in the Digital Age Opportunities and Challenges through Chinese Textual Database Research

Academia
James Michael Walker: The impact of The China’s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) on US 21st century order in Asia

U.S. Department of Defense
1 June 2019
Indo-Pacific Strategy Report – Preparedness, Partneships and Promoting a Networked Region

PNAS – Proceedings of the National Academic of Sciences of the United states of America
3 June 2019
Alison K. Carter, Miriam T. Stark, Seth Quintus, Yijie Zhuang, Hong Wang, Piphal Heng, and Rachna Chhay: Temple occupation and the tempo of collapse at Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Academia
2019
Siwach Sripokangkul and Mark Cogan: Political Demonology, Dehumanization, and Contemporary Thai Politics

Document Center of Cambodia
24 June 2019
A Historical Record: Singapore – Democratic Kampuchea Relations (1975 – 1979).

Institut National de l’Audiovisuel
10 juillet 2019
Cyrille Beyer: “Mystères d’archives” : révéler la réalité du régime des Khmers rouges grâce aux films de propagande

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
2019 Report: Transnational Organized Crime in Southeast Asia: Evolution, Growth and Impact

Academia
No date
Theara Thoeurn: CAMBODIA UNDER SIHANOUK

Academia
No date
Hong Pean: 05f_3048_vanmalssen_a1.doc

Academia
No date
Giovanni Galli: How Significant was King Norodom Shianouk in the contest of the Khmer Rouge and its rise to Power?

Academia
Undated
Jarrod Grabham: Justification for genocide? Elements of Khmer Theravada Buddhism and Khmer nationalism in Khmer Rouge thought.

This letter will be updated as researched records have become available.

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