Thursday, February 22, 2007

Conversations with Sam Rainsy


Australian Broadcasting Corporation
612 ABC Brisbane

"In Cambodia you have the peace of the cemetery, you have the stability or the security of the slave. I think Cambodia deserves better." - Sam Rainsy
Click here to listen to the interview streaming in Windows Media
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(Note: Sam Rainsy's interview starts at about 23 min 45 sec into the program)


Sam Rainsy is Cambodia's Opposition leader. He was born in Phnom Penh, but spent most of his early adulthood in France while Cambodia was under the rule of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. Sam returned to Cambodia in 1992 to become one of its most outspoken political figures. He became finance minister in a coalition government and fell out with the country's current Prime Minister Hun Sen, who's had a stranglehold on the top job for more than 20 years. Now Sam is challenging Hun Sen in the Cambodian elections to be held in April this year.

Even though Sam's family lived as refugees in France during the Pol Pot era, they felt a strong kinship with their countrymen. "We were shocked, we were unhappy. we were very sad," he says. "We were torn apart. Even though we lived happily in France, but we shared the sufferings of the other Cambodians who were dying in Cambodia. Some of the people who used to support the Khmer Rouge, the leftist organisations, they did not realise that what they thought was a revolution for peaceful, to fight American imperialism. Nobody had imagined that kind of generous revolution would lead to such atrocities."

Sam returned to Cambodia in 1992. "I lived in France for 27 years, before deciding to come back to Cambodia to take part in the elections organised by the United Nations. I thought it was a golden opportunity to help rebuild my country."

When Sam became Finance Minister in 1993, it was a difficult time. "It was a big challenge because the state coffers were empty," he remembers. "I did not have a penny to pay the salaries of tens of thousands of civil servants and it was very dangerous. If you cannot pay the policeman, you cannot pay the soldiers they can become gangsters and the country can turn into anarchy."

Sam is grateful to Australia for the role the country has played in Cambodia's peace process. "The Cambodian people are grateful to Australia, to the Australian government, to Australian people for having initiated the peace process in Cambodia," he says.

"No Khmer Rouge leader has been tried properly before a decent court. With this culture of impunity, the subsequent assassinations, murders, human rights abuse remain unpunished and with this you cannot have the rule of law. You cannot move really forward if you don't settle problems related to the past."

However, he believes Cambodia still has a way to go. "In Cambodia you have the peace of the cemetery, you have the stability or the security of the slave. I think Cambodia deserves better."

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

KHMENG WAT KHNONG SROK
TO
MR. SAM RAINSHIT!

LEAVE CAMBODIA AND GO TO THE REPUBLIC OF BANANA IF YOU DO NOT LIKE CAMBODIA AT PRESENT TIME.

KHMENG WAT KHNONG SROK

Anonymous said...

achar wat khnong srok

"In Cambodia you have the peace of the cemetery, you have the stability or the security of the slave. I think Cambodia deserves better." - Sam Rainsy

it is not your country anymore...please go back to france because they have a better cemetery and good ghosts leaving there and slaves are better put in golden cages...

a friendly advice

achar wat khnong srok

Anonymous said...

Yep, and we all know Sam Rainshit
is nothing more than lip-service.

Anonymous said...

Hey Acha Wat and Ah Khmeng Wat. You both can fuck each other before you both go to HELL. You hear.

Anonymous said...

To the first three commentators,
You three must be the Blind man's dogs or sons. YOu guys sound like Mean Phnek kvas Prasey. You sound like you don't live in Cambodia. You can't see the suffering of Khmer peoples. You claim that you are khmeng Wat and forget that who bring those foods to WATH? Ashhole.

Anonymous said...

KHMENG WAT KHNONG SROK, char wat khnong srok and 12:29 AM

Listen these 3 corrupted and murderers. Sam Rainsy is much better than your boss, Ahr Kwak. He is an educated man from France where your boss is illiterate man from jungle of cambodia. You all are stupid and illiterate men like your boss and no wonder you can't see black and white. go to hell is better than stay alive.

Anonymous said...

I agree, Sam Rainsy is an educated men, have you ever listen to Ah Kwak talk, oh hold on, he can't talk, he can only yell. I mean come on, everytime he speak, can you ask the real question. No he won't allow you, because he's afraid that he might not understand the question, "can ;you rephrase that for me, LOL? come on, get a grib here, twenty of power, what have he done, except corruption?

Anonymous said...

Listen up, Ethiopian tics and
fleas, if your Sam Rainshit is so
great, why don't you show us
something to back up your claim.

On the other hand, we backed our
claim with the best economic
growth in the region, as confirmed
by both WB and IMF. Can you match
that?

Anonymous said...

Hey, idiot. You are trying to impress us that you are an economist? Think twice next time. Yes, because you have almost 600 million GDP it is easy to see 10% growth of 60 million, while the country can make much more than that from tourist. Where are all the money gone to? Help me understand here Dory...

On the other hand, if you don't respect an educated man, just like you don't respect your teacher or yourself.

Who say Rainsy can not lead this country? if a man from the cave can do it (he claimed that he has been in powers for 27 years) since people were starving till they are in poverty, any man can do it.

Anonymous said...

Yeah right, I bet you claimed that
Sam Rainsy can also take you to
the moon.

Why don't you be smart and shut
the fuck up if you can't show us
anything, alright?

Anonymous said...

Actually he never claimed that, all he does was mentioning that we deserve better. I agreed with that. We deserve better. Can Hun Sen take you idiot to the moon?? Yes I bet he did, huh, he promised a ton of stuff when he begged for money from those donors.

If you think your life is better with your Hun Sen now, I think have not seen the oceean yet, be more libeeral, don't lock your idiot brain in that small pond-brain washed idiot.

Anonymous said...

Hey guy, enough, don't be afaird of change. Change is good. Talk, don't kill.

Khmer Young said...

Wonderful speech Sam Rainsy...you are idealistic leader for the 21 century and for young leaders of Cambodia.

When we have one firm pole, finally people will embrace and survive.

Democratizing in Cambodia is not easy as the Communist Regime in Cambodia is complicated that blended with expansionism policy of Vietnam.

The voice of courage and intelligence of Sam Rainsy foreshodows the achievement of future Cambodia.

Anonymous said...

KHMENG WAT KHNONG SROK

WE DON'T NEED TO TEACH ECONOMICS TO ANIMALS IN CAGE! THEY ARE SO IGNORANTS ABOUT EVERYTHING EVEN ABOUT CAMBODIA!
THEY JUST NEED TO BE REWARDED WITH BONES AND STICKS...

YOU CAN FEEL BY THEIR COMMENTS THE DEGREE OF THEIR INTELLECTUAL ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND POLITICS OR ECONOMICS.

THEY DESERVED TO HANG HIGH AND SHORT ASAP!

GOD FORGIVES ME!

KHMENG WAT KHNONG SROK

Anonymous said...

2:09AM why are you so proud of your three stooges.hun sen(khmeng wat),chea sim(ACHAR WAT), heng samrin(FARMER).

Anonymous said...

Wrong KK4:15, winner must have
skills, not lip-services, and that
is what Sam Rainshit is lacking.

Anonymous said...

I think in the last election he did win the majority of votes in Phnom Penh campaign. If there's as many educated people in provinces and in remote areas as in Phnom Penh then there'll be more chance to see the change. I'd love to see the change, at least we can compare who's better, what is and what's not. There might be risk but it wouldnt be that bad as it was in the past time.

T.

Anonymous said...

Sam Rainsy will lead Cambodia right into the abyss , he's a fucking moron , possessing his french passport 'cause he's afraid he will serve as blackjob guy in Prey Sor , where he naturally belongs. His look even so gay , look how he handles the mic , like it were a penis he's about to suck up. His newspaper Sralanh Khmer one's of the worthless bullshit , no suggestions , only critics , critics , critics and endless smacking the Youn and Siam vocabulary. His party had already been labeled a few times as promoting neo-nacist and fascist agenda . What he wants more ? He wants when Youn will actually lose their patience and will get rid of him in Prey Sor ? Get a life , get to your happy America , fuck your wife if you have one and enjoy all that money that your daddy had stolen while being a minister.

Anonymous said...

Well since you said so but since when the government under his administration learn to accept suggestions or constructive comments eh? Has he shown any effort in doing so by the way? NO! He just cant handle those suggestions, but if it comes with money then we'll say he'll think about it and try and stuff and in fact would never give a damn about it, take the anti-corruption law as example... it's been years! I mean if you can complaint about SRS's dad stolen money and stuff which im not aware of, cant you see that the current government is corrupted to the bone?

T.

Anonymous said...

This is to refer to Khmeng wat Khnong Srok's comment,

You are realy have rock in your head. You are must be the one that involving criminal activities (drugs...)and remember the only place that welcome you is hell!. Wake up and look up you will see the sky is bigger than head, mate.

Anonymous said...

Khment Wat Knong Srok or Knong peang pra-hok. Let me enlighthened you, Guthama is NOT a God. Stop praying to him, he is just a philosopher. He's dead you idiots.

What is Karma that you never answere to me yet? ah khvak...

Anonymous said...

YOU FUCKING YUON SHIT, LISTEN, YOU ANMD YOUR YUON SLUTS AREW SO SCARED OF RAINSY'S RISING POPULARITY WHICHNIS INCREASING EVERY TERM, THAT IS WHY YOU TRY TO PUT HIM DOWN. HE WAS FINANCE MINISTER ONLY FOR S HORT PERIOD, HE HE TURNED ALOT OF THINGS AROUND IN POSITIVE WAY. GIVE HIM JUST ON TERM, HE WILL CHANGE FROM BLACK TO WHITE. ONE THING IS CLEAR, CORRUPTION UNDWER HIM WILL DIMINISH. THE BORDER WILL BE CLEASED OF THE FUCKINGH YUON MORONS WHO ARE YOUR NATURAL EMPERORS.

IF HE IS NO ONE, WHY DID YOU ASSHOLE TRY SO HARD TO KILL HIM AND HIS SUPPORTERS, EH ? YOU IODIOTS, YOU BELONG TO THE YUON TE ONG. GO TO HELL AH CHO MARI KONTORB YUON MUOY LEAN CHORN.

Anonymous said...

Sam Rainsy will be a great leader in Cambodia soon. Everthing in Cambodia will imprive very fast.

Go away HUN SHIT

Anonymous said...

Jeyo CPP ! JEYO SAMDACH HUN SEN !
FUCK AH SAM RAINSHIT !!! U bastards who blames us from abroad, u better come and help the county rather than bark from abroad, u cowards !!

SAMDACH HUN SEN is a HERO, he built the country with empty hands, all u do is running away like treators.

JeYO CPP ! JEYO SAMDACH HUN SEN ! FUCK AH SAM RAINSHIT

Anonymous said...

Hey it's not that there's only you fuck who is livin in the country!! And yet dont you see anything wrong with this current government?? You are so proud of building the country from zero and now what level are we at now? 2? 3? and dont you ever wanna go a step further to at least the level of neighbor country so that they wont dare to look down on us any more??

T.

Anonymous said...

AH CHOI MARAI KHMENG WAT,

SROK KHMER BELONGS TO ALL KHMER, NOT JUST AH YUON DOG HUN SHIT, AND KHMENG WAT SEE ARCH