Interview with Sam Rainsy regarding his party’s goals

21 March 2007
By Rik Chor Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

During the preparation leading to the 2nd mandate of the commune election which will take place of 01 April 2007, RFA met with the 12 leaders of the political parties that are participating in the current election. The following is the interview with Mr. Sam Rainsy, President of the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP).

Rik Chor (RFA): Sir, the declaration made by the NEC shows that in this 2nd mandate commune election, SRP has candidates for 1,596 communes only, whereas there is a total of 1,621 communes altogether. Why is that?

Sam Rainsy (SR): The SRP has candidates in all communes and sangkats, but we are facing difficulties in some communes/sangkats, in particular, in far away provinces, in far away districts, in far away communes. We presented candidates but there were threats made against SRP candidates. These candidates were threatened about their safety, about losing their lands, their wives were threatened. There were many kinds of threats [they faced].

Nevertheless, among the 1,621 communes and sangkats, we presented candidates in 1,596 communes, this is about 98-99% already, and they are presented in almost all communes and sangkats. There are about 25 communes only where we did not present any candidates because of serious threats, also these communes are small and have only a small population, and they are also located in very isolated provinces and districts.

RFA: Does SRP have funds to support this endeavor? Where do the funds come from?

SR: We are tight and we don’t have much [funds], unlike other parties, but we have enough and our funds come from donations, donations from our party members and SRP supporters from inside the country – we receive a large amount of donations [through them] – and from outside the country, we receive a large amount also.

Therefore, we can do our work without worrying too much about funding. Furthermore, we use our funds to make judicious spending, very sparingly. Also, the majority of our party members have to make a lot of sacrifices, in terms of labor and money, they are all volunteers, so the main point is our strong willingness and not money per se.

RFA: What percentage [of the vote] do you foresee your party will receive, based on the campaign activities you are undertaking?

SR: The answer to this question depends on how the election is conducted. If the election is held freely, with justice, and no threats are made against the people, and they can vote as they want, and if there is no influence from money – such as distribution of gifts, or forcing people to make an oath, or those who receive gifts are forced to make an oath, or people are forced to join a party first before they receive a gift, i.e. these are pressures – if the election is fair so that we can accept it, then the outcome obtained by SRP will be very pleasant.

RFA: Are you aware of the living condition of people living in isolated area? What kind of problems are they facing?

SR: In my position as MP, I always visited people in all the 24 provinces and cities. I visited all of them, what I noticed is that poor farmers living in isolated areas remain poor as they always do, if we listen to radio or watch TV, there’s only announce made about the development of Cambodia, however, I noticed that the development indeed happens but only for the high-ranking officials, for the powerful, and for the rich people. The rich are getting richer, but their number is very small, a handful of them only, and they colluded to confiscate lands belonging to the people, to cut down forests, to perpetrate corruption. Their group, their families, their clans are not large, they constitute only a small group which is becoming richer and richer, these oknhas and loaded people, we knew already. That is why people clearly understand now, they understand that a political change is needed. If the current situation is allowed to continue, our country will be destroyed and the poor will become poorer. Therefore, people must choose leaders who will bring new ideas to develop the country all over again so that we can build a new living condition on our lands and rice fields, so that there is freedom, and especially, social justice.

RFA: Sir, some people said that at the upcoming election, they don’t know who to vote for because in the past, whoever they vote for, nothing changes, therefore to have these people vote for the SRP which is under your presidency, how do you go about explaining that to them?

SR: People understand by themselves, they understand that if the situation remains at the status quo, they will remain poor, and our Cambodian children will not have a good future. The SRP has shown that the number of votes it receive, are growing from one year to the next, from one election to the next, and it will not be long before we reach our goal. We must trust that good deeds will win over bad deeds, that justice will prevail over injustice, that the people power must win over the dictators, over the corrupt people, and the victims must not lose hope, one day, SRP will lead the country and will provide justice to the victims, one day, justice will prevail, and SRP will strive to make sure that justice is given to the people.