Hun Sen bares his fangs at donor countries as he dreams of petrodollars
By Sar Botum
Moneakseka Khmer
Translated from Khmer and posted online
"Today you give us aid but if we keep clashing in our talk, then it is useless to say anything. Why should we listen to you?" This is one of Hun Sen's rare stern remarks that have doused the enthusiasm of the donor countries, which have helped and are helping Cambodia at this moment when Cambodia is expected to reap a huge bonanza from its offshore oil and gas deposits in the next two or three years.
Hun Sen made this remark when talking to students and teachers at the National Institute of Education on Wednesday morning, "We will get oil and gas benefits in 2009 or by 2010 at the latest." The expectation of riches has led the strongman of this pathetically poor country to float away from reality with his ingrained smugness of hitting back at some of the international circles that have warned Cambodia it might get in the same boat as Nigeria if it misuses the oil revenues. Hun Sen scoffed, "We are not stupid, but will manage them well."
Conversely, this incompetent Cambodian leader called the forewarning of well-wishers a sign of the donors' fear that Cambodia would not listen to their advices, "Some fear for us that when Cambodia receives its petroleum benefits, Cambodia will not listen to the Western countries' preaching."
Observers see this oversized bragging by Hun Sen as a show of ingratitude not unlike a butterfly spurning its spent cocoon.
It is a fact that Cambodia under Hun Sen's control needs foreign aid to keep its government machinery running. Foreign aid is like serum injections or oxygen that this government has depended on to survive for the past nearly 30 years.
Cambodia needs about US$500 million in foreign aid to keep its nose barely above water from one year to the next. Besides, Cambodia has gone around borrowing money from various foreign countries without any shame. Cambodia owes a lot of money even to communist China and Vietnam. Recently, Heng Samrin showed his old face in Moscow where he begged Russia outright to forget Cambodia's debts to Russia of about US$1.5 billion. If this is what has been going on, then what makes Hun Sen so smug?
Yet Cambodia's dream of a big offshore oil and gas bonanza that would be pumping three times more money into the national coffer than the annual foreign aid to Cambodia is nothing more than that: a dream, an expectation. Many analysts have commented that it is not yet the right time for Hun Sen to be gruff and snappy like this toward the aid donors, his long-time benefactors. And let us not forget that it is from part of this foreign aid that his associates, his cronies in the ranks of the Cambodian People's Party [CPP] have enriched themselves and become multimillionaires. Therefore, in Hun Sen's case, he should accept all the advices and forewarnings with grace and keep them as reminder to protect him from possible catastrophe. Lord Buddha used to preach to his followers that any man who thinks he is smart in realty is "stupid." So, what does Hun Sen's bragging "We are not stupid..." mean?
Concerning this case, the leader of Cambodia's opposition party Sam Rainsy once made this recommendation: together with the natural potentials that Cambodia might one day get the oil and gas bonanza, Cambodian leaders should have a clear political will to protect these benefits against falling prey to corruption. This opposition party leader said that there were many countries rich in natural resources, such as Nigeria, Congo, Gabon, and Chad in Africa, but the benefits from their natural resources did not improve the lives of the people in those countries. On the contrary, they have merely enriched a handful of rulers.
With that in mind, if we look at the beginning of extremely poor Cambodia, we will see the same thing happening here. Before the news about the existence of huge offshore petroleum and natural gas deposits, Cambodia had precious stones, forests, and gold ores in Mondolkiri that now are being exploited by a Chinese company. At present, these natural resources have been almost completely drained from wholesale extraction and harvest. And the Cambodian Government still has not been able to elevate itself out of the beggar government status while Cambodians continue to live in needs and wants. This situation is so bad that in some localities people died from hunger. Those who have benefited from these natural resources are just a handful of influential people, the associates and cronies of Hun Sen in the ranks of the CPP. If so, why the ordinary Cambodian citizens should be excited about the news that Cambodia is going to reap big offshore mineral riches?
In this context, Hun Sen also used a blurred, unreal language about distributing the wealth from this oil and gas bonanza to the Cambodian people. "Then whatever measure we take will be better than now," he promised.
Hun Sen's remark is not different from what is being done about raising the salaries of the teachers when the government recently boasted that Cambodia had achieved an economic growth of 9.5 percent. It is only after they all have become millionaires many times over that they remembered about increasing the salaries of the teachers by 15 percent. In the meantime, the prices of goods in the market have already skyrocketed. Hence, what meaning does the promised pay rise have?
Hun Sen made this remark when talking to students and teachers at the National Institute of Education on Wednesday morning, "We will get oil and gas benefits in 2009 or by 2010 at the latest." The expectation of riches has led the strongman of this pathetically poor country to float away from reality with his ingrained smugness of hitting back at some of the international circles that have warned Cambodia it might get in the same boat as Nigeria if it misuses the oil revenues. Hun Sen scoffed, "We are not stupid, but will manage them well."
Conversely, this incompetent Cambodian leader called the forewarning of well-wishers a sign of the donors' fear that Cambodia would not listen to their advices, "Some fear for us that when Cambodia receives its petroleum benefits, Cambodia will not listen to the Western countries' preaching."
Observers see this oversized bragging by Hun Sen as a show of ingratitude not unlike a butterfly spurning its spent cocoon.
It is a fact that Cambodia under Hun Sen's control needs foreign aid to keep its government machinery running. Foreign aid is like serum injections or oxygen that this government has depended on to survive for the past nearly 30 years.
Cambodia needs about US$500 million in foreign aid to keep its nose barely above water from one year to the next. Besides, Cambodia has gone around borrowing money from various foreign countries without any shame. Cambodia owes a lot of money even to communist China and Vietnam. Recently, Heng Samrin showed his old face in Moscow where he begged Russia outright to forget Cambodia's debts to Russia of about US$1.5 billion. If this is what has been going on, then what makes Hun Sen so smug?
Yet Cambodia's dream of a big offshore oil and gas bonanza that would be pumping three times more money into the national coffer than the annual foreign aid to Cambodia is nothing more than that: a dream, an expectation. Many analysts have commented that it is not yet the right time for Hun Sen to be gruff and snappy like this toward the aid donors, his long-time benefactors. And let us not forget that it is from part of this foreign aid that his associates, his cronies in the ranks of the Cambodian People's Party [CPP] have enriched themselves and become multimillionaires. Therefore, in Hun Sen's case, he should accept all the advices and forewarnings with grace and keep them as reminder to protect him from possible catastrophe. Lord Buddha used to preach to his followers that any man who thinks he is smart in realty is "stupid." So, what does Hun Sen's bragging "We are not stupid..." mean?
Concerning this case, the leader of Cambodia's opposition party Sam Rainsy once made this recommendation: together with the natural potentials that Cambodia might one day get the oil and gas bonanza, Cambodian leaders should have a clear political will to protect these benefits against falling prey to corruption. This opposition party leader said that there were many countries rich in natural resources, such as Nigeria, Congo, Gabon, and Chad in Africa, but the benefits from their natural resources did not improve the lives of the people in those countries. On the contrary, they have merely enriched a handful of rulers.
With that in mind, if we look at the beginning of extremely poor Cambodia, we will see the same thing happening here. Before the news about the existence of huge offshore petroleum and natural gas deposits, Cambodia had precious stones, forests, and gold ores in Mondolkiri that now are being exploited by a Chinese company. At present, these natural resources have been almost completely drained from wholesale extraction and harvest. And the Cambodian Government still has not been able to elevate itself out of the beggar government status while Cambodians continue to live in needs and wants. This situation is so bad that in some localities people died from hunger. Those who have benefited from these natural resources are just a handful of influential people, the associates and cronies of Hun Sen in the ranks of the CPP. If so, why the ordinary Cambodian citizens should be excited about the news that Cambodia is going to reap big offshore mineral riches?
In this context, Hun Sen also used a blurred, unreal language about distributing the wealth from this oil and gas bonanza to the Cambodian people. "Then whatever measure we take will be better than now," he promised.
Hun Sen's remark is not different from what is being done about raising the salaries of the teachers when the government recently boasted that Cambodia had achieved an economic growth of 9.5 percent. It is only after they all have become millionaires many times over that they remembered about increasing the salaries of the teachers by 15 percent. In the meantime, the prices of goods in the market have already skyrocketed. Hence, what meaning does the promised pay rise have?
2 comments:
Samdech Hun should use his wealth that he stole from Cambodian People to run the country now till
Cambodia get the money from those oil. So he does not have to do what the Aid country requirement? Can you do that Samdechz(Kbal aarch)?
It will be VERY INTERESTING to see oil in the picture. Oil is no joke. Play with it, and you get burned.
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