'Strangely Transformed' Hun Sen Hints At Loss of Monopoly on Premier's Post

11 May 07
By Mut Sruoch
Moneakseka Khmer
Translated from Khmer and posted online

After Hun Sen was not seen in public or heard of for a while, various circles were quite surprised when he showed up for the first time and hinted that his prime ministerial post would not last much longer.

During a recent graduation ceremony at the National Human Resources Institute, in an apparent slip of the tongue strongman Hun Sen stated that in the future as he is getting older he would not be able to hold on to his prime minister's post forever.

Hun Sen apparently forced himself to say with a gloomy face, "How much longer can we live? For me, I think that if I can live on for another 30 years it would already be good enough, but this does not mean that I will be able to stay in power in all these 30 years. What we are doing today, first, we are doing it for our children and grandchildren in generations to come. We must leave behind good results for them, a good legacy, so that they will not suffer like us."

Hun Sen's above-cited remark was totally contrary to what he said in the past when he usually claimed that he would continue to be prime minister until his 99th birthday. However, now after it was rumored that Hun Sen had a bad case of influenza and that there was an internal fight within the Cambodian People's Party [CPP] between the Chea Sim faction and the Hun Sen faction it was very strange that this strongman suddenly softened his attitude.

Why is Hun Sen afraid to talk about being prime minister until the people stop voting for the CPP? This means that in the CPP Hun Sen is not the only one who has the competence to be prime minister, for the CPP also has Sar Kheng in reserve to replace Hun Sen.

In the past, the Chea Sim group was not very happy with the Hun Sen group, for the latter was known as a group of power grabbers inconsiderate of the party's old guard.

Lately, because Chea Sim has become more advanced in age and has had many illnesses, he has expressed his wish to resign from the post of CPP president and nominate Sar Kheng as his replacement. This idea, it was rumored, was supported by several elders in the CPP.

However, a source whispered that Hun Sen was adamantly against Sar Kheng's appointment as CPP president, claiming that without Chea Sim around, the post of party president should automatically come to him because he is vice-president of the party.

This means that if this piece of news is true situation monitors in general can assess that Hun Sen really is a man with an insatiable taste for power.

The source further disclosed that the members of the CPP's old guard, as well as the Chea Sim faction, although not satisfied with Hun Sen's act do not show any impatience or exasperation at the strongman's arrogance. They agreed to let Hun Sen take over the post of CPP president, but he must withdraw his prime ministerial candidacy.

However, Hun Sen has always bragged that he is just a little more than 50 years old, meaning that he may have sufficient strength to continue leading the country. Furthermore, Hun Sen once indirectly censured an unnamed party elder, saying that he was too old but still wanted power. What does he want to do with power? This shows his ambition has no end, Hun Sen said.

Observers have noted that the conflict inside the CPP is ripe. One day it will erupt into the open. However, because the CPP has Vietnam as the drafter of its strategic path to follow, it has been able to contain this volatile conflict situation to these days.

While one senior Vietnamese official after another came to Cambodia in an uninterrupted flow, Hun Sen suddenly went off the public screen. According to some information, Hun Sen was down with influenza. Other sources claimed that Hun Sen was not happy because of pressure from Vietnam concerning the internal conflict in the CPP. So he decided to take a rest in his Tiger's Lair at Tuol Krasang.

Now that Hun Sen reappeared in public, he talked about the prime ministerial post in a hint to forewarn that he might not be lucky enough to be Cambodia's prime minister until he is 99 years old. This also means that the Chea Sim group might have won a degree of advantage over the Hun Sen group.

Moreover, Hun Sen, who frequently used unstintingly rude words when talking over the microphone, was strangely transformed when he reemerged recently, for he complained that in his life as prime minister he found it very difficult when having to show up in public or in crowded places.

Critics said that if Hun Sen knew that it was so difficult and painful, why did he not resign from the post of prime minister and become an ordinary citizen?

Some circles believed that what Hun Sen recently said certainly was something new for Hun Sen's political life, especially the uncertainty surrounding the prime ministerial post, for the longer Hun Sen has remained prime minister, the greater the monopoly of power he has accumulated for himself, which can be dangerous to the country.