Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
The Sam Rainsy party wants to ask that the army remains independent from political parties and it does not want the army to be involved in political affairs, the same as in a number of advanced countries in the world. SRP MP Yim Sovann told the Samner Thmei newspaper in an interview that, when major army generals are members of political parties, then they will lose their independence stance. He said that in advanced democratic countries, the army is not involved in politics and that the latter is left to the civilians to deal with. The army is focused on defending the country’s territories from external threats. However, in the Cambodian army, (the generals) are all members of political parties, in particular, members of the ruling party. Therefore, when the country faces internal problems, the army would come out to defend one political party only. Yim Sovann believes that the army should stay away from politics and it should concentrate on its duties which are: defending the country from external threats, and defending the country’s territorial integrity from foreign aggression, these are the main roles of the army.
9 comments:
The constitution of Tanzania prohibits membership to political parties for all judges and members of the defence and security forces.
Could Tanzania be a model for Cambodia? Maybe our ruling elite would look down on that country and would not bother to consider it, now that it already shows comptempt for its neighbour, Keynia.
Here is an abstract from the Tanzanian constitution:
The Constitution of the The United Republic of Tanzania
http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:DrJPWKnnoq8J:www.chr.up.ac.za/hr_docs/constitutions/docs/TanzaniaC.pdf+tanzania+constitution&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=hk
113A. It is hereby prohibited for a Justice of the Court of Appeal, a Judge of the High Court or a magistrate of any grade to join any political party save only that he shall have the right to vote which right is specified under Article 5 of this Constitution.
130(2). Any person on being appointed member of the Commission [the Permanent Commission of Enquiry and the Public Leaders' Ethics Secretariat] shall be obliged to vacate forthwith the office of Minister, Deputy Minister, or office of any political party, or the office of any other kind specified in that behalf by a law enacted by Parliament.
147(3). It is hereby prohibited for any member of the defence and security forces to join any political party save only that he shall have the right to vote which right is specified under Article 5 of this Constitution.
147(4). For the purpose of this Article, the expression “member of the defence and security forces” means a member in the service of the Defence Forces, the Police Force, the Prisons Service or the National Service, whether on temporary or permanent terms.
LAO Mong Hay, Hong Kong
It's not easy to make the army independent. Even the monk chiefs of the pagodas Countrywide have been politicized .
You have to wait for Hun Sen's death to have major institutional changes in the Country.
Cambodia is different from other countries. History showed that once become the rulers, our leaders tend to manipulate in some way legally or illigally just to stay on to power. And the only way they can stay in power is to have military on their side to back them up. Cambodian Army is always for the leaders and never for the people.
SRP are you day dreaming. if you want it to work this way i think you shoud kill ah Sen first before you want this to happen.
Good idea. However, our country is very far away from this reform, especially with this type of leadership, Communist Puppet Party. Military are always needed by bigger power to protect their own interest. So they do anything to clinge to power, including threatening, killing opponents, resisting to change, even bringing in foreing soldiers like Ah Youn Changray to kill Khmer... But it does not hurt to try asking this unwilling, corrupted, and above-all-law goverment to change their practices even though we know it's almost impossible. First get SRP elected to lead the country. Real democracy will exist in Cambodia. Military and judges will also independent.
Chheam Khmer
why do cambodia need an army? to defend what? cambodian army are use to defend communism against democracy.
Ofcourse Cambodia needs an army. Someone has to drive all those black hummers with RACF plates. You cannot have tuk tuk drivers doing that job.
"...I'm a Lt. Gen., and I'm also a [politicians]. I must have the [ability to lead] my men and women in uniform and at the same time lobbying the lawmakers or legislators to UNDERPIN my military objective to sustain economic and political stability --peace, that is..."
Khmer Leaders use the Army not to protect Cambodian territory or to protect Cambodian interests but only to protect their own interests. Where is the Army when our people get shot by our neighbors? Where is the army when neighbors encroached into our land. We see the Army in action only when our leaders are fighting each other for power, and in some case, the army is used by our leaders to crush the opponents who are also Cambodians.
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