A Fraction of the Whole

February 2008
Op-Ed by Justin C. Sok

The news regarding the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister Sok An to participate in the upcoming annual Cambodian New Year Cultural parade and the ribbon cutting for Cambodia Town has caused great concern in the Cambodian and Cambodian American communities across the United States, Cambodian people living abroad, as well as, the Cambodian people in Cambodia. For the past few weeks, the news has continued to spread like wild fire. This invitation issue can result in deep resentment in the Cambodian community if the so-called the Cambodian Community Congress delegates do not call off the invitation.

It is with great honor to learn that the Honorable Mr. Joseph Mussomeli, U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia, has made recommendations to have the “Cambodian-Americans engage the Cambodian government more, the delegation extended invitations to all government leaders to attend the New Year Parade”. The Cambodian public owes an enormous debt of gratitude to you for your dedication and continues support in helping push for democracy, respect for human rights, and to pass anti-corruption laws in Cambodia. The Cambodian and Cambodian American people have raised the inivitation issue not because we wanted to create any controversy nor we would like to cause any friction among our Cambodian people. It is mainly to express what we feel is fair and just for our Cambodian and Cambodian Americans in general.

The logical points for the argument, however, is that the “decision about the invitation had already made by the Cam-CC representatives without giving the Cambodian community an opportunity to express their opinions on this issue”. The Cambodian public would like to make a public request to those so-called claimed representatives of Cambodian community to be more sensitive, accountable, and transparent in the way they are handling issues regarding the annual Cambodian New Year Cultural parade and the Cambodia Town, Inc., especially, any issue that deals with the public should require that the people to have a say.

The fundamental rule of democracy, simply put, is the “rule of the majority”. It is clearly understood that there are certain decisions on the particular issues, which the Cam-CC and its representatives have executed without having sought for public opinion. But again, the issue of the invitation is of great concern for the Cambodian people. It is with our heartfelt concern that the so-called Cambodian Community Congress delegates finalized their decision without asking for public inputs. Thus, it is certainly a grave error. The judge cannot obtain justice without the skill of lawyers who present him with the facts; the parent cannot form a successful child without the love of the child; and the boss is powerless to achieve production without the respect and aid of his employees. Likewise, the annual Cambodian New Year Cultural parade and the Cambodia Town, Inc. would not be born without the “collective efforts” from the Cambodian public, local Hispanic community, the African American community, local businesses, and the community organizations.

I would also like to take this opportunity to share my political point of view, which I thought is worth noting for the Cambodian public to carefully examine this invitation issue. First, Long Beach has the largest Cambodian populations in the world outside Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The Cambodian people are the survivors of the “Killing Fields”. We were here not because we had chosen to but because of our so-called leaders, which had sworn to us to be the almighty, godlike, omnipotent had miserably failed to protect us. Like prison, where bad things happened, the whole country was shut out from the world and kept its secrets buried within. We were oppressed, tortured, starved to death, persecuted, executed, enslaved, forced to do hard labor, faced sadistic guards, and were cheated and lied to, and the list was endless and pathetic. They had left us at the bottom of a hill with a long climb to recover. They had crushed our souls and spirits. Psychologically, emotionally, and physically, we are still traumatized by the holocaust. We, the survivors are the living voices of the dead and ourselves. We are here to rebuild our lives, to educate ourselves, and to teach our children about our past mistakes. At the same time, we want our younger generations to learn the importance of their constitutional rights and to worship democratic principles. We don’t want any of those so-called claimed leaders represent the way the past leaders had led our parents’ lives to hell.

Second, any event we hold, such as our annual Cambodian New Year Cultural parade, for instance, is always reflection on us of who and what we are as people, nation, religion, and culture, etc. The Global Witness, as well as, the international community have vehemently uncovered the Phnom Penh government in their corruption, environment abuse, government squandering of money on their hobnobs, human rights violations, land grabbing, and the injustice suffered by the weak and oppressed. If the Cambodian and Cambodian-Americans living in Long Beach and across the United States, and abroad were to allow Deputy Prime Minister Sok An to participate in the parade, the world’s largest magnifying glass will be focused on us as being a hypocrite. We embrace the regime, in which the international community has relentlessly condemned the Phnom Penh government for committing gross human rights violations upon our innocent Cambodian citizens. More importantly, we would give false hope to our people in Cambodia and dishonor the millions innocent Cambodian people who were killed during the Black-Clad Order, Inc.

Third, the Cambodian general election is coming up in July 2008. If we were to allow Deputy Prime Minister Sok An to participate in the parade, will it show to the world that we are also supporting him and his political party (CPP)?

Thank you for reading and wishing you all have a wonderful day.