Saturday, January 24, 2009

Mr. Hun Sen’s Unchallenged Supremacy

23rd January, 2009
Opinion by Khmerization

“The sacking of Gen. Ke Kimyan should send shiver down the spines of some political and military heavyweights who are on the wrong side of Mr. Hun Sen’s. If Gen. Ke Kimyan can be sacked, no one else is safe. Mr. Hun Sen will not stop there. Next could be Mr. Sar Kheng, the Minister of Interior and Gen. Tea Banh, the Minister of Defence. The fate of Mr. Chea Sim’s faction, of which the CPP’s old guards and party founders belong to, is near its end. They will not survive past the next election in 2013.”


Mr. Hun Sen’s sacking of Gen. Ke Kimyan from his post as the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces has been viewed by many observers as another attempt by Mr. Hun Sen to solidify his power base in the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). The sacking has probably resulted from an internal squabbling and a power struggle between the Chea Sim’s faction, of which Gen. Ke Kimyan belongs to, and Mr. Hun Sen’s faction. The sacking has changed the CPP’s internal political and military landscape dramatically. In short, it is the beginning of the demise of the Chea Sim’s faction politically and militarily, because the new commander-in-Chief, Gen. Pol Saroeun and seven other Deputy Commander-in-Chiefs, are all Mr. Hun Sen’s loyalists.

Gen. Ke Kimyan, one of the most honest and best Cambodian military leaders, has been a thorn in Mr. Hun Sen’s eyes for a long time. He wanted to lead the Cambodian army professionally and relatively independent of politics. He has resisted Hun Sen’s attempt to monopolise his control on the army. He has resisted Mr. Hun Sen’s orders to send troops to counter Gen. Serey Kosal’s threats of a partition of Battambang province during a brief military clash in 1995 between the troops loyal to the CPP and troops loyal to the Funcinpec Party. He has refused to participate in a military coup against Prince Ranariddh’s Funcinpec Party in 1997.

Mr. Hun Sen has been reportedly attempted to remove Gen. Ke Kimyan from his post after the 1998 election and replaced him with his own son, Hun Manet. After the 2003 election, Hun Sen again attempted to sack Gen. Ke Kimyan, but, both times, he failed.

Gen. Ke Kimyan has so far weathered Mr. Hun Sen’s storm unscathed, until yesterday. His military career, if not over, will be reduced to a powerless and idle role. He will be languishing in a military limbo for years to come. His fate might not be any different from police Gen. Heng Pov’s, who had a fallout with the late Gen. Hok Lundy and then with Mr. Hun Sen and was jailed for 35 years.

What does the sacking of Gen. Ke Kimyan mean? The consequence of the sacking would be manifolds. It would mean a deepened political divisions between Mr. Chea Sim’s and Mr. Hun Sen’s faction of the CPP. It will cause some internal military mistrusts and a disquietness within the military ranks. Many middle- and lower-ranked military officers will be very angry because Gen. Ke Kimyan is very popular and loved by the lower ranks. On the contrary, the new appointees, in particular Gen. Kun Kim, are disliked by the lower ranks.

The sacking of Gen. Ke Kimyan should send shiver down the spines of some political and military heavyweights who are on the wrong side of Mr. Hun Sen’s. If Gen. Ke Kimyan can be sacked, no one else is safe. Mr. Hun Sen will not stop there. Next could be Mr. Sar Kheng, the Minister of Interior and Gen. Tea Banh, the Minister of Defence. The fate of Mr. Chea Sim’s faction, of which the CPP’s old guards and party founders belong to, is near its end. They will not survive past the next election in 2013.

Mr. Hun Sen’s political conquest will only end when he has achieved his political and military supremacy in Cambodia. He has so far secured 90% control of the political and military power base as well as the police and the bureaucracy. His political conquest will only be halted when he will achieve total control of his political and military power in Cambodia or when his life ended.

I would not be surprised if one day Mr. Hun Sen died in a helicopter crash just like the fate of his most loyal lieutenant, Gen. Hok Lundy. He has angered too many people within the CPP, especially the old guards and the party founders, who are currently sidelined by Mr. Hun Sen in favours of the young turks. And I am not surprised if plots to assassinate him are on the making from now on and I can predict that they will be hatched any time.

Now Mr. Hun Sen has achieved near total control of the Cambodian military and police as well as the civil administration. Now he can be dubbed as the emperor, or, to be exact, the Caesar of Cambodian politics.

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

The bigger he gets, the harder he will falls on his face.

Hun Sen one day gonna be hunged like saddam hussien too.

Anonymous said...

No one is secured in a currupted land like cambodia, not even the PM.

Anonymous said...

This move we see as Hun Sen is consolidating his power...shit no military reform or any things for better, but to strengthened his grip of power.

Khmers must demand improvement and consolidating capacity of state institutions, not just excessive individual power. That's the mother of corruption and Hun Sen knows it. And it is correct to say that Cambodia is moving toward Totalitarian regime or one like Burma and Zimbabwe for sure.

khmers need to seek help from international western countries asking their intervention now before it's too late.

Anonymous said...

9:21am, I agree. This is not a military reform. It is a consolidation of Hun Sen's grip om power. I have the feeling that one day, the Chea Sim's faction will revolt against him. A lot of military leaders are very angry with him because he only promoted his cronies and left them out. Hun Sen is gonna die one day by the hands of his CPP comrades. Just wait and see.

Anonymous said...

Pure speculations without any proof.

Kuoy Pichet

Anonymous said...

9:47 AM
That's why he must replace them as quick as he can, to avoid Coup and overthrow him from power.

Anonymous said...

Get a life, Ah Gorilla Fucker. Anyone can get fire anywhere, Ah Jkout.

Anonymous said...

KI-Media should have posted the articles related to Ms. Sun Sokun Mealea which appears in Cambodge Soir and Radio France Internatinal.
http://www.rfi.fr/actukm/articles/109/article_843.asp
http://www.cambodgesoir.info/content.php?itemid=35383&p=

Your previous article about her was misleading. Is it your intention that you don't post other media's news. Mealea is still in NRP according to RFI so you should clarify reader this point.

Anonymous said...

How can it be a military reform when Hun Sen sacked the best man for the job and appointed all the crooks. It is to consolidate his power. Hun Sen has made many CPP officials, military and civilian, angry with him, so there will be some sort of a struggle one day between the Chea Sim and Hun Sen's faction. Chea Sim, Sar Kheng, Say chhum, Tea Banh, Heng Samrin etc.. will not allow Hun Sen to do what he wants. They will resist and there will come a day when Hun Sen will be assassinated by bomb blasts, poisoning or a helicopter crash.

Anonymous said...

It sounds better to put Mr. Hun Sen Unchallenged Extremism.

Anonymous said...

10:19 am, KI media has deliberately misled the readers. The original article in Khmer did not say that she has defected to the CPP. It only said that she has been appointed by a royal decree and that she is still with the Norodom Ranariddh Party. KI-media has a serious explanation to do here. But even if she defected, we can't blame her. After all, nearly all the high profile opposition politicians have defected to the CPP already. But to be fair to her, the news must be reported or translated truthfully. Please read the original Khmer article here:
http://www.dap-news.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=315:elakrsi-sun-suknsmalagkaelxafikarrgknbksneratmtrnbctsimantynatifmienaknugrdaeapial-&catid=1:dap-news&Itemid=75

Anonymous said...

Dear KI readers,
Below is an article about Ms. Sukun Mealea's appointment published in the CambodgeSoir website:
http://www.cambodgesoir.info/content.php?itemid=35383&p=
=============================

Norodom Ranariddh Party: one member appointed to government
23-01-2009


Sokhun Mealea, assistant general secretary of the NRP, was appointed a member of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of Ministers.
This appointment, in a governmental body, seems surprising in light of increased political commitment to Sokhun Mealea. Currently a member of the NRP, she joined the new structure, the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of Ministers created on 23 January in lieu of the observation economic, social and cultural development and giving it a status equivalent to that a secretary of state. Known to have been in the past, during his graduate studies, a member of the anti-student movements opposed to the Vietnamese and Cambodian People's Party (CPP), with the appointment it is close to the ruling party. Sokhun Mealea graduated in foreign languages - English, Law, and the ERA (Royal School of Administration).

Contacted by telephone, she told us "begin in a week. I entered the government, because I want to serve the country by bringing my knowledge. I am still a member of the NRP. This is not an opposition party, but I keep my distance to criticize, constructively, the government. In this training, we are critical to help the government to move in the right direction. "

Norodom Ranariddh left his position as chairman of the NRP to Chhim Leng SeaK for recently appointed chief of the king's top advisers. With Sokhun Mealea, another important member of this party who abandons any opposition to the ruling CPP.

Anonymous said...

KI is a Sam Rainsy puppet bullshit news lol. Only other Sam Rainsy ass-kissing fools would not see that. The people that read KI. See what KI does to you? They don't give a shit about facts but they manipulate anything to get to their agenda which is to make Sam Rainsy look like the god that he is not and to demonize all the other. KI has betrayed the fidelity and trust of its readers for not just biasing but now FALSE INFORMATION.

Readers, whether you're a Sam Rainsy supporter to not, do you want to be fed wrong information by this site who you see as people who share the same political beliefs as you? They have used your weakness, the dislike for the CPP, NRP, FUNCIPEC, to blindly lead you off the cliff if they want it. They have violated your trust clearly this time.

All I got to say is be careful with who you think is your friend. That friend seems to lie to you so he can get around to what he wants, sometimes it is your pocket as history have shown with that bogus accountant in Cali who claimed to hate the CPP and want to overthrow the government but in the end, he is now a convicted fraud who feeds off the wealth of his fellow Cambodians in Cali on falsifying tax IRS tax filings.

Anonymous said...

oh may be it is comment war, ok take it easy we listen to music then we come back again, thanks
calm down, However we are khmer please do not ague each other,,look the other countries. they go up, devolop and love each other and never dont like say a bad words to the leaders but help to correct or coperate or a mediators.

Kindest and warmest regards,

Anonymous said...

I mean , they dont like saying a bad words so much..they respect their learder and give a good idea by calming down not show by anger

Anonymous said...

I asked the supporters of som dach Hun sen they say they don't like Hun Sen, but they like money from Hun sen and the daughters of Hun sen also sexy, very sexy even me also think of her. and also his nephews. they are so sexy I need them that why I like Hun Sen

Anonymous said...

Oh Ah Hun sen ouy why you so cheap!
Ah thouk Ke tha Pen Nung huey Nov Min Chur Klal teat Jos Ah Na Chrok Tham Ngean aeng ban chea min Jes Chur Klal Jeng Ber Ke mean Kor Klal Ke Chop Thver chea Priministe Huey

Anonymous said...

Ke Kimyan is a good man. Hun Sen is a bad man, that's why he sacked the good man and appointed all the bad and crooked men like him. I think Ke Kimyan and his supporters are going to take revenge. Chea Sim is also very angry with Hun Sen. One day Hun Sen will die by Chea Sim and his supporters.

Anonymous said...

11:33am, KI is much, much better than the CPP-mouthpiece like TVK, Apsara TV, Bayon TV and all CPP radios and newspapers. These newspapers only report good news about the CPP, tell lies and report bad about the oppositions. KI is the most freest. Everyone can have a say, make comment. So don't try to paint a good picture of the CPP-mouthpiece and badmouth KI media. don't lecture KI, please lecture Hun Sen not to sack a good man and appoint all the crooks like what he just done.

Anonymous said...

moron 11:33am shut the fuck up ..! khmers no longer stupidity ,let ur gangs fooling them anymore .
the poem hun sen luok thnam sreng is true story in scamcambodia hunxec.

Anonymous said...

Khmerization comments are riddled with grammatical mistakes and cannot be taken seriously; i.e. "....of which Gen. Ke Kimyan belongs to...." should read “....to which Gen. Ke Kimyan belongs....”. This is another case of opposition supporters criticizing the CPP while in fact SRP internal operations are so fractious and mistrustful of each other. Can you imagine a Sam Rainsy government with such chaos and disorder much like his party's inner workings today? Or another good example: While Mr. Sam Rainsy’s supporters unequivocally dubbed the CPP supporters as “uneducated Youn puppets”, while Mr. Sam Rainsy dismisses western educated intellectuals and their valuable inputs for his party’s shortcomings. Majority of SRP supporters in the West cannot speak and write the host language properly. SRP needs to practice what it preaches; otherwise we would be trading the goose (CPP) for the gander (opposition).

Anonymous said...

1:51pm, please reveal your ID. We know you are the fake Ph.D from Hanoi. Don't try to hide, we know who you are. It is the other way around - the CPP should look at its own backyard before trying to clean somebody's backyard. The CPP is the most divided party. Without the state apparatus to help it's members bind together, it would have been broken up a long time ago.

I am not an English professor nor am I an apologist of Khmerization. But I admire his diligence in expressing his ideas and sharing his thought. The phrase you quote is not wrong. It is correct, dude. It is another way of expression. The English language is a rich language. There are more than one way in which one can describe something.

Your phrase of "a host language" is wrong. It should be written as "a host's language" or "a host country". A language cannot "host" anyone. Only a person (a host)or a country can host another person.

We remember that you said you resented the fact that the overseas people look down on your Ph.D, but we find that you're one of the most arrogant people who come to this forum by displaying your Ph.D and saying that the overseas Khmers speak/write with broken English. In any country, there are educated and there are uneducated people. Don't think that everybody who was born and live in Cambodia all their life can speak and write perfect Khmer, you are included. Your command of the English language is nothing superb. I can't judge your command of the Khmer language because I never hear you speak and see you write. I can visualize that you probably speak Khmer with a Vietnamese accent, who knows.

Anonymous said...

To 1:51pm, and your phrase "Khmerization comments" is wrong. It should be written as "Khmerization's comments", with an apostrophe "s" after the word Khmerization. Please stop your arrogant attitude. Please debate substance only and leave any personal cheap shots aside for you are no better than anyone here.

Anonymous said...

IT WAS A COUP, ANOTHER FAIL PLOT TO TOPPLE THE VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT IN CAMBODIA.

Anonymous said...

As I said all along, Your stupid oversea Phd is just toilet paper. You can't do shit right. For cry out loud, you can't even fill out your own job application. How do you expect to topple anything, especially government with the supreme Phd from Hanoi.

Anonymous said...

Yes, it was Hun Sen's coup against Chea Sim's faction. They are eating each other alive. Chea Sim just remain silent because he wanted to wait for an opportunity to strike back and strike hard!

Anonymous said...

Keep on fantasizing!

Anonymous said...

Wow! Some fool in here claimed to have more knowledge of standard English than others and they used a small grammar mistakes to be an issue whether the author is an educated person or not!

Hell! If grammar mistake bother you so much and why bother come into KI-media reading all these commentators? You know too damn well that that these commentators don't get pay for their writing and they are not professional so called journalist either including me!

Hey! I am having fun with my writing and also I am trying to perfect my English skill at the same time! So to learn is to make mistakes unless you are a fucken perfectionist!

For those people who have a skill in writing standard English and please go get a job such editor in chief and stop reading broken English writing because it is not your job!

Anonymous said...

what are they talking about, here? isn't it why we have an election every 5 year. go figure!

Anonymous said...

We need change, and we got the change.

No one on this planet can provide change as quickly as PM Hun Sen can.

Anonymous said...

11:17pm, the guy at 1:51pm is a fake Ph.D from Haoi who used to come to this forum and try to make fun of someone's English. He thinks he is the English professor or something. He is a hardcore CPP supporter who supports Hun Sen blindly. Even Hun Sen and Chea Sim and Ke Kimyan are fighting, Hok Lundy vs. Heng Pov, Hok Lundy vs. Chea Sophara, Mok Chito vs. Heng Pov, Sar Kheng hates Sok An, he still said that the CPP is the most united party. I can't believe it.

Anonymous said...

Huynh Sen surround himself with his acquaintances and immediate families can only mean one thing, he's paranoid. He sense that the inner circles of the CeePeePee infidelities is no longer loyal to served him. Therefore, his family is his only asset.
There is a serious issues going on within the CeePeePee government. Something awry is about to happen. Maybe they're tired of his broken promise after the elections... or they felt that done unto other like land grabbing could possibly happens to anyone of them.
Be prepared to witness the end of the reigning CPP.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, it will happened just before the sun run out of fuel.

Anonymous said...

I think you guys should have at least 3 persons or more to revise your article before publishing.

In 1998, Hun Manet could replaced Ke Kim Yan.

I don't think CPP is not that foolish. Look at the CPP portrait at the national assembly, how many MPs of CPP are under 40 years old ?
The answer is NONE.
In 1998, Hun Manet had maybe 21 or 22 years old.. max.
Don't you think is that too young?
It's Director of Army. The most powerful position for the persons whom are not Montrey Noyobaay.. not in politic. Kwack Sen can nominated these persons and need approval of the king. In 1998, Kwack Sen was not that powerful to remove Ke Kim Yan.

Polical party can nominated Under secretary, secretary of state.. ministery, etc. Anyway, most of the nominations need the approval of Chea Sim, Kwack Sen and Say Chhum.

Khmer Canadian

Anonymous said...

2:22am, I heard about the rumors as well. There were reports in the Phnom Penh Post that Hun Sen wanted to remove Ke Kimyan and replaced him with Hun Manet, remove Sar Kheng and replaced him with Hok Lundy, remove Tea Banh and replace him with Kun Kim. But, like you said, Hun Sen was not powerful enough, that's why he can't get rid of them. You are right and Khmerization is right because he said Hun Sen wanted to remove Ke Kimyan and replace him with Manet, but he failed because he was not powerful enough at that time.

Now Hun Sen does not need Chea Sim's and Say Chhum's or the King's approval, he just force them to accept his nominations. The King has to sign or else... republic?

Anonymous said...

True, I agree.

Anonymous said...

One thing is sure...
Chaos is starting...

We are back to 95...
Thieves, bandits, etc...
Things ugly are coming !

It's not good for our cambodians peasant !

Khmer Canadian