Border: Unity opportunity that cannot be missed

(Photo: Cambodge Soir Hebdo)

27 Feb 2010
By Pen Bona
Radio France Internationale
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
Click here to read the article in Khmer

Unfortunately, when it comes to the eastern border, this issue turned into a tragic fight among the Cambodians. It is regrettable to see that Cambodian politicians are not willing to sit with each other to reach unity on this national problem. Quite to the contrary, they ended tearing each other apart in front of their neighbors who are focused on invading Cambodian territories. Is it impossible for Cambodian politicians to reach a unity consensus?

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy is currently being sued under two new charges involving the border with Vietnam. The new lawsuit that the government lawyer had just sent to the Phnom Penh municipal court on Friday is more severe than the first one in which Sam Rainsy was sentenced to 2-year of jail time. Will the border problem leads to disunity and unending hatred among the Cambodians?

The two-year jail sentence for uprooting border stakes in Svay Rieng province was not the end of Sam Rainsy’s case. It was in fact the start to additional charges brought against Sam Rainsy. The continuing saga of this case leads to a more severe and unsolvable problem. The two new accusations raised by the government lawyer and sent to the Phnom Penh municipal court on Friday are: (1) publication of false information, and (2) the falsification of public documents. They are much more severe charges that could lead to up to 15-year of jail sentence.

The two new charges were raised after opposition leader Sam Rainsy published maps to prove that the border stakes which he uprooted in Samrong commune, Chantrea district, Svay Rieng province, at the end of October 2009, were truly inside Cambodian territories. However, the government called these documents “fake”, and it went on to accuse Sam Rainsy of defaming the government.

The government explained that Sam Rainsy used wrong technique which led to wrong representation of geographical coordinates indicated on the maps. For the government, this action was done with bad intention from the opposition leader to accuse the government of losing land. However, in listening to Sam Rainsy, the map documents he published were correct because the work was performed with cooperation from both Cambodian and foreign experts. Therefore, these maps should not carry any technical mistake.

Nevertheless, the lawsuit against Sam Rainsy was already sent to the court, and from now on, only confrontations between technical experts from both sides could clearly reveal the truth about this case and also both sides must defend themselves in court.

However, besides the technical and legal aspect of the case, strategy mistake should also be noted because border problems could be the catalyst that lead to disunity among Cambodian politicians, as well as their unending hatred from one generation to another. Based on our past history, the border problem should be an issue that unites all Cambodians, irrespective of their political allegiance, because this is a national affair that requires unity.

For example, problems along the western border seems to bring national unity that cannot be missed, i.e. the government leaders have shown their determination to defend Cambodia’s territorial integrity against neighboring aggression, and the opposition, as well as the population, are all supporting this action. This is a national unity with which Cambodians can be proud of.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the eastern border, this issue turned into a tragic fight among the Cambodians. It is regrettable to see that Cambodian politicians are not willing to sit with each other to reach unity on this national problem. Quite to the contrary, they ended tearing each other apart in front of their neighbors who are focused on invading Cambodian territories. Is it impossible for Cambodian politicians to reach a unity consensus?