Sam Rainsy: Without 23 October 1991, Cambodia would have turned into a Viet province

(Photo: Cambodge Soir Hebdo)

23 October 2010
By Pech Bandol
Free Press Magazine Online
Translated from Khmer by Soch
Click here to read the article in Khmer

Addressing a crowd which included embassy officials based in Cambodia, HRP MPs and opposition party supporters, Mr. Sam Rainsy indicated from Paris through video conference held on 23 October 2010 – the 19th anniversary of the Paris Peace Agreement on Cambodia – that if there was no 23 October 1991, Cambodia would have turned into a Viet province. Furthermore, the killing campaigns conducted through the K-5 and K-6 plans would not have ended in Cambodia either.

The opposition leader who is currently living in self-exile said that: “If there was no 1991 Paris Peace Agreements on Cambodia, Cambodia would still be subjected to war right now, the K-5 plan would still remain, foreign troops occupation would still be maintained, and Cambodia would still not have any independence, not even a shred of it. Cambodia would certainly turn into a Vietnamese province, Cambodian people would still face hardship, nobody can save Cambodians and their fate would be the same of that of Khmer Krom people living in Vietnam currently.”

To Sam Rainsy, it was due to the Paris Peace Agreements that friendly countries helped put Cambodia on the right track by providing a lot of aids, allowing Cambodia to develop herself following the fratricide destruction among Cambodians.” Considering the importance of this event, Sam Rainsy believes that all Cambodian political parties should agree to commemorate 23 October each year. This demand cannot be fulfilled by the CPP-ruled government because it does not value 23 October at all, quite to the contrary, it can only celebrate 07 January, the date of Hanoi’s troops invasion into Cambodia. In fact 07 January is now celebrated as a national holiday to show gratefulness to the Yuons.

At the same time, Sam Rainsy also indicated that the International Parliamentary Union (IPU) lent its support to his actions, in particular, in his uprooting of the border stakes and the IPU opposed the 12-year jail sentence imposed on him by the Phnom Penh regime because this is a travesty case.

Commenting on the IPU and the EU parliament meetings, Sam Rainsy indicated that the two institutions consider the uprooting of the border stakes at border post no 185 as an international issue, not a national issue. The two institutions also pushed on the Viets to respect Cambodia’s sovereignty and national integrity. Sam Rainsy said: “The IPU and the EU Parliament will hold dialogue with the house owner, i.e. Hanoi, not the house servant (i.e. Hun Xen), in order for Hanoi to respect Cambodia’s territorial integrity.”

Even though he was not there physically, it can be perceived that Mr. Sam Rainsy considers Hun Xen’s Phnom Penh regime as merely a puppet of Hanoi. He said that the IPU and the EU will resolve this international issue to help Cambodia and for him to be able to return back to Cambodia soon.