Hun Sen and His Cronies Has To Go - It's Good For Cambodia and All Cambodians

Tuesday, 15 February 2011
Op-Ed by HENG HENG

Last week marked the final end to one of the longevities of a dictator, Mr. Hosni Mubarak. Congratulation to the people of Egypt for their courage and determination to commit themselves to that peaceful protest. Now, Cambodia learns from this because one day, sooner or later, you are going to need it, if not now. It is also a credit to the professional military of Egypt for not spraying bullets at their owns at the high point of the unrest. More than that, Mr. Mubarak should also be credited for finally leaving the office without much blood shed on the street of Cairo. It has all ended peacefully. In our case, the question is this, how would Mr. Hun Sen do, given his public warning of closing up the doors and and beat up the dogs should people rise up to demand his removal from power? That days will come and I have no doubt if he continues on his ego-centric philosophy which has become more and more self-delusional, if not paranoia.

These social uprising events are now forcing many regimes else where to look deeply inside their own political compartment and to make immediate and drastic changes to reflect this powerful wind of change. What will Cambodia do to cope with the rising demand of the new generations, their hope and dream of one day becoming economically dependent? Where are jobs to meet new graduates, most are living with parents still and just getting frustrated with years go by without landing one? Then, the cost of living and the mediocre income that this government continues to impose on its workers, threatening union leaders or so and so forth. There are not much options in Cambodia and people are trying to seek a better lives outside the country. A few managed, but most aren't that lucky. The olds are still living in fear of the Khmer Rouge's past and willing to take whatever little the government can give, not willing to say or do anything knowing that their lives are still better than under the Khmer Rouge. The logic is a given gift to Mr. Hun Sen and his regime knowing it has been used repeatedly and successfully. Then again, for how long until his chickens come home to roost.

Looking at historical evidences, we can almost concluded that it's just a matter of time people of Cambodia will have enough of Mr. Hun Sen and his cronies. The facts remain that Mr. Hun Sen along with his self-interest serving associates have built their wealth at the expenses of the country and the population at large. Their ambitions to loot Cambodia in every possible way, deforestation to sand dredging, land concessions etc..and etc.. will enable the Cambodian people one day to rise up to the challenge. Furthermore, this business of giving away lands to Vietnam, imprisoning Khmer farmers will add up the fuel to fire when that moment of change is taking place. Changes are coming and whether Mr. Hun Sen and his entourage are preparing for that or not, they will come to the PM at the same speed and velocity just like what we have witnessed so far, including the downfall of the USSR and its Eastern European Allies.

There are much similarities in the way Mr. Hun Sen runs Cambodia comparative to Mr. Musbarak of Egypt. During his reign in power, he has managed to chop Cambodia into blocs, sell them piece by piece to outside investors while driving people out of their lands for a quick turn-around profit, hugh profit to say the least. People should begin asking why there are lucrative positions and ministers never once got shuffled. Of course, those are ministers whom the Prime Minister has long shared our country's wealth - starting from natural resource contracts, concession leases, development contracts and the rests in the creation of each other's wealth, days-in and days-out. If one were to take just a minutes to compile all the nation's natural resources and business enterprises, lands evictions at prime locations handed over to business tycoons while pocketing cash, tea money or social money so they preferred to call as such. They have not learnt of a thing about demography, trend and composition of population change. In this new world of high tech and free information, people will become more aware of their own social and economic needs. They will learn how to topple a dictator or simply by voting habit changes as they have realized that their aspirations for a better life can't and will not be met by the existing system and it needs change and change immediately. Cambodia has come along way from the Khmer Rouge while it has achieved very little economically given the government runs on begging policies and selling lands or natural resources contracts. It will come a time when it has no more to sell and people will have to be driven out of their lands more and more in order to sustain its own corrupted, wasteful spending regimes. It's a joke for a PM to have hundreds of advisors, advisors over advisors including its own military so-called body guards unit. It's a waste of the nation's money and unnecessary at best. There are too many wastes to manage, money that can be saved or uses to improve people's lives. Cambodians mostly are living in fear, trapped in the Hun's psychopath drive for wealth and power. He has ruled heavy handed far too long, too many people are getting tired of him by the day, more people he hurts more will add up to the resentment list which in turn provide an even more urgency to call for his removal. When will that be? Sooner is the better because this man has done nothing good for his country but destroy it as best as he can for his own political survival and ambition. No offend, but he has to go, either vote him out or take to the street, people. Of all Cambodian histories that I have read, Hun Sen is one of the worst traitors of all times. He only knows how to implement Vietnam's strategies to overtake Cambodia from an economic side which is legal and extremely successful so far. Just asking yourself this, who or which foreign companies are controlling our economic life line right now? They are buying up whatever your government can sell, legally and what will remain for you to own? NADA, NIL, ZIP, so time to send him packing. Change is good and it is long over due in Cambodia.