The Hun Sen government must step down in order for Cambodia to avoid war and territory losses on its western and eastern borders

27 April 2011

THE HUN SEN GOVERNMENT MUST STEP DOWN IN ORDER FOR CAMBODIA TO AVOID WAR AND TERRITORY LOSSES ON ITS WESTERN AND EASTERN BORDERS

Cambodia is facing the danger of war because of the aggression from Thailand associated with the incapability of the Hun Sen government to peacefully resolve a border conflict.

For Cambodia, the only appropriate and effective means of containing a foreign aggression is to call for the implementation of the 1991 Paris Agreements on Cambodia. These Agreements guarantee Cambodia’s territorial integrity and oblige their signatories, i.e. practically the whole international community, to help defend Cambodia when there is an aggression from a neighboring country as is the case now.

But why does the Hun Sen government refuse to call for the implementation of the Paris Agreements as required by the situation and suggested by the Sam Rainsy Party?

The cause for this serious shortcoming/mistake is related to the fact that the Hun Sen government only defends our western border by confronting Thailand but it is not willing to defend our eastern border because it doesn’t want or doesn’t dare to confront Vietnam. On the contrary, the Hun Sen government has continuously allowed Vietnam to move the borderline inside Cambodia causing our country to lose an increasing portion of its territory.

Because an effective implementation of the Paris Agreements would oblige both Thailand and Vietnam to put an end to their aggression on Cambodia, the Hun Sen government doesn’t dare to invoke the Paris Agreements given the opposition from Vietnam. Even though Vietnam has recently annexed large chunks of Cambodian territories, the Hun Sen government doesn’t dare to make any protest but always continues to try to please Vietnam.

The fact that the Hun Sen government is subservient to Vietnam is the major obstacle for the implementation of the Paris Agreements, which is the reason why Cambodia has been losing territories on both its western and eastern borders while facing the danger of a war with Thailand at the same time.

Nowadays, war is out of date as a means to resolve a border conflict. To legitimately defend its territory Cambodia should only use peaceful means by going through legal, political and diplomatic channels.

Recently, Cambodia has achieved a big victory when Vietnamese authorities withdrew from Cambodian territory in the vicinity of border posts # 184, 185 and 186 in Svay Rieng province’s Chantrea district. This unprecedented event of a Vietnamese withdrawal from Cambodia took place a few days after I had pulled out the illegally planted border post # 185 in October 2009. Subsequently, the Vietnamese authorities came to pull out themselves the nearby and also illegally planted border posts # 184 and 186 and took them back to Vietnam. Their reaction was apparently due to their embarrassment after I had exposed their attempt to unfairly move the borderline to the detriment of Cambodia. This Cambodian victory in the defense of our territorial integrity was achieved without a drop of blood being shed and without a penny of our national budget being spent.

The Khmer people must push the Hun Sen government to resort to similar non-violent and non-costly means to defend Cambodia’s territory both on our western and eastern borders. Such means can be broadly and effectively deployed only with the implementation of the Paris Agreements. But if the Hun Sen government cannot follow that reasonable path, it must step down so that Cambodia may avoid war and territory losses with both Thailand and Vietnam.

Besides, we must not allow the Hun Sen government to use the conflict with Thailand in the west as a political ploy to divert the attention and the anger of the Khmer people from the aggression by Vietnam in the east. Similarly, we are aware that the Hun Sen government is also trying to use the conflict with Thailand to divert the attention and the anger of the Khmer people from its systemic corruption when it associates itself with dubious foreign companies to grab lands from the Khmer people and to plunder our national riches.

Sam Rainsy

Elected Member of Parliament