Cambodian Opposition, Citing Disputed Election, Boycotts Opening of Parliament
By THOMAS FULLER | The New York Times / International Herald Tribune | 23 Sept. 2013
BANGKOK — Despite a boycott over a disputed election that left dozens of
seats vacant in the National Assembly, the king of Cambodia opened a
new session of Parliament on Monday attended by the long-serving,
authoritarian prime minister, Hun Sen, and his fellow party members.
The king, Norodom Sihamoni, made no mention of the boycott in his speech.
“The Cambodian nation must stand united,” the king said, according to news reports from Phnom Penh.
The king had sought in vain to broker an end to the acrimony after Mr.
Hun Sen’s foes claimed widespread cheating in the July 28 election and rejected the official results, which left Mr. Hun Sen’s Cambodia People’s Party in the majority, though weakened.
But the prime minister, who has ruled the country for 28 years, appears
willing to govern Cambodia without the cooperation of the opposition.
Despite threats of more of the mass protests that have been disrupting
the country, he is expected to begin his new term on Tuesday in a
largely procedural vote.
Still, Mr. Hun Sen has projected what some analysts see as unusual signs of weakness.
He has made uncharacteristic, conciliatory gestures, including holding
three recent meetings with Sam Rainsy, the leader of the opposition
Cambodia National Rescue Party. One lasted about five hours and centered
on changes to the country’s electoral system.
Analysts disagree on whether Mr. Hun Sen, who in the past was dismissive
of the opposition, is biding his time or has been significantly damaged
by the election.
David Chandler, a historian based in Australia and a leading expert on
Cambodia’s politics, said Mr. Hun Sen “has no intention of diminishing
his grip on the country” and has control of the major levers of power in
the country.
“Cambodian politics are very crass,” Mr. Chandler said. “The people who
run the country are the ones with the money and the guns.”
But the opposition’s parliamentary gains and the losses by the Cambodia
People’s Party have put Mr. Hun Sen in “slightly unfamiliar territory,”
Mr. Chandler said.
“I think he feels like he’s lost a couple of chess pieces,” he said. “He’s a bit more cautious.”
By contrast, Ou Virak, the president of the Cambodian Center for Human
Rights, an independent advocacy organization in Phnom Penh, sees Mr. Hun
Sen as badly wounded and fearful for the future.
The governing party’s election campaign was very personalized and built
around the presumed popularity of Mr. Hun Sen, so the outcome “was a
major blow to his ego,” Mr. Ou Virak said.
In his speeches over the past three years, Mr. Hun Sen has repeatedly
mentioned the Arab Spring, an apparent preoccupation that Mr. Ou Virak
said helped give insight into the prime minister’s mind-set.
“He is fearful, and he is looking at some of the other long-term
dictators and strongmen around the world who have fallen,” Mr. Ou Virak
said.
The opening of the National Assembly on Monday was attended by foreign
dignitaries, including the American ambassador to Cambodia, William E.
Todd. But soon after the ceremony, the United States Embassy in Phnom
Penh issued a statement
saying Mr. Todd’s attendance was “not an endorsement of any election
outcome or of any political party.” The statement also called for a
“transparent review of irregularities” in the July election that would
help address “flaws in the electoral process.”
1 comment:
Personal opinion:
THE SOLUTION TO CAMBODIA'S CURRENT CRISIS
The CNRP must remember that its mission is to save Cambodia from the expansionist Vietnam.
The CNRP's leaders must have a solid and "flexible plan", which adjust smoothly to any events that came up during its journey to save Cambodia.
For instance, before the election and before Sam Rainsy's return to Cambodia, the CNRP had requested for the NEC's reform, but the CPP refused. The CNRP did not make a follow up on its demand.
After Sam Rainsy returned to Cambodia, the support for the CNRP was skyrocketing. In my opinion, the CNRP should seize that opportunity and switch its tactic from campaigning to demanding that NEC's reform again, and the CNRP should have won that NEC's reform easily, thanks to the overwhelming support of the people. That is the power of the right timing.
Had the NEC been reformed before the election, the CNRP would have been officially the winner today, but the CPP would not have transferred the power to the CNRP or the CPP with its master the evil Vietnam might have used the force to crush the CNRP.
So, the problem that is facing the CNRP is almost the same, with or without the NEC's overhaul before the election - the evil Vietnam and its slave Hun Sen will NEVER transfer the power to the CNRP.
The CNRP must recognize this very important point that Hun Sen and Vietnam will NEVER transfer the power to the CNRP, and the CNRP must find the solution.
My assessment was based on the fact that in 1993, with the presence of the UN, Hun Sen and Vietnam did not transfer the power to the FUNCINPEK.
Therefore, what factor that makes people think that Hun Sen and Vietnam will transfer the power to the CNRP after ANY election?
In effect, this July 2013 election, the CPP had lost but it just said it won. What will the CNRP do ?
Here is my suggestion:
The CNRP has inquired about the election's irregularities, it must stick with it because the CPP had cheated Khmer people by stolen their vote.
This inquiry is the solid foundation that is strongly supported by both Khmer people and the international community.
The CNRP's job is: how to MAKE the CPP accepts its demand ?
The CNRP has the right plan by mounting the demonstration, but it let the CPP impede its process by " following Preah Reach Damress Maha Ksath Ting Moung Sihamoni." The CNRP must correct this mistake by avoiding to connect itself in the future with the King, who has been using by Hun Sen and Vietnam as a tool to legitimize Vietnam's absorption of Cambodia.
The CNRP must acknowledge that this may be the only time that it could save Cambodia from Vietnam because Khmer people understood the danger posed by Vietnam and are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to support the CNRP.
When the CNRP launches the peaceful demonstration, it should adhere with the words perseverance, consistency, determination, and the firm conviction that this demonstration will grow and intensify steadily as time goes by until the CPP accept its demand about the electoral inquiry. It will be a tough battle, but no back down.
I would like to reiterate that Vietnam is not going to give up Cambodia without a big fight.
I firmly believe the CNRP will win at the end after the big battle - through peaceful demonstration - with Vietnam and its slave Hun Sen, because this neocolonialist Vietnam cannot survive the massive sanction from the international community.
We have to help ourselves first before the international community can help us. We have to show them how desperate we wanted to save our motherland.
And Cambodia has always have problems because of this evil Vietnam's determination to swallow Cambodia and some Khmer traitors such as Hun Sen who has facilitated its goal.
Bun Thoeun
Post a Comment