The CPP See its Strategy Advanced with Uncertain Future

An uneasy smiling between the two rivals

The CPP Delegation

By ខែ្មរវឌ្ឍនកម្ម
www.khmerwathanak.blogspot.com

Since it was installed by Hanoi as its proxy to rule Cambodia over 34 years, the CPP now faces a new reality for its invincible power for the first time. After the UN sponsored election in 1993, the CPP has continued to hold the power in the government without substantial opposition in the parliament, and now the balance of power has changed even the new government is expected to be the same as the current one. Even though the CPP has controlled nearly all aspects of the power structures throughout the country including the NEC and the CCC and massive efforts and extravagant spending on the election campaigns, the CPP has lost its 23 seats to the CNRP based on the current unfair election standard. But if it allowed the election to be free and fair, it would certainly lose its majority in the parliament undoubtedly. As most people suspected, the CPP had collusion with its controlled NEC to guarantee its victory no matter what. Now as the post-election crisis has reached its final stage, the CPP has used its new strategy by isolating and ignoring all the CNRP's demands and forcing the King to open the first parliamentarian session without the CNRP's participation. As the King faced an unpleasant choice to preside over the first parliamentarian session without the participation from opposition, who represent the majority of the people, has added another mess into the current crisis.

After two rounds of negotiation, the two parties have nearly reached some tentative agreements of reform in the national institutions most importantly the NEC, then they seemed step backward from those common ground. After successfully sailing through the legal battles from the CNRP with its controlled NEC and the CCC, now the Royal Institution is the CPP's final tool being used to legalize their undeserved power for another five year term of oppression. The first session of the National Assembly with only one party and without the quorum required by the constitution is very unusual and a clumsy move by the CPP and the Monarchy. Constitutionally, the King represents and guarantee the national unity and reconciliation, while the national reconciliation has not been found yet and the King steps in to side with one party in a dispute is totally unacceptable to all people. This is how the King is being used by the CPP as a legitimate shield to cover up its corrupted power-- the undeserved power they plundered from the hearts and the will of the people. This is the only way the CPP has done over the past 20 years in order to grip its power in a long run.

Now the post-election crisis has reach its final stage that needed some compromises from both parties, especially from the CPP which has shown no sign of compromise even delaying the first session of the new legislature that required by the Constitution for at least 120 new elected members, but the CPP has chosen to go alone with its 68 dubious members who won the election by trickery. The true elected members by the will of the people are being marginalized and kept out of the inaugural process by rejecting the postponement requested by the opposition who have needed more time to consult with their supporters based on the principle of democracy. So far, the CPP has moved forward to create a government alone without any input from the opposition, the CNRP which is a real winner. Any further move by the CPP to create  leaderships and power structures in the parliament without the full participation from the CNRP will create a constitutional crisis adding to the current political stalemate. And eventually, it will push the country into a one- party system rule that is a gross violation of the Paris Peace Accord which Hun Sen himself had signed to change Cambodia from Communist system to a democratic system based on a multi-parties system of the government. In case of such a severe violation by any party on the accord, the UN and all the involved parties should take an appropriate action to enforce the violator to comply with what they had honored.

If the CPP has continue to ignore all reasonable demands, the CNRP may has no volition but to stage more mass protest until some of its demands has been met.  Since the peace negotiation in late 1980, Hun Sen covertly backed by Hanoi has become a heavy weigh at all negotiation tables. He had used his more leverage to gain upper hand over his opponents. In the late 1980, he had controlled much larger territory and more troops than the Khmer Resistance Group, giving him more leverages to force his opponents to make a painful concession before reaching a final peace accord signed in Paris. Later negotiation with the Forncenpec, he had deployed the same strategy by using his existing power to force the forncinpec, the winner of the election, to share half of the power in the government with him before he took over all by a bloody coup. There is no much different in the current crisis; Hun Sen has used his existing power to menace the King and the opposition by deploying excessive troops on the vicinity of the Royal Palace and on the streets, threatening the King if he delays the first parliamentarian session requested by the people and opposition.

The whirlwind of the CPP to compel the King to open the first session of the National Assembly without the participation of the CNRP's members is explicitly violated the constitution which required at least 120 members of the newly elected members in this first session. Such an eerie move by the CPP will not help to reduce political tension but to escalate the situation into another utmost crisis. If Hun Sen and his CPP want to finish this crisis on their own will regardless of the constitution-- the supreme law of the nation-- and the will of the majority of the people, they will push the country into a deeper crisis not to end it unless they decide to bring the communist system to rule the country again. The only way to avert the country from the current crisis is to continue negotiating with the opposition to search for a common ground that is acceptable to both sides and leave all unsettled issues to solve in the future based on the spirit of placing Khmer interest above everything and the principle of democracy. Without adhering to this principle, Hun Sen and his CPP will never find a lasting peace and stability for the country and place themselves with uncertain future.