Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Int’l trips fuel CNRP machine


Opposition leader Sam Rainsy is greeted by supporters at Phnom Penh
 International Airport after returning from a trip to Europe.
 Heng Chivoan
Meas Sokchea and Kevin Ponniah
The Phnom Penh Post, Dec. 10, 2013

As opposition party leaders Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha returned from separate overseas trips yesterday, the party said it had more than enough cash to finance continuous mass demonstrations, with the bulk of funds coming from Cambodians living abroad.

Today’s demonstrations in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, which the Cambodia National Rescue Party expects will see upwards of 10,000 protesters, will cost about $30,000, CNRP lawmaker and finance general-director Ky Vandara said yesterday.

The party, he added, had raised some $300,000 to finance rallies and demonstrations since May but declined to give further details.

“Money is a non-issue.… We do not lack any money to hold demonstrations, no matter for how many days we hold them,” he said.

“Both the local and overseas [supporters] have worked together each time to make the demonstrations successful.”

Overseas lobbying trips by Rainsy and Sokha – who returned yesterday from Europe and the US, respectively – frequently feature fundraising dinners and pagoda appearances that can raise tens of thousands of dollars from Cambodian diaspora community. The US-based Cambodia National Rescue Party Foundation, which has representatives in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the US, Cambodia and South Korea, is a key part of the opposition’s well-oiled fundraising network.

In late August, the foundation appealed to donors worldwide “to donate as much as you can to help the Cambodian people, who are demanding their votes be counted” through mass demonstrations. A flurry of donations from as low as $100 to as high as $10,000 have in recent weeks directly poured in to the CNRP’s coffers from around the world ahead of today’s protests, according to records on the official party website.

Aside from these public donations, Vandara added yesterday that a number of generals and powerful oknhas were quietly providing funds but declined to name them.

“Not all oknhas are bad. Some oknhas have received the title because of their good efforts in making honest business … and because they love the nation. Most of the generals, too, also love the nation.”

CNRP public affairs head Mu Sochua said that although overseas donors were very important, the party also raised significant amounts locally. She added that oknhas usually gave small amounts – typically less than $1,000 at a time.

“We don’t want to ask for more than we need. We’d rather ask for a small amount at a time and make it very transparent,” she said.

US-based political analyst Peter Tan Keo said foreign Cambodians had long been the “financial backbone” of the Sam Rainsy Party and the Human Rights Party, which merged to form the CNRP.

“Fundraising within Cambodia isn’t a sustainable practice, as a large majority of supporters make less than a dollar a day,” he said in an email.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

United today & tomorrow

Anonymous said...

KHMER LOVE KHMER, love justice. Khmer wants to be independent, sovereign

Anonymous said...

All Cambodian must join CNRP on mass demonstrations every weekend. We must remove Hun Sen now or never. Cambodia will be swallow by Vietcong if Hun Sen is in power.

Hun Sen must go.

Anonymous said...

Quite obvious gentlemen , heart and soul of Cambodians oversea are still with our disadvantaged Cambodians. And now the propaganda that oversea Cambodians never care but CPP since 1979, it no longer work but it makes Cambodians both oversea and in the country more United.
On top of that buying votes also becomes failure to CPP.
Information from all sources, from words of mouth of oversea workers, relative's alert of CPP selling the nation and also accessibility of modern technology and radios . Therefore control over information no longer stops Cambodians from seeing the truth. False or staged happiness of all controlled medias have become ineffective.
Cambodians young and old and also overseas no longer bear with oppression, but raise up to seek self determination and self reliance.
The bondage imposed by CPP and continued to praise for false gratitude to Vietnam is no longer fruitful. This praise for control of both subservient and Vietnam, is just its manipulation with Buddhist gratitude.
Land loss, land lease, land invasion and services offered to others those NOT Cambodians proves that Hun Sen is No strong man .
It is time, awakening to majority Cambodians that power should NOT be robbed but in the hands of Cambodians.
unity now has cemented.

Long live Cambodians!

Neang SA

Anonymous said...

Good luck, you needed.

Anonymous said...

All together, we will uproot the CPP Youn pupet Hun sen and kick all Vietnamese out of Cambodia in a very near future.

United We Stand!

Anonymous said...


It is a great feeling to see our compatriots march to display their discontent toward injustice committed by the puppet government of Hun Sen who stole their votes.

This is the commencement of our crusade to liberate our country from a crazy evil Vietnam and its puppet Hun Sen.

Bun Thoeun

Anonymous said...

"The US-based Cambodia National Rescue Party Foundation, which has representatives in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the US, Cambodia and South Korea, is a key part of the opposition’s well-oiled fundraising network.

In late August, the foundation appealed to donors worldwide “to donate as much as you can to help the Cambodian people, who are demanding their votes be counted” through mass demonstrations. A flurry of donations from as low as $100 to as high as $10,000 have in recent weeks directly poured in to the CNRP’s coffers from around the world ahead of today’s protests, according to records on the official party website."
----------
The two above statements are quite misleading. In a much more sophisticated and yet realistic scheme, the CNRF was originally designed to fund the financial need of Mr. Kem Sokha and his HRP party. It often raised money to feed Mr. Kem Sokha and his HRP party directly. The latest example shown during his latest trip to USA at the expense of CNRP party faithful activists, Sam Rainsy and HRP's combined. The effectiveness of fund-raising and the bulk amount of money sent to and received by CNRP have actually come from the vast network of CNRP political organizations at overseas. CNRF has become a personal money making machine for Mr. Kem Sokha and his HRP's troopers at the expense of Sam Rainsy and the party, at large. Look deeper and you will see how sophisticated the scheme has become and who actually benefited most, not to mention to irresponsibilities of CNRF officers who are using donors' money for airfare escorting Mr. Kem Sokha from state to state. CNRF needs Mr. Kem Sokha to promote its product and popularity even at the risk of loosing its registered charitable tax status. It is barely one year in operation and the IRS is not scrutinizing yet, but wait until it does, the shit will hit the fences. The risk is high, but for the collection of Mr. Franklin faces on the dollar bills, Mr. Kem Sokha and his entourage will not care one bit, legal or otherwise. Watch out, it will explode as one of the major political miscalculations this newly merged party can make.

Anonymous said...

CHANGE! CHANGE! CHANGE!

Anonymous said...

Soursdey my beloved Khmers, both inside and outside Cambodia. Let us be united. Neang SA made excellent point and thank you. We are all Khmers and we need to wake up to false gratitude the Viets have been using as their only advertisement.

Anonymous said...

Why do they still needing CNRF when money can be easily collected for CNRP? If legality getting into the equation, then why taking any risks, if at all? Can not understand these politicians. Smart or Stupid?

Anonymous said...

STUPID & DUMB.