Colin Pratt: Hun Sen's Paranoia Will Bring About His Own Demise

By Khmerization

The current military sackings and reshuffles have given rise to rumours that the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) is cracking. Since the sacking of Gen. Ke Kimyan on 22nd January 2009, many political observers have viewed Mr. Hun Sen's action as a political and strategic manoeuvre to boost up his power grip while at the same time weakening the power of his CPP's arch-rival, Mr. Chea Sim.

Mr. Hun Sen, while trying to play down the rumours of the internal rifts within the ruling CPP, has repeatedly denied the rumours, but stated that the sackings and the reshuffles are parts of the military reforms. His denials are not very re-assuring as those sacked and demoted were Mr. Chea Sim's loyalists, while at the same time those who were promoted were Mr. Hun Sen's loyalists. Mr. Hun Sen's manoeuvre has been viewed as resulting from his paranoia and mistrusts of the people around him.

Many observers of the Cambodian affairs have predicted that the CPP, a party that thrived on its traditions of a strict communist discipline, is in a self-destruction due to Mr. Hun Sen's paranoia.

Mr. Colin Pratt, an Australian who was a longtime advisor to ex-king Sihanouk and the Cambodian Resistance in the 1980s, is one such observer who believes that Mr. Hun Sen's demise will come about by his paranoia, not by the actions of the opposition parties.

In an email to Khmerization recently, he opined and I quote:

The only hope for the demise of Hun sen lies in the collapse of the unity of
the CPP leadership, which Hun sen will probably bring about by his paranoid
will to rule and his "ambition to rule from the grave" (read family). The
opposition parties are a waste of time and will never defeat Hun Sen.

The world depression coming will test the Hun Sen Government
regards,
Colin Pratt

Mr. Pratt's rationale seems to be in line with a consensus belief among keen observers of Cambodian political affairs. Because the CPP leadership is very disciplined and has survived, and even thrived, on many attempts to destroy it, there is a general view that the CPP's demise will only come from within. Only the elements and the internal infighting within the CPP will bring about its own collapse.

Seeing Mr. Hun Sen's recalcitrant and dangerous political manoeuvre, Mr. Pratt's suggestion of Mr. Hun Sen's demise from his paranoia seems surreal and his "ambition to rule from the grave" is prophetically coming.

It remains to be seen if Mr. Pratt's prophecy is proved to be true. Only time will tell.

Cambodia – Hun Sen – King of Corruption and Rannariddh - Prince Pathetic

Dear All,

The following very interesting piece of comments was written and sent to Khmerization by Mr. Colin Pratt, an Australian ex-diplomat to Cambodia and a long term close confidant of ex-King Sihanouk, who knew Prince Sihanouk personally very well since the 1960s and who acted as an advisor to the Khmer Resistance Movement in the 1980s and, like Mr. Julio Jeldres, he was very active in the Paris Peace Accords. He is man who should know to the bones about the mores of all Khmer leaders. He had written a book about Khmer recent events titled "Killing The Khmer 1997".

His comments below are very interesting indeed.

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By Mr. Colin Pratt

As the city of Phnom Penh is seized by a land sales price bubble, with black money poured in by gulled foreign investors, the rural outlands are suffering a fate exceeded only under Khmer Rouge rule.

For over 1,000 years the Khmer peasant has had a hard but survivable and satisfying life in a land of plenty.

Now,there is widespread distress and even starvation in outlying regions.While the few sycophants of Phnom Penh live off the riches allotted them by the King of Corruption the majority of the Khmer live in conditions that are truly appalling.

The schools and medical centres that were opened in the Sihanouk years and destroyed by the Khmer Rouge have not been restored by the CPP government. Showtime openings of schools by the King of Corruption are shams as the “new” school closes as soon as he departs.

The recent election was run on a doctored voters role and continues the corrupt election practices of the past. The cowed people fall into line for fear of repercussions for opposing the corrupt authorities.

Basically the causes of this tragedy are twofold. First the evil presence of Hun Sen who was trained by the Khmer Rouge and attended finishing school in Communist Vietnam. This imitation of a man thrives on duplicity and terror, never hesitating to “erase” opposition and reward support with bribes and favours.

The second contributor to the Khmer degradation has been the incredibly dishonest and gutless yet monumentally puerile behaviour of some of the potential opposition figures headed by that absolute travesty of humanity, Ranariddh. This poor excuse for a man has betrayed every principle of Khmer decency and national aspiration. He has been a basic cause in the tragedy that is Cambodia today.

The coming economic decline will further devastate the poor Khmer but Hun Sen and his family and cohorts will rest easy in their swollen foreign bank accounts. Hun Sen will continue his grand plan, that of having his son succeed him as Cambodian strongman. The only,continuing irritant to this dictator is the fact of the one man who is more popular and who has more respect, King Father Norodom Sihanouk who is unassailable.

1. Read Mr. Pratt's previous comments about Prince Ranariddh here.