Mr. Hun Sen’s attempt to sack Mr. Sar Kheng forced King Sihamoni to depart for Beijing

Khmer Nation News
5th February, 2009
Reported in English by Khmerization

King Sihamoni’s departure for Beijing recently has been to avoid any pressures from Mr. Hun Sen to sign a royal decree to sack Interior Minister Sar Kheng, the brother-in-law of the President of the Cambodian People‘s Party (CPP), Mr. Chea Sim, who is an arch-rival of Mr. Hun Sen, reported Khmer Nation News.

The Khmer Nation News reported that since the sacking of Gen. Ke Kimyan, a Chea Sim loyalist, on the 22nd of January 2009, there have been reports of the sackings of many Chea Sim’s loyalists. There have been reports and rumours that Mr. Hun Sen plans to further sack or demote many more of Mr. Chea Sim’s loyalists from position of powers within the military, the police as well as from the government.

The paper reported that Mr. Hun Sen’s sackings of Gen. Ke Kimyan and many of Chea Sim’s loyalists seem to have caused frictions and rifts within the ruling CPP. There have been criticism that the sackings was an attempt by Mr. Hun Sen to weaken Mr. Chea Sim’s faction, while at the same time strengthening his own power grip in the government as well as in the CPP.

The belief that Mr. Hun Sen’s sackings of Mr. Chea Sim’s loyalist for the purpose of consolidating his powers has been reinforced when a unit of 507 bodyguards of Mr. Chea Sim has been disbanded and ordered to return to barracks, reported the paper.

The reports said that Mr. Hun Sen’s subsequent actions have fuelled tensions between himself and Mr. Chea Sim. There are rumours that on 5th February 2009, the tensions heightened to a shouting match between the two and Mr. Chea Sim resigned in anger. The rumours said that, after Mr. Chea Sim resigned, Mr. Hun Sen became the CPP’s president, Mr. Sar Kheng became the CPP’s vice-president and Mr. Sok An became its secretary-general. The rumours have been denied by Mr. Hun Sen and his camp.

Political observers said that King Sihamoni’s departure for Beijing on 4th February was linked to the heightened tensions between Mr. Hun Sen and Mr. Chea Sim, not for medical check-up as officially declared. The rumours said that the King left Cambodia because he doesn’t want to be seen as taking side, because in the past Mr. Hun Sen has requested him to sign many royal decrees to sack Mr. Chea Sim’s loyalists, report the Khmer Nation News.

The Khmer Nation News further reported that, according to unofficial sources, Mr. Hun Sen was planning to sack Mr. Sar Kheng as Deputy Prime Minister and as Minister of Interior by a royal decree.

According to the same sources, the King was very worried and didn’t want to be seen as taking sides between Mr. Chea Sim and Mr. Hun Sen as he is a constitutional monarch who must be neutral. So, to escape from being pressured to sign a royal decree to sack Mr. Sar Kheng, King Sihamoni has opted to leave the country, the Khmer Nation News reported.

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.