Debate Or Not To Debate: Hun Sen Is Ducking For Cover?

Editorial by Khmerization
Originally posted at http://khmerization.blogspot.com

"The debate should take place, with or without Mr. Hun Sen. The democratisation process in Cambodia must be moving forward. No one, not even a prime minister of a country, can hinder this process."

Mr Kem Sokha’s proposal for a face to face televised debate among the prime ministerial candidates is a good thing for the democratisation process in Cambodia (read the links by clicking here and here). It will give an opportunity to the voters to see real democracy at work, first hand. It will also provide the candidates, including Prime Minister Hun Sen himself, an opportunity to experience a real taste of democracy. But most importantly, it will give Prime Minister Hun Sen an opportunity to set the record straight- and that is to face his critics and tackle them head on.

But, regrettably, Prime Minister Hun Sen has chosen to reject the proposal flat out. The Prime Minister’s rejection is a real blow to the democratisation process in Cambodia. A face to face debate is a chance for the candidates to put forward their ideas and political platforms to the voters but it was sensitive enough to send shivers through Prime Minister Hun Sen’s spine. For a man who used to debate with himself and who used to blast his critics for hours and hours non-stop on national TV, the ideas of a face to face debate has caused shivers that sent him scrambling and ducking for cover.

Prime Minister Hun Sen used his busy time schedule as a pretext of his refusal to participate in such a debate. He said that he is too busy trying to solve people’s everyday problems. Well, Mr. Prime Minister, an election debate is another form of efforts to hatch out ideas to find the solutions to the many national problems facing Cambodia today. If you are serious enough in seeking ideas and solutions to today Cambodia’s problems, this is the way to go.

Another pretext which Prime Minister Hun Sen used a justify his rejection of the proposal was that Cambodia has a proportional parliamentary system which the voters vote for the parties and not for the candidates, unlike the presidential elections in the United States and France whereby the people vote for the presidential candidates. Mr. Hun Sen’s reason is unreasonable. In countries like Australia, Canada and the UK which have a parliamentary system whereby the voters vote for the parties like Cambodia and, at every election, they always hold a televised debates among the prime ministerial candidates. So Mr. Hun Sen’s reason is absurd and preposterous.

Mr Hun Sen’s pre-emptive speech rejecting Kem Sokha’s proposal was not only a proof of his cowardice, but it was intended to intimidate, to interfere and to influence the decisions-making of an independent institution, the National Election Committee (NEC).

The NEC, as an independent national institution, should not be deterred by Hun Sen‘s speech. It should make its own decisions independently of any political influence, not even from a prime minister of a country. The debate should take place, with or without Mr. Hun Sen. The democratisation process in Cambodia must be moving forward. No one, not even a prime minister of a country, can hinder this process.

Kem Sokha: The Prime Minister Is Hindering Democracy

10th March 2008
By Mao Sotheany
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer to English by Khmerization

Prime ministerial candidate of the Human Right Party said that the immediate rejection from Prime Minister Hun Sen toward his proposal to the National Election Committee (NEC) for it to organise a face to face televised debate is an insult to the efforts of a national electoral institution to promote democracy.

Mr. Kem Sokha, who is also the president of the Human Right Party said that Mr. Hun Sen’s declaration of rejection on Saturday to his proposal to the NEC is a threat and an interference to NEC.

Mr Kem Sokha said: “First I would like him to support that debate because it is important for the promotion of democracy, promotion of the value of the electoral process and to provide a better opportunity for the people. But whether he will participate or not is up to him. But I would like to stress that, in his capacity as the prime minister who used to say that he wants to promote democracy, I want to see him support that idea first. Secondly, then we can discuss in details about the formula for the debate. If he has hindered even before the NEC, which many people think is under the rein of the ruling party, gave its answer to the proposal, it will scare the NEC not to give the permission for the debate to take place. I did not ask the permission from anybody, I didn’t ask the prime minister, I only ask the NEC to organise the debate. When he is making a pre-emptive speech it is like he is trying to stop and to intimidate the NEC not to hold the debate.”

In relation to the proposal for the debate Prime Minister Hun Sen said that there is no need for the debate because he is not a good public speaker like Mr. Kem Sokha. But Mr. Hun Sen sarcastically responded by referring to the internal problems that have plagued the parties of other prime ministerial candidates like this: “I don’t need to participate in such a debate. Talking about the national reconciliation I have united everyone since the country was still divided. Now I have united everybody. Please just talk about yourselves, like: how can you achieve a national reconciliation because you can’t even govern your own little party and allow all your members to defect to other party? You can’t even govern a non-governmental organisation, the members are suing the chairman for corruption which caused the break up of that organisation. Someone can’t even govern his own family, one child go west, the other go east. It is like putting the crabs in a winnowing basket (the crabs will run everywhere). How can he govern a country with a multi-party system? Only me can do it. So I wish to send a message to His Excellency Kem Sokha to please spare me. You can say that I am scared of you. I am scared of you because you know how to speak better than me.”

Mr Kem Sokha said that such a reaction from Mr Hun Sen shows that he is not listening to other people’s ideas and only wants to rule the country by himself.

Mr Kem Sokha said: “He is a prime minister. It shows that he wants to rule the country by himself forever. He said he wanted to open to suggestions but there is no sign that he wants to further promote democracy. He doesn’t want to listen to anyone’s ideas. He just takes his own ideas only. Even those ideas, which did not compromise our national interests and the interests of the people, but are promoting democracy, he didn’t dare to accept them. In a democratic society, sometimes the ideas from the opposition parties are taken into accounts. This means that he (Hun Sen) is not open to receiving suggestions and ideas from other people.”

According to Hun Sen's theory, his US-citizen-grandchild cannot perpetuates the Hun Sen CPP dynasty

Hun Sen: PM candidates should not have dual nationality

Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Samdach Dek Cho Hun Sen, the prime minister of Cambodia, declared on Tuesday that candidates to the position of prime minister in 2008 should have a single nationality only and not dual nationality.

During a speech given at a diploma distribution for teaching students at the Education Institute in Phnom Penh, Hun Sen said: “Cambodian politicians should put an end to dual nationality, they are not brave at all, in particular those PM candidates should renounce one nationality if they are strong.”

Hun Sen asked whether the PM candidates would renounce the dual nationality or not. If they are not willing to, how could anybody trust them? They work in Cambodia, do business in Cambodia, but pay taxes in France instead. Hun Sen added that he is also concerned because currently, one of his grandchild was born in the US, and he is also a US citizen, but Hun Sen does not know what to do to have his grandchild renounce the US citizenship. The reason Hun Sen is concerned is if the US is at war, his grandchild could be drafted in the US army. Furthermore, if Hun Sen’s grandchild does business in Cambodia, but he does not pay tax in the US, he could also be arrested by the US.

Hun Sen’s statement regarding the nationality issue met with strong reaction from an opposition leader. Kem Sokha, HRP president told VOA on Tuesday evening that: “the nationality issue is not important, what is important is the person.” Kem Sokha stressed: “There are some leaders who indeed only hold one nationality, but they destroy the nation, they are dictatorial, and they are involved in corruption. All these actions are not good at all.” Kem Sokha added: “What’s important is not the nationality issue, the main issue is the term limit for the prime minister to one or two mandates at most, this is a more relevant issue.”

Muth Chantha, NRP spokesman, said that Hun Sen’s declaration was political, and the constitution of Cambodia does not stipulate that Cambodian people who hold another foreign nationality cannot participate in politics.

Opposition party leader Sam Rainsy said that even though he holds dual nationality, he is a Cambodian citizen who serves the Cambodian interests and he does not serve any foreign interests.

Sam Rainsy and Prince Ranariddh both hold the French citizenship.