Monday, December 19, 2011

Of Royal Pleasure and Displeasure


Note by School of Vice

He did love the stage, at least!

B52 bombardment: powerful, destructive, but did little to stem the tide of communism in Indochina.


It's easier for a camel or a buffalo to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a king to go to heaven.

I think even if Sihanouk personally agrees to testify before the KRT, there will be a lot of pressure from other quarters on him not to do so.
The first consideration he has to take seriously is the economic dependence of many of his children and grandchildren upon CPP patronage, some of whom are posted overseas as diplomats, some attached to the King-son as palace advisors, some are seat-warmers and nominal figures inside the RGC itself, but all are bound in one manner or another inextricably to that patronage system.

As a human being Sihanouk probably has a conscience, and probably has a personal sense of remorse as he reflects upon his deeds and misdeeds that had throughout his long political career contributed in no small measure to the upheavals endured by the Khmer nation. However, he has effectively resolved to give to Caesar what is Caesar for some time now and, in the process, has redefined the notion that "the King shall reign but does not rule" in so far as he even relents to the weight of domestic family interest, placing that before and above any consideration relating to personal conscience of an otherwise notoriously defensive, excitable individual who habitually reacts to every publicly perceived ‘slander’ upon his person and reputation. For someone whose charisma rests on his charm and ability to intimate his ‘personal’ sentiment over to his subjects in the same way a father communicates himself with his children without the requirement of interlocutors, the regular appearances of the worldly-wise and taciturn Prince Thomico on his behalf through press releases every time his royal name is in the spotlight tell us all we need to know as to why he [Sihanouk] “just want to die”! 

Personally, I understand his predicament, though this is far from trying to exonerate the enormity of his sins which he had committed either knowingly or through vanity and overweening ego against the Khmer people. For this crime alone no gesture of contrition from him – even with his advance age in mind, and his knack for the theatrical which once led Fidel Castro to unflatteringly describe him as a “stage prince” -  may suffice to relieve himself of his guilt before either the Khmer people or Heaven.            

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Editors: David Goldman, Erin Mahan

General Editor: Edward C. Keefer

United States Government Printing Office

Washington

Office of the Historian

Bureau of Public Affair

Press Release
Overview
During the period covered by this volume, July 1970–January 1972, the Nixon administration expanded the Vietnam war into Cambodia and Laos as part of its strategy. This volume covers South Vietnam in the context of this larger war in Southeast Asia; therefore, the volume begins in July 1970 in the aftermath of the Cambodian incursion. At the time, a variety of topics dominated the policy discussions of President Nixon and his principal advisers. Among these topics were U.S. troop withdrawals, Vietnamization, negotiations in Paris (both the public plenary sessions and the secret talks between Kissinger and North Vietnamese Politburo member Le Duc Tho), and possible South Vietnamese operations in Cambodia, Laos, and North Vietnam. Throughout the rest of 1970 these themes moved forward on separate paths that occasionally intersected with one another. South Vietnamese operations, first in Cambodia and then in Laos, were seen in policy terms as providing South Vietnam additional time to develop a more effective military, to generate economic growth, and to achieve some degree of political stability. The operations were also to demonstrate the success of Vietnamization and justify the continuing withdrawal of U.S. troops.


In late 1970 and early 1971, the focus shifted to decision making regarding plans to implement a major South Vietnamese out-of-country operation called Lam Son 719, launched in early February 1971. The strategic purpose of the operation was to halt or slow the flow of military supplies to Communist forces in South Vietnam via the panhandle of Laos. At the same time, it would demonstrate the growing military prowess of the South Vietnamese Army. On the negotiating front, Kissinger continued in 1970 and throughout1971 to meet periodically in Paris with Le Duc Tho and other senior Vietnamese Communist functionaries, but made no progress. At the same time, representatives of both sides also met publicly in the plenary meetings. Each side used the public Paris meetings to exchange carefully calibrated propaganda, making the meetings, if possible, less productive than the secret talks. The volume focuses on the Kissinger–Le Duc Tho talks with only occasional documentary coverage of the public talks.

This volume also documents President Nixon’s penchant for secret operations and covert warfare: his continued support for secret bombing campaigns in Cambodia and Laos and his approval of the November 1971 Son Tay raid into North Vietnam to rescue American prisoners of war. Nixon also signed off on new and continuing information gathering initiatives and propaganda that supported intelligence operations against Communist forces, organizations, and governments in South Vietnam, North Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Additionally, he approved clandestine support for South Vietnamese political entities friendly to the United States. These operations are documented in some detail to demonstrate the role of covert actions in support of overt political and military operations.


In the waning months of the period covered by this volume, deadlock had set in. Neither side appeared able to win militarily, or even to weaken his adversary sufficiently to make him negotiate in good faith. There were signs, however, that Hanoi might be preparing to mount a major military effort in 1972. Its purpose would be to break through this impasse without having to travel a diplomatic path. The volume concludes at this point.

Anonymous said...

anyone wishes to pee on his grave?

Anonymous said...

why ? Look!
“The map of US bombing targets released by Yale University's Cambodian Genocide Program shows that more than half of the country was affected by the indiscriminate bombings. Professor Ben Kiernan, director of the Program puts the causalities figure from bombing at 150,000 deaths, while Edward Herman, a professor of Wharton School, and Noam Chomsky put the toll at 600,000 using figures provided by a Finnish Commission of Inquiry."

"Taylor Owen, a doctorial student at Oxford University, and Professor Kiernan noted that 2, 756, 3000 tons of bombs were dropped on Cambodia."

Thai government who accomplished of killing Cambodians by allowing base 52 flew from Thai territory to drop bombs in Cambodia must bear responsibility of mass killing, too.

Khmer Rouge Tribunal must balance and makes fair judgment. Otherwise, there is no fair, and no justice for Cambodian people

Anonymous said...

School of Vice (SOV) is none other than that same freaking hard-core Sihanoukist "P. from Long Beach" (KI-Media staff) that has been trying to sing Khmer to sleep with his oldies junks...

The writing has that P. from Long Beach's signature all over it!!!

Who are you trying to fool, SOV?

Passer-by

Anonymous said...

Passer-by,

If what you said is true, I guess KI-Media team had done a wonderful job. Why? Even you can't distinguish the two (was it really two?). That's the zenith of subterfuge!

Anyway, keep the guessing game coming! Anyone wants to try next?

A. d'Ivry-sur-Seine

PS: If you have not learned the Vietcong tricks yet, you should try to read more about it.

PPS: Do you want to guess who I am also?

N.B.: Au suivant!!! T'as compris maintenant? T'es marant mon petit coco!

Anonymous said...

i have no doubt that sihanouk used his revenge to kill his own people. you have to understand his biography to know this. he was ousted from power by the corrupted and ineffective lon nol gov't then, so naturally, he want revenge against former gov't official in the lon nol regime. in the beginning it was selective killing, then later after the stupid KR leadership broke up due to distrust and divorced from their vietcong allies, the indiscriminate killing spree began just before the vietcong invasion of cambodia in late 1978 mostly.

Anonymous said...

the problem with sihanouk is that he's always allied himself with the wrong group of people e.g. the vietcong and the KR. and the consequence, cambodia and khmer people suffered due his political mistakes.

Anonymous said...

Ah Sihanouk and Ah Hun Sen,

Ah Runteas Banh Teang Pi. Free yourselves from being Yuon's slave, Ah Choy marai, Ah Leu Keu, Ah Lngi Lngeu!!

You made Cambodia a satellite of Vietnam. Kanduoy Mer Ah Maha Kbot Cheat Teang Pi Kbal.

Kbal Ah Pi Neak Nis Dauch Kbal Kdor!! No brain inside,.

Anonymous said...

SOV/P.FLB,

Thus far, You've fooled nobody but yourself!!!

I wish you the best of luck being a hard-core Sihanoukist such as yourself and I only hope that the soul of the 2 millions of Khmer people including that of my families can forgive you!

Passer-by

Anonymous said...

Hawk 01(zero one), this is rustic 15(one five) do you read..., over?

....The night was dead-calm...and then...

In the Memory of Rustic 15!

Anonymous said...

អាសីហនុ មី​ មុនិច និង ម៉ែមី មុនិច សម្លាប់
ប្រជារាស្ត្រ បំផ្លាញប្រទេសខ្មែរ។
វាទាំងបីនាក់ជាឆ្កែយួន។ អាហ៊ុន ណាល់ ហៅ
អាឆ្កែ ហ៊ុន សែន ជាកូនធម៌របស់អាឆ្កែសីហនុ
ជាឆ្កែយួន។
រាស្ត្រខ្មែរត្រូវតែកាត់ក អាសីហនុ មីមុនិច អា
ហ៊ុន សែន និង មីកញ្ជ្រូក​ ដូចអសាដាំ ហ៊ុស្សេន
និង អាហ្កាដាហ្វី។

Anonymous said...

US B 52 carpet bombing between 1969-1973 especially in 1973 , 200 days and nights has caused nearly a million Cambodian lives, mass atrocities, mass starvation but Nixon and Kissinger are still at large for their war crime, crime against inhumanity for what they have done in their origioanl war from Vietnam.

So ECCC only Hanoi ECCC but also US ECCC in Cambodia they all tried to cover up their genocide , war crime and crime against hunmanity they committed together and make it look and exist only genocide , war crime and crime against humanity only exist and happened only between 1975-1979.

Anonymous said...

sihanouk is a waste human being!

Anonymous said...

crime from 1969 to present

Anonymous said...

from history, nixon was already impeached for his role as president ordering the bombing of cambodia without congress declaring war or congress authorization. sihanouk, too, was at fault from allying with the wrong group of people like the vietcong and the KR to fight the american-backed or american support corrupted, ineffective lon nol gov't. all of that, no doubt, led indirectly to the killing fields under the primitive, stone age KR regime or rule, you know!

Anonymous said...

i think the failure of all of the players then to negotiate, to work things out, etc, cost cambodia dearly at that time. yes, it was the failure of all of them the leaders!

Anonymous said...

dismis the so-called Internationa Court of Justice in Cambodia or call all paries involled to trial.

Anonymous said...

some leaders were short-sighted, meaning they don't have good vision to avoid tragedy to the country like cambodia.