Bun Thoeun’s Response to a Call for ‘Khmer Unity’

“If the CPP cannot even overhaul the NEC, it is almost impossible for the CNRP to unite with it.” 

The opening up of the Ho Chi Minh Trail across the interior of supposedly neutral Cambodia had been a decisive factor in the escalation of the fighting and hostility that were to follow in Indochina, as well as the subsequently rapid disintegration of Cambodia in both physical and political terms; a country that had hitherto been a peaceful bystander to a quarrel. Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak only learned of Sihanouk's [his cousin] deal with the North Vietnamese on a secret trip to Hanoi to protest the presence of the Viet Minhs' sanctuaries  across several Cambodian provinces - School of Vice [credit: google]

Joint-GIs-South Vietnamese offensive operations were launched deep inside Cambodian territory to disrupt the Viet Minhs' supplies lines following Sihanouk's overthrow - School of Vice [image: google]

To All Khmer Yeurng (all of Khmer citizens):

Please don't talk nonsense. You don't know what you are talking about. Stop being manipulated by other Anonymous mentioned. You need to be quiet and let's focus on Unity. We want CNRP and CPP to reunite as one without fighting each others in order to change the leaders. We wish all Khmer/Cambodian citizens or members of major parties CNRP and CPP to merge after the merger of SRP and HRP including other small parties like Khmer Democrats, KPPM, etc.

So, stop fighting each others. We need to work together to save our Khmer Nation.

It is [about] timing. Khmer folks both at home and abroad (USA, Australia, NZ, France, Canada, S. Korea, Japan, and so on), please stop fighting each other and, please take the positive outlooks and stop hating other because of the Vietnamese/Yuon manipulation and don't let our neighbors Yuon/Viet and Siam/Thai see our weaknesses.

So, watch out for one another no matter what may happen. Please think and be careful.

Thanks for listening.

-Khmer Yeurng.

.................................

Dear Khmer Yeurng,

I deeply understand your wishes.

I am a Khmer and I don't want to deplore a dead person, but to form a solid solidarity, we must know the characters, and the principles of what those persons (leaders) stand for.

The rise of the Khmer Rouge to power was largely stemming from Sihanouk's anger – he called on Khmer people to go to prey [forest= underground] marquis and fight Lon Nol/ Sirik Matak, who had destroyed Vietnam's reseau immediately after Sihanouk's fall. At the time, Cambodia was literally Vietnamese free.

If Sihanouk was a nationalist, he should have left Lon Nol/ Sirik Matak alone, and called on Khmer people to support Lon Nol/ Sirik Matak instead because they were protecting Cambodia against Vietnam’s aggression.

In addition, Vietnam's manipulation was also attributable to the Khmer Rouge's ascent. Vietnam clearly aimed at making the Khmer Rouge and the Khmer Vietminh demolish all of Lon Nol's supporters. Vietnam got more than what it had wished for thanks to its tactic of creating "suspicions" between Khmers. That's why the killings during the Pol Pot era were so rampant because of Vietnam's manipulations.

Another major mistake that Sihanouk made was his expulsion of the UN’s mission in Cambodia after the CPP lost the 1993 election. Sihanouk put the throne above Cambodia's survival.

 “In brief, Sihanouk’s bad deeds heavily outweigh his good deeds.”

Concerning the unification between the CNRP and CPP, it totally depends on the CPP.

If the CPP cannot even overhaul the NEC, it is almost impossible for the CNRP to unite with it.

If the CPP is truly not under Vietnam's control, it must be able to do what is right. We should never underestimate Vietnam's determination to swallow Cambodia. Vietnam will [not] relieve its grip on Cambodia unless there is formidable external pressure [sanctions] coming from the powerful countries that could end up adversely impacting or harming its economy, such as boycotting their imports from Vietnam..

We, as Khmers, must prove to those powerful countries Vietnam’s bad intentions towards Cambodia so that they could appreciate our actual predicament and help us out accordingly.

In brief, Sihanouk’s bad deeds heavily outweigh his good deeds. And it is understandable that Khmer people are cheering his death. He was/is/ and always will be a traitor; 3 million Khmers dead, and Cambodia is currently a satellite [hostage] of Vietnam.

Whoever implemented the bilateral treaties with Vietnam, instead of implementing the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, and allowing the mass influx of Vietnamese settlers into Cambodia to destroy most of Khmer natural resources – making Khmers a minority in the near future in their own country - and giving a Vietnamese the right to control Khmer Soul - Angkor Wat - are the real traitors.

-Bun Thoeun