លទ្ធិ​ប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ​តម្រូវ​ឲ្យ​មាន​ការ​យក​ចិត្ត​ទុក​ដាក់​ជា​និរន្តរ៍ - Democracy in Cambodia requires permanent attention

លោក បាន គីមូន​ អគ្គលេខាធិការ​ អង្គការសហ​ប្រជាជាតិ​ នៅ​ពេល​ផ្ដល់​កិច្ច​សម្ភាស​ដល់​អ្នក​យកព័ត៌មាន​​ Reuters កាលពីពេល​កន្លងមក​។ រូប Reuters

Wednesday, 12 September 2012
ភ្នំពេញ​ប៉ុស្តិ៍

ថ្ងៃ នេះ យើង​នាំ​គ្នា​ក្រឡេក​មើល​រយៈ​កាល​មួយ​ឆ្នាំ​កន្លង​ទៅ​នេះ​ដែល​ជា​ឆ្នាំ​ពោរ ​ពេញ​ដោយ​ព្រឹត្តិ​ការណ៍​ គួរ​ឲ្យ​កត់​សម្គាល់​ជា​ច្រើន​ ក្នុង​ដំណើរ​ការ​លទ្ធិ​ប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ។ វា​ជា​ដំណើរ​រឿង​កំពុង​បន្ត​រៀបរៀង ចារ​ដោយ​ប្រជាជន ដែល​ទាម​ទារ​ចង់​បាន​សេចក្តី​ថ្លៃថ្នូរ ​និង​សិទ្ធិ​មនុស្ស ចង់​បាន​ការ​បញ្ចប់​អំពើ​ពុក​រលួយ ចង់​បញ្ចេញ​សំឡេង​អំពី​អនាគត​របស់​ខ្លួន ចង់​បាន​ការងារ ចង់​បាន​យុត្តិធម៌​និង​ការ​ចែក​រំលែក​អំណាច​នយោបាយ​ឲ្យ​បាន​ត្រឹម ត្រូវ។

ដំណើរ​រឿង​របស់​ពួក​គេ​ គឺ​ទើប​តែ​ចាប់​ផ្តើម​តែ​ប៉ុណ្ណោះ​។ លទ្ធិ​ប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ​មិន​មែន​បង្កើត​បាន​​ ក្នុង​ពេល​តែ​មួយ​យប់​នោះ​ទេ ហើយ​វា​ក៏​មិន​អាច​កសាង​បាន​ក្នុង​ពេល​មួយ​ឆ្នាំ ឬ​ដោយ​គ្រាន់​តែ​ធ្វើ​ការ​បោះឆ្នោត​មួយ​ដង ឬពីរ​ដង​នោះ​ដែរ​។ លទ្ធិ​ប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ ​តម្រូវ​ឲ្យ​មាន​ការ​យក​ចិត្ត​ទុក​ដាក់​ជា​និរន្តរ៍ និង​ដោយ​ផ្ចិតផ្ចង់​ដើម្បី​កសាង​វា​ឡើង។ យ៉ាង​ណា​មិញ កាល​ណា​វា​បោះ​ជំហាន​ចេញ​ដំណើរ​ទៅ​មុខ​ហើយ មិន​អាច​វិល​ត្រឡប់​បែរ​ក្រោយ​វិញ​បាន​ទេ​។

កំណែ​ទម្រង់​ត្រូវ​តែ​ធ្វើ​ ឲ្យ​មាន​ភាព​ប្រាកដ​ប្រជា​។ ប្រជាជន មិន​ចង់​បាន​ការ​គ្រប់គ្រង​អំណាច​បែប​ផ្តាច់​ការ​និយម​ទៀត​ទេ។ ពួក​គេ​ចង់​បាន​ពិភពលោក​ ប្រកប​ដោយ​គុណធម៌​មួយ​ ដែល​ផ្តល់​សិទ្ធិ​និង​ឱកាស ក្រោម​របប​នីតិរដ្ឋ សង្គម​ស៊ីវិល​រស់​រវើក និង​វិស័យ​ឯកជន​ស្វាហាប់​មួយ ទ្រទ្រង់​ដោយ​ស្ថាប័ន​រដ្ឋ​ដែល​ធ្វើ​ការ​ប្រកប​ដោយ​ប្រសិទ្ធភាព និង​គណនេយ្យ​ភាព​។ ការ​សន្ទនា​ដោយ​មាន​ការ​ចូល​រួម​ពី​គ្រប់​សមាស​ភាគ​សង្គម​ គឺជា​ភាព​ចាំបាច់។ពិពិធកម្ម​គឺជា​កម្លាំង។

Democrazy in Cambodia - Poem in Khmer by Kaun Khmer

Freedom of Expression in Cambodia: The Illusion of Democracy

Click here to read the report in English

Click here to read the report in Khmer

Source: Licadho

In the six-month period covered in this report, LICADHO documented nearly 50 cases involving violations of expressive rights in Cambodia. These cases follow patterns, and their similarities are not coincidental. They have the markings of a systematic crackdown.

The targets range from community leaders to union representatives to opposition politicians, but anyone who speaks out against the interests of the elite is at risk. As the government has consolidated power, it is growing increasingly intolerant of criticism, more topics are becoming taboo, and the space for dissent is shrinking. The end result is that Cambodians are being prevented from participating in their own democracy.

Click here to reach additional website supplement to the report.

‘Illusion’ of democracy: report

Sunday, 26 December 2010
Brooke Lewis
The Phnom Penh Post

Cambodian democracy has been eroded by a systematic campaign of government intimidation and prosecution of citizens and activists exercising their right to freedom of expression, according to a report released by the rights group Licadho on Saturday.

The report, titled Freedom of Expression in Cambodia: The Illusion of Democracy, outlines nearly 50 case studies from April 1 to September 30 that the authors claim involve “violations of expressive rights”.

“There is nothing particularly unusual about this six-month period – there were no elections, armed conflicts or national emergencies. Rather, we believed that focusing on a short period would illustrate the magnitude of Cambodia’s freedom of expression problem,” the report says.

The report details numerous high-profile cases, including government threats to expel from the country foreign diplomats and United Nations officials and the prosecution of several opposition party members.

It also includes a host of cases concerning the extortion of journalists, the prosecution of rights workers and the intimidation of residents involved in land disputes with government-backed private companies.

“These seemingly disparate stories, from all corners of the country, are not isolated incidents,” the report says.

“These cases follow patterns, and their similarities are not coincidental. They have the markings of a systematic crackdown.”

Among the cases cited in the Licadho report is the murder of 66-year-old Pich Sophon, who was shot dead on April 26 after campaigning on behalf of fellow residents who were involved in a land dispute with a South Korean company and the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces in Battambang province’s Samlot district.

According to the report, no arrests have been made in connection to Pich Sophon’s killing.

Also cited is a letter from Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, who in March accused the United Nations country team of “flagrantly interfering” in the government’s affairs by criticising the swift passage of anti-graft legislation.

At the time, Hor Namhong threatened to expel Douglas Broderick, the UN resident coordinator, warning that the office had “exceeded the limit of its mandate”. According to the authors of the report, such restrictions on freedom of expression are the consequence of a government that is “increasingly fearful of dissent”.

“The ruling elite have consolidated power and harnessed it for their benefit – and the benefits have been lavish,” the report says.

“They are loath to part with their privileges, no matter the cost. Rule of law has been supplanted by rule of the powerful. Voting is a charade, and democracy has become an illusion.”

Among other things, the report calls for the government to allow legitimate police and judicial investigations into the murders of journalists, human rights defenders, union activists and others whose deaths were related to expressive activities.

It also requests that it refrain from lifting the parliamentary immunity of politicians who are exercising their democratic duties.

Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Yim Sovann said yesterday that the Licadho report “reflects the reality of Cambodian society”.

“Most people are concerned about recent human rights abuses; corruption is still a major problem and land rights are still a major problem,” he said. “All the time it is getting worse.”

He said a lack of access to information in Cambodia was further evidence that the Kingdom was not functioning as a democracy.

“We cannot say Cambodia is a democratic country while we have limited access to information,” he said. “If we want a democratic society we need transparency in everything.”

On Thursday, the SRP sent a draft Freedom of Information law to the National Assembly for consideration. SRP lawmaker Son Chhay said yesterday that the law would require officials to make available documents that are routinely withheld from opposition party members and others trying to monitor the actions of the government.

But Yim Sovann said yesterday that he was pessimistic about the ruling party’s willingness to adopt such legislation.

“The ruling party has no political will to build a democratic society,” he said. “Corruption is the pillar of the ruling party.”

Ek Tha, a spokesman for the Council of Ministers’ Press and Quick Reaction Unit, said yesterday that a healthy media presence in Cambodia was proof that democracy and freedom of expression were “blooming”.

“If you go to any village you will see people listening to the radio or reading the paper,” he said. “We do not block any radio, television or newspaper; that’s key to democracy.”

He also pointed to steps the government had taken within the last year – including the introduction of the new Penal Code – as examples of ways in which democracy was being strengthened.

“You cannot achieve full democracy overnight, things take time. We went through so much suffering; we had more than 30 years of civil war. The government is doing its best,” he said.

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: Democracy Training Center

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Nuclear-proof limousines ordered from Vietnam for Samdec Hun Xen and his family

A pamphlet from the nuke-proof limousine advises owners against riding with the roof down.

April 01, 2010
Ho Chi Ming Liberation Press (HLP)

HLP learned from reliable source that the nuclear energy pact recently signed by the US and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was in fact a smokescreen to transfer US armored limousine technology to Vietnam. However, this is no ordinary technology: it is to build a nuclear-proof limousine that could protect the lives of even the most despicable dictators in the world.

The Saigon Giai Phong news agency, an arm of the Vietnamese communist party in Ho Chi Minh city, revealed on Wednesday that the first customer lined up to buy this marvel of lifesaving technology is no other than Samdec Akko Moha Sena Batt Dey Dec Cho Hun Xen, the illustrious prime minister of Cambodia. At 4AM this morning, Cambodia’s prime minister dispatched Ong Phay Siphan, the spokesman of the Council of Ministers, to line up in front of the deserted office of the NoNuke IzgoodNuke Company to ensure that the limousine orders will be the very first orders received by the newly formed company. According to a street sweeper who was curious to see Ong Phay Siphan standing alone in the early rainy morning and who asked him what he was doing there, Samdec Hun Xen told his spokesman to ensure that six nuke-proof limousines are ordered. It was believed that Samdec Hun Xen intended to order seven limousines originally, one for each member of his family, but changed his mind to six because he remembered that he had disowned his adopted daughter who dared proclaim that she was a lesbian.

Pamphlets obtained from the NoNuke IzgoodNuke Company revealed that the Vietnamese-made limousine has a 30-centimeter-thick titanium plated roof that is so strong that even a BM-21 rocket cannot pierce through or cause any real damage. The limousine windows are made of US-grade glass that will withstand a direct hit from a rocket-propelled grenade – such as the M-79 preferred by the Thai insurgents – and its wheels automatically turn into caterpillar tracks when going over rough terrain –such as the road to Preah Vihear – the pamphlet boasted.

Officials at the NoNuke IzgoodNuke factory where Samdec Hun Xen’s limousines will be assembled were so confident in the level of safety provided by the vehicle that they brought a prototype to test in Cambodia’s Kampong Chhnang province in early March. Under the pretext of testing Cambodia’s BM-21 rocket launchers, Samdec Hun Xen was placed in the prototype limousine which was well hidden under camouflage while 200 projectiles made a direct hit on this marvel of US-borrowed technology.

During the entire testing procedure, Samdec Hun Xen was in constant and direct contact with Samdec Mè Bun Rany Hun Xen who was closely monitoring the situation for fear a mishap could befall on her beloved Samdec husband. At the end of the test, after all the reporters were cleared out of the testing site, a group of NoNuke IzgoodNuke engineers went to check on Samdec Hun Xen in the prototype limousine. Somewhat shaken and smoky – not from the rocket explosions but from the many packs of cigarettes he smoked – Samdec was found safe and sound.

An official from the NoNuke IzgoodNuke Company noted that the limousine's occupants could survive a small nuclear attack, but only if the wind was blowing in a certain direction. He declined to elaborate, saying reporters would be allowed to ask Samdec Hun Xen questions on 01 April 2011 when the limousines will be delivered.

The Cambodia Weekly and The Phnom Penh Outpost reported that General Chea Dara, the RCAF 4-golden-star and a darling of the CPP, boasted to a group of karaoke ladies at a Phnom Penh karaoke parlor that, from now on, any attempt to bomb Samdec Hun Xen from US planes used by the Thai Air Force is worthless. “We win! We win! We win!” the general was heard dancing and singing. Meanwhile, an old woman begging outside the window of the karaoke parlor was heard mumbling: “We lost! We lost! We lost! We were recently evicted from our house, please have mercy on us,” she was heard saying while begging.

Additional report by Jean-Cul Peugeot from Ho Chi Ming city.

A Peacekeeping Success, With Caveats

"Let Us Beat Swords into Plowshares" United Nations, New York (Photo by Soeung Sophat)

By Soeung Sophat, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
12 March 2010

In recent years Cambodia has sent peacekeepers to three African countries. It is poised to host a major multi-national peacekeeping exercise later this year. And although Cambodia has not yet achieved all its goals, the author of a new book on peacekeeping says Cambodia’s experience was a success.

Mats Berdal is a professor of war studies at King’s College in London and the author of a new book about peace-building.

He warns that peacekeeping goals can often be over-ambitious. But he said in the case of Cambodia, peacekeepers brought many benefits that should not be overlooked.

“Cambodia perhaps doesn’t meet the standards of a mature liberal democracy, but it’s a very different place from what it used to be. It has a flourishing civil society, it has a free press, it has had elections.”

Berdal acknowledged that he had not been to Cambodia, but he noted that the country could have benefited from more follow-ups on issues like human rights following the UN withdrawal.

“The UNTAC mission was designed to transform, or help transform, the political, institutional, and social fabric of society in order to overcome deep-seated internal animosities,” he said.

But while the $1.6-billion mission helped restore fundamental peace in Cambodia, it did not stamp out rights violations and left an internal power struggle well after the UN had left.

In a recent discussion of his 2009 book, “Building Peace After War,” at a think-tank in Washington, Berdal noted that peacekeeping can be difficult anywhere, because it is so broadly defined.

“According to the UN, peacekeeping covers everything from integrated and coordinated actions aimed at addressing the root causes of violence where the political, legal, institutional, military, humanitarian, human rights related, environmental, economic, social, cultural and demographic,” he said.

He said the problem is that such comprehensive term lacks "any sense of priorities." Nor does it seek “to differentiate in the strategic sense between these objectives.”

Peace operations have traditionally been ambitious in their mandates and numbers. Professor Berdal said their number exploded after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the US, and at present stands at 61 missions with 170,000 troops deployed worldwide.

Ambassador Wegger Strommen of Norway, who was a participant in the book discussion, called peace-building a tedious process with multiple phases that requires sustained commitment.

“You need to take a look at institution-building as well and we try to do that,” he said. “Take Haiti for instance. What we’re trying to do in Haiti is to help out a little bit. We’re trying to build up certain institutions. No matter what Haiti is going to look like in the future, they really need to get some of these institutions up and working.”

Berdal says this governance structure is crucial to the legitimacy of intervening outsiders, but that traditionally there has been an overemphasis on a Western approach of social “re-engineering,” ignoring local dynamics of conflict.

He cited Iraq as an example. A 20-year record suggests that “stability cannot really be imposed on war-torn societies from the outside” and has to be elicited, he said.

“The relative success of a peace-building intervention depends not only on the conduct and actions of the outsider, but also on the degree to which governance structures are put in place and promoted and that it command legitimacy in the eyes of local parties, neighboring states, and the wider international community,” he said.

However, Berdal believes that given the seemingly “operational overstretch” of peace missions at a time of global economic crisis, we should be more “humble” and realistic about goal-setting in peace-building.

U.S: Democracy and human rights in Cambodia deteriorate

US Ambassador Carol Rodley during an interview on 28 January 2010 (Photo: Den Ayuthyea, RFA)

Monday, 1 February 2010
By Khmerization
Source: RFA

The United States government had indirectly asked the Cambodian government to improve its shortcomings in relations to the application of democracy and the respect for human rights in accordance with international standards and regulations, reports Radio Free Asia.

The indirect request was made by Mrs. Carol Rodley (pictured), U.S Ambassador to Cambodia, in a speech after opposition leader Sam Rainsy and two villagers were convicted and sentenced to jail term after they protested about border encroachments by Vietnam. "We praise all fields that have improved relating to democracy and human rights and we regret the worsening in other fields such as the deterioration of democracy and human rights", she said through a translator.

The Cambodian government has come under heavy criticism from human rights groups, civil society and critics in relations to its human rights records, forced evictions, land grabbing, arrests and intimidation of opposition activists, human rights activists and the use of court to suppress freedom of expression against opposition parties etc.

Mrs. Rodley had also acknowledged in the improvement in some fields as well. "There have been improvements in some fields and deterioration in others", she said.

Mrs. Rodley also said she is following the trials of opposition Sam Rainsy and other two villagers very closely. “We are closely following this trial, and it’s not just trials involving politicians and VIPs, but also on various other trials as well. All trials should be conducted with transparency and fairness”, she added.

She did not want to elaborate on Mr. Rainsy's trial, however she hopes the Appeal Court could be fair and transparent. “I think that if this case reaches the Appeal court, and if the Appeal court could be transparent, just and fair [then it would be a good sign]”, she said.

Prof. Surya Subedi, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Cambodia who had visited Cambodia from 18th to 30th January, said that human rights situations in Cambodia had been slowly improving. However, he said that human rights situations in Cambodia had not been up to the standards and benchmarks set by international conventions which Cambodia had been a signatory to.

Mr. Om Yintieng, chairman of the government-appointed Human Rights Commission, quoted recently by the media as saying that Cambodia has not yet become a hell of human rights and Cambodian not yet become a heaven of human rights either.

Cambodia - an April Fool's democracy

Wednesday, 30 May 2007
By Alanta Colley
Posted on Onlineopinion.com.au

In Cambodia, the eve of the election is quietly known as “the night of the barking dogs”. The “dogs”; politicians and their henchmen; make their rounds, dispensing gifts and threats, winning votes through fear and favour.

This year, the night before Cambodia’s April Fool’s Day elections, the dogs barked in unison for Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). As the polling booths shut, so did Cambodia’s chance to rid itself of this ex-Khmer Rouge military dictator. Hun Sen and his faction marched to victory with 98 per cent of the vote. The only other “democracy” recorded receiving such compelling voter support for a single party was Iraq, under Saddam Hussein.

The rise and rise of Hun Sen’s Empire marks the fall of the great democratic experiment in Cambodia. The country remains a democracy in name only; a thin shell hiding the power and corruption of the CPP beneath its surface.

Democracy arrived in Cambodia in a blaze of glory in 1992, when 20,000 international soldiers and civilians, under the auspices of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), descended upon the small Asian country.

The mission was to be an international symbol of the new world order. The Cold War had ended; America's democracy had won over Soviet communism. Cambodia was the lucky recipient of exported democracy - a poultice to assuage the wounds received from years under the bloody Khmer Rouge.

The 1993 election went smoothly and FUNCINPEC (Front Uni National pour un Cambodge Indépendant, Neutre, Pacifique, et Coopératif, which translates to "National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia") under Prince Norodom Ranariddh was victorious, receiving over 45 per cent of the vote. The UN, in a celebratory mood packed up and went home, declaring the whole event a great success.

However, under Khmer law, no party could rule with less than a two-thirds majority. Hun Sen’s CPP, which received less than 38 per cent of the vote, threatened a secession of the eastern provinces of Cambodia if Ranariddh did not share the victory. From the days of the Khmer Rouge a faction in the military and many other friends in influential positions in Cambodian society backed Hun Sen. His threats had clout.

FUNCINPEC submitted to a coalition government with the CPP. Cambodia became the only country which could boast not only one, but two prime ministers: First Prime Minister Ranariddh, and Second Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Hun Sen was later asked to reflect on what UNTAC had brought through their good efforts in Cambodia. He replied simply, “AIDS”. Hun Sen paid no thanks to the UN for their efforts to install democracy in Cambodia.

Since that first election the CPP has tightened its grip on Cambodia. Hun Sen has consolidated his coterie of thugs and villains. Cambodia’s standing army grew and became the largest per capita in the world. Compulsory conscription was introduced for Cambodian men between 18 and 30, and military spending consumed almost half the annual budget. Hun Sen’s faction became an unassailable force inside and outside of Parliament.

With this power, a decade later, Hun Sen set about ironing out the last wrinkles of opposition to his empire.

In 2005 opposition leader Sam Rainsy spoke up in parliament about the CPP’s attempts to assassinate him. The CPP quickly responded by passing a bill retroactively revoking Sam Rainsy’s parliamentary immunity. Hun Sen then issued a $5 million defamation suit against him. Sam Rainsy fled the country, and two of his ministers were imprisoned.

In the months leading up to this election yet another political opponent was forced to flee the country. Prince Ranariddh, the former democratic leader of Cambodia, left the country after charges were brought against him. While married to Princess Marie, Ranariddh had publicly acknowledged a long-term relationship with another woman. With this in mind the CPP pushed legislation through parliament outlawing adultery.

Unofficially, as parliamentarians chatted among themselves, they referred to the law as the “Ranariddh legislation”. Within hours of it being passed by the National Assembly Ranariddh was charged.

The “monogamy law”, in reality, has the potential to see most of the Cambodian male population put behind bars. “Sweet hearts” and prostitutes are a broadly accepted aspect of Khmer male culture. The stooges of the CPP are certainly not exempt from this. All have mistresses. Yet few arrests have taken place since the Prince was charged. The law was merely one more example of how Hun Sen manipulated the law to ensure his own hegemony.

Outside parliament similar CCP plots to manipulate this election process took place. Efforts to monitor and observe the election process were thwarted with the CPP’s devious tricks.

The Committee for Free and Fair Elections (COMFREL) acts as an independent election watchdog. With more than 11,000 polling booths across the country; COMFREL is responsible for mobilising thousands of Khmer and international volunteers to visit the polling booths and report any incidents of violence or perversion of the voting procedures. COMFREL’s monitors report back to COMFREL by sending text messages to a COMFREL number which records all reports on a computer database.

Two days before the election, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) - a body made up almost exclusively of CPP party members - made an announcement. Text message services would be shut down up until the hour the polling booths closed. The NEC stated that this was to stop political parties spamming party propaganda in the “tranquility period” before the election. The real victim however was COMFREL and their monitoring activities. COMFREL had no way to instantaneously record the assessments of their thousands of monitors.

The NEC knew COMFREL’s monitoring strategy many months before. With the monitors muted COMFREL could not quickly dispatch additional observers to polling stations where trouble ensued.

Perversions and disruptions at booths went unrecorded and thwarted COMFREL's efforts to report the election.

Frustrating the efforts of COMFREL’s monitoring strategy was unquestionably an advantage to the CPP. The CPP boasts a long history of employing dubious and illegal methods of influencing results at the polling booth.

Booths with traditional swings against the CPP often receive visits from armed thugs with shady connections to the CPP. They cause disturbances outside the booth, scaring away prospective voters. In some provinces, Khmers have been scared out of voting after CPP candidates told them that the CPP had satellites that could see who they voted for. They were told they would be punished if they voted against CPP.

In a country where roughly 30 per cent of the population are illiterate crafty politicians can easily pull the wool over people’s eyes. Fear is by far the most effective electioneering tool. Cambodians know better than most what a government is capable of doing to its own citizens. The Khmer Rouge period hangs like a darkened shroud over the country still with the Khmer Rouge, 30 years later, still unpunished.

Yet despite the corruption, violence and fear Cambodians do want to vote. Sixty-five per cent of those registered to vote made the long trek to their provinces to make their contribution to democracy. Compared to long-established democracies of the UK and America, this is significantly high.

Each generation of Cambodians chip away at illiteracy levels and grow more politically conscious. Yet at the same time, Hun Sen's power base grows in strength. In a country with absolutely no social welfare system; corruption is a means of survival. It is entrenched at every level. While corruption remains, so will the CPP. While a vote can be still be purchased for roughly 25 cents (US) no change can be expected in Cambodia.

In a country that has known no past other than the reign of emperors, the weighty burden of colonialism and the barbarism of a murderous communist force, perhaps the end result of the democratic experiment is not so surprising. The culture of power and violence entrenched long ago did not dissipate overnight in one expensive UN operation. They merely adapted to a different system. It has happened many times before.

Cambodia bodes ill for the similar experiments of nation building in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Solomon Islands. Perhaps it’s time to acknowledge that polling booths, monitors and peacekeepers are all very well but cannot alone displace embedded hierarchy, powerbrokers and mobsters. These result from far more systemic problems of poverty and instability.

Cultural norms of hierarchy, religion and tradition also contribute to the perpetuation of such power structures. It’s time we abandoned the concept of democracy as a universal band-aid solution, applicable to any country and situation. The reality is far more complex and so should be the response.

First published in The Diplomat on May 28, 2007.