Rainsy's Bravery Might Produce Devastating Consequences

Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Editorial by Khmerization
On the web at http://khmerization.blogspot.com

Read previous Khmerization editorial about Dam Sith's arrest (The Hor Namhong Factor: Double Perpetration vs. Double Victimisation?) here.

Sam Rainsy's offer to swap jail term with Mr. Dam Sith, an editor of the Moneaksekar Khmer newspaper, who was arrested on the 8th of June on charges of defamation, has sent shiver down my spine. My worry has not so much focussed only on his brave offer, but much on the possibility that his offer might be accepted. I admired his courage and bravery but I also feel that his offer will result in devastating consequences for his political career and the survival of his party, if it is accepted.

First, let's look at the real scenario that might come out of this deal. And let's look at the negative side first. Rainsy must realise that he is dealing with a brutal regime and a dictatorial prime minister. Should Rainsy's offer be accepted by the Cambodian court, aided and abetted by Hor Namhong, Rainsy could be sent to jail in no time. In retrospect, Rainsy should look at the Aung San Suu Kyi's case in Burma very closely. Suu Kyi is a classic case. She has been in jail for over 18 years. And even with strong protest and sanctions from the international community, the junta regime in Burma refused to budge.

The worst case scenario that would come out of this daring deal would be the future of his political party. If he is jailed , and after international outcry Hun Sen still refuse to budge, what would the future hold for his party? A possible scenario would be that, if Rainsy is jailed for as long as Suu Kyi then his party would surely be weakened and disintegrate to the point of not being salvageable. And that would be the end of his party and his political career. No one, myself in particular, wants to see this scenario happen.

Now, let's look at a positive scenario. If the offer is accepted and Rainsy is imprisoned and he is released immediately after the international outcry, then Rainsy and his party can claim to have won a moral victory over evil. If this scenario occurred, Rainsy and his party surely has achieved public and voters' sympathy that would translate to increased electoral chances for the upcoming election. And Rainsy would be hailed a hero upon releasing from jail.

But one has to admit that Rainsy is dealing with a brutally undemocratic regime that is facing electoral defeat in the upcoming election. It will take any opportunity to sabotage Rainsy's chances of an electoral victory. And the ruling Cambodian People's Party, especially Mr. Hun Sen, would see Rainsy's offer of going to jail on behalf of Mr. Dam Sith as a great opportunity to thwart Rainsy's chances.

Lastly, I wish that this defamation suit would be resolved in a civilised manner, with Dam Sith and Rainsy exonerated unharmed.

A Hun (Sen) Dynasty In The Making?

The Hun clan with Hun Manet standing in the far left

Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Editorial by Khmerization
On the web at http://khmerization.blogspot.com

“Despite past rumours and past denials, people are not easily gullible enough to believe that Mr. Hun Sen has given up the idea of a political dynasty. This time, by constantly and publicly berating and castigating the critics of his son’s possible entering into the political arena, Mr. Hun Sen has no doubt left the impression that people are seeing a political dynasty in the making in Cambodia.”

The issue of Hun Manet succeeding his father, Prime Minister Hun Sen, has popped up so very often that deserves my attention and warrants my comments. But before I launch into a barrage of personal opinions and factual history, I would like to draw some analogy in regard to Mr. Hun Sen’s future political dynasty. (Read Hun Sen's speech about Hun Manet's political future here).

It is interesting to note that, while the PM has constantly likened himself to Sdech Korn, a usurper of peasant background who assassinated the king and enthroned himself, he has not yet likened himself to Attila the Hun (AD 434), a conqueror whose Hunnic Empire spanned across Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Considering that the great Mongolian conquerors, Genghis Khan (1162-1227) and his grandson, Kublai Khan (1215-1294) had claimed to have descended from the Huns (pronounced ‘hunt as in hunting’), and with a surname of Hun (this one pronounced ‘Houn’), one would have expected the PM to make claims to have been descended from the Huns as well, rather than likening himself to a re-incarnation of Sdech Korn, a mediocre king, who was nothing without his brutal usurpation.

History aside and let’s move to the topic of discussion- Mr. Hun Sen’s grooming of his son to succeed him as the prime minister.

It’s been well known within the Cambodian political circle that Prime Minister Hun Sen has been trying to groom his son, Hun Manet, as a future Cambodian leader some time ago. During the 1998 election, there has been rumours that Mr. Hun Sen had unsuccessfully floated the idea of appointing Hun Manet to the position of Commander-in-Chief and Minister of Defence.

In order to put the rumours to rest, in 2007, Mr. Hun Sen has hysterically and strenuously denied the rumours that Hun Manet was about to stand as a member of parliament in the seat of Siem Reap province. Mr Hun Sen’s denial has not put the rumours to rest, because people viewed Hun Manet’s persistent and continuous charity works as an attempt to shore up his good guy image in preparation for his political future. And as early as this week, Mr. Hun Sen has publicly declared that he would like Hun Manet to serve in the army. His political detractors see this as yet another sign of Hun Sen using a military career as a stepping stone for Hun Manet to enter the political arena.

Despite past rumours and past denials, people are not easily gullible enough to believe that Mr. Hun Sen has given up the idea of a political dynasty. This time, by constantly and publicly berating and castigating the critics of his son’s possible entering into the political arena, Mr. Hun Sen has no doubt left the impression that people are seeing a political dynasty in the making in Cambodia.

One more unconvincing reason is that, it is very uncharacteristic and peculiar of Mr. Hun Sen to launch a pre-emptive strike of denials, before people even heard the accusations about his son’s political future. By denying before the accusations had been made, Mr. Hun Sen has no doubt left the impression that he is in a defensive mode and that, due to his persistence and perseverance, Mr. Hun Sen is actually grooming his son to succeed himself.

Hun Manet’s political venture or the lack of it, has been a constant issue that has shaken Mr. Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party’s (CPP) circle to the core. The ideas that Mr. Hun Sen is grooming his son to be his successor has caused a stir within the minds of the CPP’s old guards who sternly opposed the ideas.

To political old-timers, Hun Manet is has all the traits and characteristics to lead Cambodia. Arming himself with good qualifications from American universities (a bachelor from Westpoint, a Masters from Georgetown University(?) and a Ph.D from UK’s University of Bristol), Hun Manet certainly has the potential to be Cambodia’s next generation of leaders, but people would argue that he has to achieve his political ambitions on his own merits, and not to depend on his father to prop him up.

Qualified or not, many of the CPP’s old guards, the likes of Chea Sim and Heng Samrin, who had worked hard and eyed the PM position for more than 50 years, will resent the fact that a young and inexperienced political novice could just appear from nowhere and get the job without having to work hard for it. And this, they would never allow it to happen.

Whether Mr. Hun Sen will succeed in grooming his son to be his successor remain to be seen. He is politically cunning and a very expedient politician. He is a master of tactician who are always three steps ahead of his political opponents. And with his tenacity, he might succeed one day. But, many seasoned political observers would like to argue that, one day, his expedience and political shenanigan will be his own undoing, because other CPP’s old guards will never allow him to always outsmart them and step on their heads all the time.

Hun Sen’s Broken Promises And His Government of National Disunity

Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Editorial by Khmerization
On the web at http://khmerization.blogspot.com

“Mr. Hun Sen’s declaration of a solo government and running the parliamentary commissions by his own party alone is an attempt to lead Cambodia away from democracy toward dictatorship. In reality, Mr Hun Sen is advocating a government of national disunity instead of a government of national unity.”

The Prime Minister of Cambodia, Mr. Hun Sen, is notorious for his bullying character and a thuggish behaviour and, to a certain extent, his profanity. His other notoriety, hidden from public view, has been his namesake of ‘a boss from hell’.

All these notorieties notwithstanding, his famous trademarks have been his broken promises. The promises of resignations had never been materialised. The PM had made promises on numerous occasions to resign if he could not stop illegal loggings, could not curb corruption and tackle land-grabbing from powerful people serving in his government. These abuses are still rampant and we have yet to see the PM resign.

A few days ago, he had made a surprised announcement of another of his broken promises- that he had decided to cut ties with his long-term ally, the Funcinpec Party. The PM announced that his marriage of convenience with the Funcinpec Party is no longer needed. This means that his Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) will go solo without a coalition partner. The PM has back-flipped on his earlier repeated promises of forming a coalition government with the Funcinpec Party no matter what. So what changed his mind? The only explanation would be that Mr. Hun Sen is 100% sure, and has been assured by the National Election Committee, that his CPP will win the upcoming election with a comfortable margin. So, after having been used and abused by Mr. Hun Sen for his own political gains for more than 15 years, should Funcinpec invest its trusts in Hun Sen’s empty and broken promises anymore?

Another of Mr. Hun Sen’s worrying declaration has been his decision to govern the National Assembly by himself. Currently the positions for the parliamentary commissions have been shared among the parties that won seats in the election. It would be a travesty of democracy if the parliamentary commissions are not distributed proportionately to the seats won by the individual parties. Mr. Hun Sen’s declaration of a solo government and running the parliamentary commissions by his own party alone is an attempt to lead Cambodia away from democracy toward dictatorship. In reality, Mr Hun Sen is advocating a government of national disunity instead of a government of national unity. Mr. Hun Sen had declared that he had already appointed the people to head the nine parliamentary commissions. To seasoned political observers, Mr. Hun Sen is behaving like he is winning the election already. And to experienced political observers, this sort of behaviour seemed to reinforce the suggestions that Mr. Hun Sen has no intention of relinquishing power should he loses the election.

Seeing the tense political atmosphere at present, one cannot avoid touching on the issues of defections. While people are free to join any party they like, tactics employed by a certain political party to coerce defections are worrisome. Defections from the oppositions to the ruling CPP are not spontaneous but coerced and bribed. The defectors have been unnecessarily appointed to the highly paid positions inside the already inflated bureaucracy. By any standard of government, this is corruptly squandering public money for one’s own political gains, and it is morally wrong. The money that have been paid to these defectors, who won’t have any real jobs to perform inside the bureaucracy, should be diverted to fund the pay increases for public servants like the teachers, the police, the army and administrative bureaucrats in order to assist in reducing corruption.

Coming to this point, one cannot help but mention the issue of corruption. Mr Sam Rainsy was right when he said that political buyouts are Mr. Hun Sen’s attempts to whitewash and divert public attention from the real issues of corruption and economic problems. Mr Hun Sen’s inability and, to a certain extent, his reluctant to deal with the current soaring prices of goods reflect on his conflict of interests. His daughter’s owned Tela Petroleum Company has a monopolistic right of imports of refined petrol to Cambodia. News coming out of Cambodia recently is that Tela has received government subsidy in the form of tax reduction to the tune of around $100 million dollars per year. And due to monopolistic rights given to Tela, all the petrol companies like Total, Shell and others must buy their petrol from Tela. Only Sokimex has its own imported petrol but must set retail prices commensurate with Hun Sen’s Tela. And the result is that it is a price collusion between Tela and Sokimex which kept the petrol prices very high.

The soaring prices of goods at present are related to the costs of petrol. While the petrol prices remain high, the prices of other commodities will always remain high. In order to curb the food prices, petrol prices have to be brought down. Hun Sen doesn’t have the will to resolve the current price hikes because it would affect his daughter’s petrol business. Hun Sen was just paying lip service when he said that he will do what he can to curb the current high food prices. The fact is, he will not do it because he has a conflict of interests. So, his promises for the solutions to the food prices have become another statistics of his many broken promises.

Peculiar Things Do Happen In Cambodia

Sunday, May 25, 2008
Editorial by Khmerization
Originally posted at http://khmerization.blogspot.com

Fellow bloggers might ask why I kept quiet for the last few days. It is true that I have not been very active in my writings lately. This is not because I tried to lie low after the threat of litigation from an “attorney” purported to represent a Cambodian foreign minister, but because of time constraints. I might have received a punch but I can assure you that I haven’t been knocked out, just yet. And when time permits, I will always be back again. You can be assured of that.

And on top of this, I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to fellow bloggers who sent emails of concerns and supports to express their solidarity. I’m touched by their offer of supports.

I must say that the event in the last few days have made an interesting reading, if not weird. The news that an “attorney” of a foreign minister has threatened to launch a litigation suit against at least two Cambodian bloggers has caused a stir and generated heated debates among the majority of the readers. It certainly gives debaters something to discuss.

Strange things do happen in Cambodia, though. Often we see rival politicians campaigning for voters to vote for themselves. Peculiarly, PM Hun Sen appealed to voters to vote for the opposition, sarcastically of course. But his appeal, which was intended to garner more supports, might backfire. With voters losing confidence in his oppressive 29 years of rule, his appeal can be wrongly viewed by voters that PM Hun Sen has run out of ideas to court them. And after 29 years of living under this oppressive rule, the voters might think that it is now time for a change, for the better, not for the worst.

The more weird news has come out of the ex-King Sihanouk’s writings. While launching a never-ending and scathing attacks on his nemesis, the republican critics, his latest writings seemed to be very weird indeed. His bitterness and an insatiable urge for revenge towards these people has led to a desire to be a zombie in his next life so he can escape from such people. Strange? Why would anyone want to be a zombie? Should one want to be reborn as an enlightened Buddha if one wants to beat one’s opponents-Preah Pchanh Mear? It is peculiar, isn’t it?

A more pressing and worried news has been Thailand’s flip-flopping on the issues of Preah Vihear. While Thailand has expressed on numerous occasions that it will not block the listing of Preah Vihear on World Heritage List, Thailand has flip-flopped on this issue on numerous occasions already. As of late, it’s been reported that Sok An, Cambodia’s Deputy PM, has agreed to list only the temple, leaving the surrounding disputed areas out of the listing. A more pressing concerns over this listing is that new maps will be drawn.

Cambodia’s only treaty with Thailand was concluded in 1907. Any border negotiations should be based on the maps used in that treaty. To draw new maps for the listing of Preah Vihear would allow Thailand to make claims to all territories recently encroached by Thailand. And I for one, would vehemently oppose this idea.

Another news worth mentioning is the newly-declared stance of the two biggest Cambodian unions- the Free Trade Union of Chea Mony and the Independent Teachers Union of Rong Chhun. While declaring themselves neutral, after years of affiliations with the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, they have put themselves under the microscope that has led to suspicions and accusations that they’ve sold themselves to the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). It is very suspicious of course for these two unions to declare themselves neutral in such a critical time during the election. The reports in the Khmer-language press that they have defected to the CPP has reinforced the suspicions from the oppositions that they may have been indeed sold out to the CPP. If the claims are true, it is a sad news indeed for the workers of Cambodia. But the bottom line is, whether there are defections or not is insignificant, because the election results have already been pre-determined by the CPP-controlled National Election Committee- that the winner would be the CPP. So the election would be fruitless, if not meaningless.

Hor Namhong vs. Sam Rainsy, Defamation vs. Crimes Against Humanity?

Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Editorial by Khmerization
Originally posted at http://khmerization.blogspot.com

“For the sake of political stability and a smooth election, both sides should reach out to each other and come to an amicable truce. Some sorts of a reconciliation gesture from either side is a good start. Hor Namhong should drop the defamation suit against Sam Rainsy unconditionally and in turn, Sam Rainsy should reciprocate with some sorts of a reconciliation statement.”

The legal wrangling involving Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong and opposition leader Sam Rainsy has deepened when Sam Rainsy decided that he will counter sue Hor Namhong in the Khmer Rouge Tribunal for crimes against humanity, if the latter did not drop the defamation suit against him. Hor Namhong has demanded an apology from Sam Rainsy before he will agree to drop the suit. And Sam Rainsy has refused flat out, saying that he did not defame Hor Namhong. Both sides to this petty legal dispute seemed determined to fight to the death, and there seemed to be no turning back in the slightest from either side.(Read about Sam Rainsy’s plans to sue Hor Namhong here).

Sam Rainsy’s decision to counter sue Hor Namhong in the KR Tribunal seemed to suggest that he did not have any confidence in the Cambodian court. Sam Rainsy did not believe that he has any chance against Hor Namhong in the Cambodian courts which are at the disposal of Hor Namhong’s Cambodian People’s Party.

News that Sam Rainsy plans to counter sue Hor Namhong in the Khmer Rouge Tribunal has dampened any chance of reconciliation. On the contrary, it has re-enforced the belief that Sam Rainsy has no plan to surrender to Hor Namhong’s demand of an apology. In fact, seeing the way that Sam Rainsy has positioned himself, one can assume that he wanted to tackle Hor Namhong head on, while the KR Tribunal is still in full operation and making great efforts to try ex-KR leaders, the likes of Hor Namhong. He is making good use of this court while there are still living witnesses and survivors of the Boeng Trabek Prison who could testify against Hor Namhong for crimes against humanity.

For the sake of political stability and a smooth election, both sides should reach out to each other and come to an amicable truce. Some sorts of a reconciliation gesture from either side is a good start. Hor Namhong should drop the defamation suit against Sam Rainsy unconditionally and in turn, Sam Rainsy should reciprocate with some sorts of a reconciliation statement. An apology should not be demanded because to force someone to apologise for simply exercising one’s own freedom of speech would be tantamount to a call for submission to his political opponent. And that will never happen. Not from Sam Rainsy nor anyone who is simply exercising his/her own freedom of speech.

A fight to the death in this petty case will serve no purpose to any one party. Both sides have a lot to lose. Sam Rainsy will surely lose the case against Hor Namhong, as the court is controlled by the latter. Hor Namhong will have a lot to lose if Sam Rainsy and other victims of the Boeng Trabek Prison lodge civil or criminal suits against him in the KR Tribunal. A lot of previously unseen testimonies and evidences of Hor Namhong’s complicities and crimes during his tenure as director of Boeng Trabek Prison will be unearthed and come to light. When proof and the onus is beyond reasonable doubt against Hor Namhong are in the public domain, the KR Tribunal might be forced to act against Hor Namhong. This is not a very good scenario for both of them and they should back off from a show down.

In the end, both sides will emerge from this fight bruised and tainted. It is in the best interests of their future political career and their family honour that they make a compromise and call a truce. This is my advice.
---------
1. To read previous Khmerization editorial about Hor Namhong vs. Sam Rainsy click here.
2. To read about the Boeng Trabek Prison survivors' accounts click here.

Hun Sen: Sdech Korn or Sdech Kon, A Clownish Theatrical King Who Could Topple the Monarchy One Day

A statue of Sdach Korn (Photo: Koh Santepheap)

Monday, April 28, 2008
Editorial by Khmerization
On the web at http://khmerization.blogspot.com

“By constantly comparing himself to Sdech Korn, a usurper who assassinated the king and enthroned himself, Mr. Hun Sen has put all members of the royal family, and especially the monarchy, on notice that he could be that modern day Sdech Korn. And Hun Sen’s bitter rivalry with Prince Ranariddh has made that scenario a real possibility.”

The not so sweet, and sometimes bitter political exchanges, between Prime Minister Hun Sen and Prince Norodom Ranariddh, once political bedfellows, has seen their on-again, off-again political relationships evolved into a royal-bashing. Hun Sen and Ranariddh have, once, enjoyed a short but turbulent political relationship. Their political union, as they were unlikely political bedfellows from the start, has led to a bloody street fighting which led to irreversible political competition until today. And that competition had led to a political and personal rivalry which has become an issue of Mr. Hun Sen versus all members of the royal family and, ultimately, it has pitted Mr. Hun Sen against the monarchy. (Read Hun Sen’s speech attacking the monarchy).

By constantly comparing himself to Sdech Korn, a usurper who assassinated the king and enthroned himself, Mr. Hun Sen has put all members of the royal family, and especially the monarchy, on notice that he could be that modern day Sdech Korn. And Hun Sen’s bitter rivalry with Prince Ranariddh has made that scenario a real possibility.

Up until today, the personal dispute of these two, if anything at all, have become a national distraction that no one wants to see. It has become so bitter that Prime Minister Hun Sen has devoted all his energy, paid time and state resources, the likes of national TV’s and Radio’s, to vehemently and constantly attacking his princely nemesis.

The political and personal bickering between these two clowns, one an autocratic strongman of peasant origin and the other is a princely lame duck politician, has put national reconciliation at risks and created conditions not conducive to the holding of a free and fair election. If he wanted to be hailed as a true winner, Mr Hun Sen must compete with an equal footing. He must allow, not just Prince Ranariddh, but all Khmer citizens, to participate in the election process without prejudices.

The Hun Sen-Ranariddh animosity derived from a trivial personal and political differences between an egotistical person with an arrogant attitude and a bully personality and a princely political leader who need to be led. Their argument is childish and is a non-issue. Their bickering has done nothing to advance anyone’s interests. And therefore, Mr. Hun Sen should stop. Instead, he should devote his full energy, paid time and state resources to solve the problems facing the nation and today’s voters, and that is to curb the high costs of living and the soaring prices of goods and the issue of Cambodia’s territorial integrity.

This bitter war of words, if not restrained, can cause a political instability and lead to an unstable government and, to a certain extent, the throne. And that will be a bad premonition for Cambodia. History has shown that the destabilisation of the government and the throne had led to devastating consequences which brought wars and misery. Cambodia had enough of these and I appeal to both of them, Prime Minister Hun Sen in particular, to stop the bickering.

And for the sake of the nation, the people, peace and political stability, to both of them, I say: Enough is enough. Enough of blood and tears.

Khmer Lands Lost to Thailand: Cambodia Must Be Firm on the Issue of Preah Vihear

Click on picture to enlarge (Map courtesy of Mr. Thhai Makarar)

Friday, April 25, 2008

“Cambodia should not accept anything less than the areas’ pre-1958 boundaries, before Preah Vihear temple was occupied by Thailand, or what was judged by the court in The Hague in 1962.”

Editorial by Khmerization
On the web at http://khmerization.blogspot.com

It is with great sadness to hear that the issue of the Preah Vhihear Temple has not been put to rest and still drag on, 46 years after the dispute has been judged and presumed settled in the International Court of Justice in The Hague (read about the upcoming negotiation in Paris).

It is even with great sadness to view a map showing that the areas surrounding the Preah Vihear Temple had been encroached significantly by the Thai side since 1954 (see attached map and read related article here). The map itself confirmed the suspicions and established views that the areas had been significantly encroached by the Thai side. In fact, as shown in the map, Thailand had undeniably encroached deep inside Cambodia.

Viewing the attached map, one has a sense that Cambodia had been eternally violated and repeatedly raped by our powerful neighbours. Cambodia’s territorial boundaries, both east and west, have shrunk by the day and it seemed that our present government had not done enough to protect our territorial integrity. I hope our leaders, in particular Prime Minister Hun Sen, will wake up to the fact.

It is a concern also that the Cambodian delegation to the upcoming Paris talks would be pressured to accept the Thai demands. Thailand originally proposed that Preah Vihear should be jointly listed or that Cambodia must cede some disputed surrounding territories to Thailand before it stops blocking Cambodia‘s application to list the temple.

Cambodia should not accept anything less than the areas’ pre-1958 boundaries, before Preah Vihear temple was occupied by Thailand, or what was judged by the court in The Hague in 1962. With proof of the Thai encroachments in hands, the Cambodian delegation to the Paris negotiation should not be complacent, must be forceful, must be well equipped and well prepared to present Cambodia’s case concisely with documented evidence and concrete proof that the surrounding areas around Preah Vihear Temple are Cambodian territories and that Cambodia has every right to list them on the World Heritage List without any interferences from Thailand.

Cambodia should not be intimidated in to use a 2002 agreement signed with Thailand. Cambodia must be firm and proof and documents to use in the negotiation must be maps from the 1907 treaty, maps from the 1950s and 1960s, or maps that were deposited at the United Nations before 1970. To agree to use maps from the 2002 agreement with Thailand would be a surrender of our territorial integrity to Thailand. And that would be a tragedy for Cambodia.

Hun Sen Threatens With War, If He Loses the Election?

Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Editorial by Khmerization
Originally posted at http://khmerization.blogspot.com

Click here to listen to the Khmer audio

“Pressuring businesspeople to help is not a good measure to ease economic problems because those businesspeople, once they have spent their fortunes, would want to recover them back through corrupt favours. A cycle of corruption would ensue, causing a vicious cycle and a catch-22 situation.”

War! This a message from Mr. Hun Sen, if he loses the election. Mr Hun Sen sounded a little bit desperate when he made a speech to a forum of businesspeople recently in Phnom Penh appealing for their supports. The PM seemed to invoke fears among businesspeople and voters that if he loses the election there will be war. Point blank, he is sending a message to those businesspeople, the oppositions, the voters and the international community that he will wage a war if he loses the election (read his speech here).

Facing with economic woes, wage pressures from public servants and high inflation which surely will cause voters’ back clash, Mr. Hun Sen has been cornered and pelted from every direction. As history has shown in the past, when cornered, he has never been hesitant in using force to gain the upper hand.

While I welcome his appeal for help from the businesspeople, I do sense that his appeal is invoked with vitriolic, pressures and fears, both to those businesspeople and the voters. His appeal seemed not aimed at asking the businesspeople to assist the economy in general, but it was rather aimed at helping him and his Cambodian People’s Party to win the upcoming election. Pressuring businesspeople to help is not a good measure to ease economic problems because those businesspeople, once they have spent their fortunes, would want to recover them back through corrupt favours. A cycle of corruption would ensue, causing a vicious cycle and a catch-22 situation.

Mr Hun Sen’s supporters might think that what I am writing here is full of diatribes and rhetoric. But they have to agree with me that, with the Khmer Rouge being neutralised and incapacitated, the leader of the Cambodian Freedom Fighters being jailed in a foreign land and the oppositions having no army, who will wage a war, but Mr. Hun Sen himself.

With such a fiery speech coming out of Mr. Hun Sen’s mouth, whose recalcitrance and obstinacy is well known, one would conclude that his speech is a clear indication yet that, no matter what, win or lose, he will probably employ a Mugabe-style of clinging to power. I hope my prediction is wrong.

The Government Must Increase Teachers’ Salary

Monday, April 21, 2008
Editorial by Khmerization
Originally posted at http://khmerization.blogspot.com

“The teachers are the vanguards of Cambodia’s progress and prosperity. Good salary attracts good and bright students to enter the field of teaching. This will lead to quality education which would then lead to producing quality graduates to serve Cambodia.”

The skyrocketing of the price of goods and the soaring price of fuel have put a strain on many battlers, who are striving to make ends meet in the face of low wages, high costs of living and limited opportunity. The demands by the Cambodian Independent Teachers Association for their pay increases on par with the inflation index is not unreasonable and the government must not ignore their demands (read about the teachers' demands here).

The teachers are the educators of our future generations and the next leaders of Cambodia. It is imperative that the government realise about their importance and look after them well so that they can put 100% commitment to groom our next generations of leaders. By saying this, I appeal to the government to meet their demands and increase their salary.

The teachers are the vanguards of Cambodia’s progress and prosperity. Good salary attracts good and bright students to enter the field of teaching. This will lead to quality education which would then lead to producing quality graduates to serve Cambodia.

During the Sangkum Reastr Niyum and, to a certain extent, the Khmer Republic regime, teachers were held in high regard and their salaries were the best among the public servants. They were the most incorrupt people in the land. Teaching, then, was the most respectable profession and everywhere they went people respected them.

Today’s teachers are among the most hated people in the land, not because they are bad by nature, but they are corrupt by circumstances and by faults of government. While prices of commodities have risen to record high, the government is still refusing their repeated demands for pay increases. With their meagre salary, coupled with skyrocketing prices of commodities, the temptation to commit corruption are too hard to resist. As a result, many teachers have immorally pressurised their students to attend their outside of school hour classes and charge them extortionate amount for private lessons.

The government has repeatedly refused the teachers’ demands for pay-rises, using the pretext that the government simply does not have the money to fund their pay increases. This is simply not true. The money to fund the teachers’ pay-rises can be found by eliminating corruption. All lost incomes through corruption from illegal logging, land concessions, Angkor Wat ticketing concessions, the sales of state properties, which the World Bank has estimated to have cost Cambodia’s national budget to the tune of US$500 million per year, would be more than enough to fund the pay increases, if they are collected and deposited in the state treasury, instead of going to the pockets of the corrupt officials.

The national budget can be saved further with the streamlining of government’s unnecessary appointments. The government can further save millions of dollars if the thousands of Hun Sen’s shadowy advisors are struck off the government’s payrolls.

In the past three governments post-UNTAC, the governments have never reduced governments’ appointments in order to save money. Instead, the governments have consistently made many unnecessary appointments to further strengthen their grips on power at the expense of the hapless and lowly paid public servants, such as the teachers. This is an act of corruptly squandering national budget for one’s own political interests.

One would hope that the next government would cut the inflated and unnecessary appointments so that money can be saved to fund the pay-rises for low-ranking public servants such as the teachers, the police and the army. I hope.

A Political Comeback of the Lon Nol Clan?

Sunday, April 20, 2008
Editorial by Khmerization
Originally posted at http://khmerization.blogspot.com

“whether I think he is a promising politician or a lame duck one, I welcome him to the political arena and wish him all the best and good luck in the upcoming election. I hope he can restore the name of his father and prove his critics, the likes of me, wrong. Good luck!”

Lon Rith's not so triumphant return to Cambodia on the 20th of April has spiced up the Cambodian political landscape and further complicated the Cambodian political jigsaw. With over 57 registered political parties in the electoral rolls already, Lon Rith’s new Khmer Republican Party has surely added headaches to the already confused minds of the Cambodian voters (read the report of his return here).

Lon Rith, the son of the Khmer Republic regime President Lon Nol, has no political experience and attained very little education, both in Khmer and in English. As a political novice and untested politician, his entrance to the political boxing ring, would not stir up any interests from the public and media, if it wasn’t for the name of his republican father. Whether his political venture would see the return of the once revered, and sometimes reviled, regime presided over by his not so politically astute father, remains to be seen. To many seasoned political observers, the chance is a distant possibility.

News coming out of Long Beach, California, is not so promising for his would-be followers and, to a large degree, not so assuring for his political venture. People who knew him described him as a drunkard and a high school drop out who likes to hang out with his other alcoholic friends. Coupled with his taste of flamboyant and playboy lifestyle, as seen in the pictures, he is seen as not a serious politician but rather as another amateurish and opportunistic politician who is trying to cash out on his father’s legacy.

As a son of a once devout Buddhist leader, one would hope that he would adhere to his father’s strong anti-Communist ideas and would not use his newly created Khmer Republican Party as a stepping stone to join Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party by following the footsteps of his father‘s ex-colleagues the likes of Sek Sam Iet and Chhang Song etc.. Winning or losing the upcoming 27th July election, one would hope that he will not betray his father’s ideals by joining the Communists.

As he is from the democratic camp, and I presumed him to be a fierce anti-Communist like me, whether I think he is a promising politician or a lame duck one, I welcome him to the political arena and wish him all the best and good luck in the upcoming election. I hope he can restore the name of his father and prove his critics, the likes of me, wrong. Good luck!

International Community Must Rein Down Hun Sen

Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Editorial by Khmerization
Originally posted at http://khmerization.blogspot.com/

“The international community, especially the donor countries, must use their aid and political leverage to rein down Hun Sen. If he is allowed a free rein then he will be unstoppable.”

The events in the Cambodian political landscape in the last few days don’t look promising for a free and fair election. It is looking even unimaginable for a smooth transition, if the opposition wins. In fact it is looking uglier by the day (read the links below).

First comes the surprised and the CPP-facilitated defection of the publisher of the pro-opposition Sralanh Khmer newspaper, Thach Ket. And starting from the 16th, with the arrests of the Sam Rainsy Party officials, namely Tout Sarorn, Huor Sarath and Men Vannak, which was aided and abetted by the once champion of democracy turned a political monster, Sok Pheng, who now is probably the most hated man in the Sam Rainsy Party, the balance of the political landscape is swiftly tipping.

Here, we see that Prime Minister Hun Sen is preaching one thing and is actually practising another thing. Case in point, the prime minister has appealed to his Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) members not to engage in political violence and intimidation but with his order to Sok Pheng to orchestrate the arrests of the above-mentioned Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) officials, proved that the PM did not mean what he said and is not sincere in his appeals.

While the charges of kidnapping against the above-named SRP officials was not convincing, one must remember that Hun Sen had used these tricks successfully many times before. In the rightful mind of any rational persons, what the officials did was what any reasonable persons would have done- and that is to help a colleague, in this case is Mrs Tim Norn, find a sanctuary from the possible malicious revenge attacks from the CPP for her double-crossing them.

The trouble came for Mrs. Tim Norn when she defected to the CPP along with Sok Pheng. Later she was given $200 by Sok Pheng and his wife to entice more potential defectors from the SRP. She was not successful is doing so and by spending all the $200 given by Sok Pheng’s wife without having successfully done the job, she wanted to return to the SRP and began to fear for reprisal. Fearing for her life that Sok Pheng and his CPP death squad might do to her she asked the three SRP officials mentioned above to help her escape a possible assassination. That was when her ordeal begun and so the arrests of the three officials.

I feel very sad for Sok Pheng, who was once, as I mentioned earlier, a champion of democracy. It is unimaginable that such a fine young politician had turned into a political monster deserving condemnation in the strongest term. He had not only sold himself out to the CPP but he had also sold out his wife to become a CPP monster in which the CPP will use as a political tool to conduct a political witch hunt against his former colleagues from the SRP. This is a really cheap politics by any standard.

Coming back to the accusations against the three SRP officials, it doesn‘t need to take a genius to see that the charges are invented and politically motivated. In a full functional democracy Sok Pheng and Hun Sen will be charged with interfering in the democratic process by forcing someone, in this case Mrs. Tim Norn, to join the CPP against their will.

With the political trends moving toward a tense political atmosphere, the promise that the election will be free and fair is a remote possibility and is looking grim by the day. Hun Sen’s appeals for his supporters not to engage in political intimidation and violence is just a window dressing designed for political and diplomatic consumption to hypnotise the international community. The international community, especially the donor countries, must use their aid and political leverage to rein down Hun Sen. If he is allowed a free rein then he will be unstoppable.
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Related articles:
http://khmerization.blogspot.com/2008/03/attack-against-sam-rainsy-party-today.html
http://ki-media.blogspot.com/2008/03/srp-kampong-thom-authority-must-release.html
http://ki-media.blogspot.com/2008/03/defector-sok-phengs-wife-political.html

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.

We need “CHANGE”

Border demarcation without independent observers' verification

Eviction from Sambok Chap (Photo: AFP)

Violence used during illegal land eviction (Photo: Licadho)

Police kicking Khmer Krom Monk (Photo: Licadho)

09 March 2008
Editorial by Ly Diep
Angkor Borey – Khmer Voice Overseas
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

Click here to read the editorial in Khmer

Even though we were flotsam and jetsam who came to live happily, peacefully and with dignity on these lands, we cannot close our eyes to the suffering of our compatriots in Cambodia.

Our compatriots’ suffering is ours. If our compatriots are beaten up, we also feel their pains, if monks’ heads are beaten up, our heads also bleed like theirs. In summary, we cannot cut the common bond that links us together, nor can we ignore their appeal for help.

Therefore, whatever we can accomplish, we must undertake it based on our own capacity: those who are wealthy should help according to their wealth, whereas those who are poor, should help according to their means. We cannot remain still, nor can we only look to find faults from those who are taking actions.

The actions that overseas Cambodians can undertake are: (1) condemnation of the Cambodian government leaders, and (2) request for interventions from our host countries. Beyond these actions, we can also collect funds to help our compatriots who are suffering inside Cambodia.

The more we can help, the better our conscience would be as well, because we can consider our action as a good deed accomplished for the land which gave us our birth, even though the beneficiaries of our action are not directly related to us.

Writing petitions, holding demonstrations, protesting do not mean that “Cambodians are fighting each others,” that they are stupidly warring or inflicting wounds against each others. We are taking these actions in order to voice our displeasure against the Cambodian leaders for the policy they are currently adopting in Cambodia.

We have all seen and heard the image and the proofs of the actions undertaken by the Cambodian government from reports published by Global Witness, by Amnesty International, by Mr. Yash Ghai, the UN Special Envoy for Human Rights in Cambodia, and by local and international NGOs … Through these reports, we have seen and heard them all, and none of the issues (faced by Cambodia) have been left out.

Our compatriots inside the country live in misery, some have to take their shower during night time only, while others have to sell their children in exchange for rice and medicines, and to support their livelihood.

Without rice to eat, without shelters to live in, without land to cultivate, without cattle … what can they depend on? Cambodians by the hundreds of thousands are turned into “beggars” in neighboring countries, such as Vietnam and Thailand. If one were to meet a beggar carrying a small child, or dragging along a small child, in a market in Ho Chi Minh City or in Bangkok, one can be assured that this beggar is Cambodian, and that he/she is surely one of our compatriots. How could we not pity them?

Furthermore, if we were to focus on the policy adopted by the Hun Sen regime towards our neighboring countries, especially towards Vietnam, we can see many major mistakes committed: giving out portions of Cambodia’s territory to Vietnam through the Supplemental Border Treaties; the opening of Cambodia borders to Vietnamese migrants (who number close to 5 million now) to come and illegally settle in Cambodia; the formation of the Triangle commercial zone which is nothing more than putting into practice Ho Chi Minh’s “Indochinese Federation” doctrine through the absorption of Laos and Cambodia; the oppression perpetrated against Khmer Krom people, such as the defrocking of a Khmer Krom monk and handing him over to Vietnam to be jailed there; the putting down of Khmer Krom monks who only wanted to hand over their petition to the Vietnamese embassy in Phnom Penh (Would it be wrong if a Vietnamese embassy secretary come out and accept this petition? Whether Vietnam would follow suit to the demands in the petition or not, these Khmer Krom monks would have no saying), however, the Hun Sen regime chose to use violent and savage force against these monks – an action never before seen in the history of Cambodia’s politics – and only the traitors of the Nation would be able to undertake, for example during the handing over of Mr. Son Kuy to the Vietnamese to be decapitated.

From overseas, I (Ly Diep), personally, call on all our compatriots, and in particular on our Khmer Krom brothers and sisters, to please stop your demonstrations against this savage government, because they can lead to fatal accidents and injuries. Instead, our compatriots must adopt a new strategy by rising up, in as large number as possible, to go to vote in the upcoming election to kick out all these incompetent leaders (who are lackeys of the Vietnamese, who are corrupt, and who are dictatorial) out of power at all cost. There are more than one million Khmer Krom people living in Cambodia, why are you not using this weapon to oppose the current Vietnamese puppet government?

For our compatriots living overseas, we must accomplish our duties in our host countries by preventing Hun Sen’s group from shedding their influence, and we must unite with our compatriots living inside the country to bring about this “change” for our motherland.

Our compatriots have the choice between two democratic parties: the Sam Rainsy Party and the Human Rights Party, you can vote for either one of them. I am confident that, even though there is no agreement (between these two parties) yet, but they can still work with each other at the National Assembly, or they can merge with each other in the future, because they all are “nationalist” after all.

Please don’t remain quiet! Please rise up altogether one more time!

Bravo the Nationalist Cambodians!

We need an urgent “CHANGE”!

Mr. Hun Sen: Resign or Not to Resign?

Friday, March 7, 2008
Editorial by Khmerization
Originally posted at http://khmerization.blogspot.com

"One can only lie once. If one lied too many times over, then that person is no different to a prostitute who claimed to be a virgin. The person who made the claims will no longer be credible anymore."

I welcome Prime Minister Hun Sen’s appeal for all political parties, including his own Cambodian People’s Party, not to engage in political violence and intimidations, before and during the upcoming election. I also welcome his promise to step down if he loses the election (read the article that follows).

But it is hard to know if his appeal is genuine or deceptively made in his political posturing designed to fool the opposition parties and the international community, including the donor countries.

With past experiences, it is almost inconceivable to imagine an election free of violence and intimidations. In hindsight, it is also inconceivable for anyone to have any faith at all in Mr. Hun Sen’s many broken promises.

Political violence and intimidations, pre- and post-election, were often orchestrated and perpetrated by Mr. Hun Sen's own Cambodian People's Party. It is rather cynical and hypocritical of the Mr. Hun Sen to naively go to great length in order to try to con and fool public opinion. But, with his public appeal, the political tension will ease and the opposition parties will undoubtedly have a peace of mind. But whether his appeal will have any effectiveness at all remains to be seen.

Cambodians had been through the election two times post-UNTAC, with every election violently contested and spuriously claimed by the oppositions as fraudulently rigged.
Cambodians had also heard Mr. Hun Sen’s broken promises all before. Whether his promise this time is anything difference from his previous promises is anyone’s bet. But, mind you, I will not bet on his promises.

Mr. Hun Sen could have resigned after the 1998 and 2003 elections when the oppositions didn’t want him as the prime minister. He could have stepped down and offered the PM post to one of his CPP colleagues, the likes of Mr. Sar Kheng, Sok An, Tea Banh, Chea Sim and Heng Samrin and so on. The fact that he fought bitterly so hard to remain in that post, including the arrest and exiling of Mr. Chea Sim, the president of Mr. Hun Sen’s own Cambodian People’s Party in 2003, proved that Mr. Hun Sen will cling to power at all cost.

The lists of his broken promises go on and on. Mr. Hun Sen had promised to resign if he cannot eliminate illegal logging. Not only that the illegal logging had not been contained, but it continued and continued with the maximum willing participation of Mr. Hun Sen, as reported by Global Witness in the Cambodia’s Family Tree report. He promised to step down if he cannot curb official corruption but it continues. He promised to resign if he cannot stop hoodlums. Again, the lists go on and on.

One can only lie once. If one lied too many times over, then that person is no different to a prostitute who claimed to be a virgin. The person who made the claims will no longer be credible anymore. This time I will give Mr. Hun Sen the benefit of the doubt. But Mr. Hun Sen has to earn my trust if his promise this time is to have any credibility and trustworthiness at all.

Defections: Will They Break Up the Sam Rainsy Party?

Friday, February 15, 2008
Editorial by Khmerization
Originally posted at: http://khmerization.blogspot.com/

"If one is escaping from a tiger’s claws into a shark’s jaw, then it is not escaping, is it? This is running into a death trap."

Last time I might have been a little bit too harsh with the defectors by describing them as political prostitutes. This time (read article here) I will be a little bit more understanding with their actions to just call them political opportunists. I do sympathise with their decisions to leave the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP). They left due to the facts that they had lost the support and the confidence of the SRP leadership and hence was not able to secure a position as an MP on the electoral ballot. However, I do not, for one moment, sympathise with the reasons that they are leaving the SRP because the SRP is “dictatorial” and “the party’s leadership was against the democratic principle”. These reasons cannot be allowed to go unchallenged. If one is escaping from a tiger’s claws into a shark’s jaw, then it is not escaping, is it? This is running into a death trap. By the same token, if these defectors think that the SRP is “dictatorial” and anti-democratic then they should know that the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) must be tyrannical and communistic in nature and form. So their reasons are not to be believed. And their reasons for defecting is pure and simple: political opportunism to seek personal fortunes.

If their reasons for defections are to be believed one must ask why are they defecting from one “dictatorial” party to another “dictatorial” party? Why didn’t they defect from a “dictatorial" party to a “democratic” party like the Human Right Party or the Norodom Ranariddh Party or even the Funcinpec Party, if these parties are as democratic as they have claimed? Simple: these parties cannot provide them with any plum jobs.

On the SRP’s side, one has to ask what went wrong. We know the SRP are going through internal reforms to maximise its electoral chances by giving active, competent and popular members an opportunity to move up the political ladder and demoting inactive and incompetent members. As a result of these internal reforms some members are demoted and hence cry foul. In response to this kind of political backlash from demoted members, the SRP leadership must have a mechanism in which it can provide some comforts to dissatisfied demoted members that they are still wanted and will be rewarded later.

I still strongly believe that the SRP is still strong and will be strengthened further, even after such widespread defections. These defections will not weaken and destabilise the SRP leadership. But the continuing defections, if allowed to go on and not addressed, will pose a real threat to the party’s image- bad publicity. With election looming in the corner, the SRP cannot afford to have bad image and bad publicity. Psychology is very important. Presenting a united image of the party to the voters is imperative in attracting supports which can translate into votes.

On the other hand, the CPP knew full well that these defections will not boost their votes nor will they bring more supporters with them. The CPP knew full well that these defections are only symbolic and a psychological warfare only. The CPP’s aims in facilitating the defections are to destabilise and to crack the SRP leadership, like they have done with the Funcinpec Party and the Son Sann Party. But with the SRP, their aims will not succeed. It will only strengthen the party's resolve. I strongly believe so.

Political Prostitutes: From championing for the victims' cause to serving the oppressors, the defectors claim that their former parties are no good

Monday, February 11, 2008
Editorial by Khmerization
Originally posted at:
http://khmerization.blogspot.com/2008/02/political-prostitues-from-championing.html

"The hypocrisy and the behaviour of such people are no different from the prostitutes- in fact they are political prostitutes......Political prostitution is the cheapest profession that should be avoided."

The three defectors, Ahmed Yahya, Sok Pheng and Ngor Sovann, reported in the article below have shamed themselves and their families. While purporting to enter politics for the cause of the nation and that of the poor people's, they now have joined the very people whom they have accused of being the nation's destroyers. They joined the devils to seek personal fortunes because they have lost the confidence of their party colleagues. They have sold out their soul and betrayed the very ideals and the very people that they have purported to represent. The hypocrisy and the behaviour of such people are no different from the prostitutes- in fact they are political prostitutes. But such people are worst than prostitutes because prostitutes are only selling their bodies but these kinds of politicians are people who are unashamedly prostituting their souls and political ideals. Political prostitution is the cheapest profession that should be avoided. In the West people never deserted their parties to defect to another party when they got upset with their colleagues or faced internal discipline. They just leave the party and retire quietly.

Ahmed Yahya was once a champion of democracy and the poor people. After the 1997 coup he lied low and seemed to resign to his fate as a political lame duck. When he joined the Sam Rainsy Party after the 2003 election he had become some sort of a political dead meat- very inactive. Sok Pheng is a young rising star in the Sam Rainsy Party. He had championed many causes. So it is regrettable to see such a fine young politician had turned into some sort of a cheap political tool of a party he once strongly opposed.

I believe strongly that after these many defections the Sam Rainsy Party will rise to its strongest position ever, because the defections of such people would leave rooms for grassroots people to move in. Also such defections would mean that the Sam Rainsy Party have gotten rid of the spies and traitors. Giving grassroots people an opportunity to actively participate in the democratic process and getting rid of the party's traitors would sure improve the party's image.

The sorry state of Cambodian politics is that one can only see one way of defections- and that is from the opposition parties to the ruling Cambodian People's Party(CPP). This is because the opposition parties are democratic parties whereby their members are free to move to any parties without fearing for their life. On the other hand, those from the CPP who wanted to defect to the opposition parties didn't dare to do so because if they do they will pay with their life.

Coming back to the three defectors, one would want to wish them good luck. But the fact is that they would regret it because the communist CPP would never trust them to give them any important positions of authority. Many defectors before them such as Hor Sopheap, Phy Thach and many more have returned back to the Sam Rainsy Party after languishing in the political wilderness for nearly four years without getting any reward or plum jobs. I just wish that these three defectors would not come back to knock on Sam Rainsy's door after being trashed by the CPP when it no longer needed them.