Hun Sen: Celebrating the 1991 Paris Peace Accords is meaningless

12 Jan 2009
KI-Media

On Saturday 10 January 2008, at a bridge inauguration in Pursat, Hun Sen announced that celebrating the anniversary of the 23 October 1991 Paris Peace Accords on Cambodia cannot be done as Cambodia has too many holidays already. While several opposition parties have requested the celebration of this event rather than the celebration of 07 January, Hun Sen was quoted by The Cambodia Daily as saying: “People want to celebrate 23 October, but I said that it is meaningless.” Claiming that Cambodia has too many holidays already (currently there are 25 national holydays in Cambodia), Hun Sen claimed that investors will not come to Cambodia if there are too many holidays. Hun Sen also indicated that when the opposition parties lead the government then they can do away with the 07 January celebration. Opposition leader Sam Rainsy said that Hun Sen refuses to mark the Paris Peace Accords anniversary because the CPP lost the 1993 national election which resulted from the Paris Peace Accords.

Independence or Paris?

Monday, 27 October 2008
Written by Sophan Seng
Letter to The Phnom Penh Post

Dear Editor,

I am dismayed by the government's rehearsal for the national independence celebration (‘Bigger and better' Independence Day, October 23). Of course, Cambodia's Independence Day on November 9 is important as Cambodia gained full freedom from the French on that day, but I believe the Paris Peace Agreement on October 23 is equally important.

October 23 is considered a renaissance for Cambodia in both economic and political terms. Though Cambodia has encountered problems in terms of fully implementing the chapters of the treaty, the path to democracy in Cambodia lies in the treaty's stipulations.

While we already have full independence, Cambodia's political upheavals will end and its democracy will become genuine when it fully adheres to the October 23 Paris Peace Agreement. I would like to suggest that all Cambodian people and political parties remember the significance of this very important day. Political dogmas aside, October 23 should be celebrated and commemorated equally to national Independence Day on November 9.

Sophan Seng
PhD student in political science
University of Hawaii at Manoa