Gen. Kun Kim: No more removals of military leaders, but there will be some reshuffles

Kampuchea Thmey newspaper
29th January, 2009
Reported in English by Khmerizaton

Since the sacking of Gen. Ke Kimyan as the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) and the sacking of Gen. Chhin Chanpor as the Deputy Commander of the Military Police, there are rumours that there will be more sackings.

Ge. Kum Kim (pictured), Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the RCAF, said that there is no further removals of any military leaders from their current positions. He added that the rumours are intended to cause anxiety in the military.

Gen. Kun Kim told Reaksmei Kampuchea that the removals of Gen. Ke Kimyan and Gen. Chhin Chanpor is just the beginning of a military reform. There will be no more removals of any military leaders, but there will be some reshuffles in accordance with the military reforms carried out by the new government.

Gen. Kun Kim said that these sorts of rumours have caused nervousness in the military. He said that the rumour are not true.

According to sources, Gen. Chhoeun Chanthorn alias Mao, commander of a bodyguard unit, has been sacked. But Gen. Kun Kim said that there is no sacking yet, but he added that there will be further reforms in the bodyguard unit as well in order to reduce the numbers of bodyguards. But sources from the Interior Ministry said that all bloated bodyguard units will be cut down.

Sources said that, under the new government, all bodyguards will not be allowed to have dual roles. In the past, some bodyguards use their bodyguard roles to intimidate other people for personal interests.

In another development, sources from the Defence Ministry said that Gen. Huy Pisith, Deputy Chief of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cabinet, has been appointed as the Under-Secretary of State of Defence on top of his current role.

The transfer of power from Gen. Ke Kimyan to Gen. Pol Saroeun

Gen. Tea Banh (L) presented the RCAF's stamp to Gen. Pol Saroeun (R) while Gen. Ke Kimyan watched on in the background.

Koh Santepheap Newspaper
26th January, 2009
Reported in English by Khmerization

The transfer of power from Gen. Kimyan to Gen. Pol Saroeun was held in a ceremony presided over by Gen. Tea Banh, Minister of Defence, at the Defence Ministry on the morning of 24th January, 2009.

Gen. Ke Kimyan was sacked as Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) by Prime Minister Hun Sen on 22nd January and Gen. Pol Saroeun was appointed in his place.

Gen. Ke Kimyan attended the ceremony and has mingled with the crowd happily.

During the ceremony. Gen. Ke Kimyan presented the stamp of the Commander-in-Chief of the RCAF to Minister of Defence Gen. Tea Banh and Gen. Tea Banh in turn presented the stamp to Gen. Pol Saroeun.

After the stamp presentation ceremony, Gen. Ke Kimyan has asked to make a speech. In his speech he has detailed briefly about the history of his services to the national army. He said that he has served the army for 29 years.

Gen. Ke Kimyan stated that he "is not surprised or worried (about his sacking) because this is a duty of the royal government". He also thanked Prime Minister Hun Sen for allowing him to serve in the army for such a long time.

Gen, Ke Kimyan added that "this (his removal) is a normal reshuffle and I have served in the army for more than 29 years already". Gen. Ke Kimyan added that 6 months ago he has asked Prime Minister Hun Sen to allow him to resign from his position as the Commander-in-Chief to make way for the younger generation. He said that his request to resign was due to health reasons and because he cannot endure his job any longer.

He added that "the termination of my job is a joy for me. Truly, in the past, the termination of someone's position in this way, the sacked individual has probably not dared to show face in the public like what I've done today. But for me, to show face in the public is a normal thing because I wanted to transfer power to my replacement".

At the end of his speech, Gen. Ke Kimyan has asked the public to forgive him for his past wrongdoings because he said that no one is perfect, all people is prone to make mistakes in their entire life.

Finally, he said that "nothing is strange in this transfer of power. I am happy to depart to make way for the new generation to continue my works".

Defence Minister Tea Banh, in his speech, said that this is a routine military reshuffle and the removal of Gen. Ke Kimyan is done in accordance with a military reform.

Gen. Pol Saroeun, the new Commander-in-Chief of the RCAF, has stated that he is determined to resolutely protect the constitution and resolutely follow the policies of the royal government for the rebuilding and the protection of the Cambodian motherland, especially the protection of Cambodian territorial integrity and borders. He added that he is determined to serve and protect the nation, protect the constitution and to always follow the policies of the royal government.

At the end of the ceremony, a royal decree to terminate Gen. Chhin Chanpor from his position as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Military Police was read out.
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1. Read related article "Hun Sen's Political Purges" here.

Hun Sen’s Political Purges

26th January, 2009
Opinion by Khmerization

“Gen. Ke Kimyan has to be sacked, not because of his impropriety, but rather because of Mr. Hun Sen’s insatiable thirst for a political conquest through purges of political opponents and rivals in his quest for a political supremacy.”

Mr. Hun Sen’s insatiable thirst for a political supremacy has turned him into a political animal. His journey toward a political conquest has turned into a political witch hunt reminiscent of the purges carried out by Pol Pot from 1975-1979, by Mao Tse-tung during the Chinese Cultural Revolution in 1966, by Stalin in the Soviet Union in the 1950s, or during Hitler’s purges against his potential enemies in the late 1930s and 1940s. Mr. Hun Sen is journeying into a dangerous political minefield.

Mr. Hun Sen’s current political manoeuvre is a recipe for a disaster and a political suicide. His insatiable thirst for a political supremacy by engaging in the purges against his own comrade-in-arms are very dangerous for Cambodia’s volatile political situation and a fragile political stability. Mr. Hun Sen’s relentless political witch hunt and purges will surely cause a political and social instability that would lead to an armed fighting because the hunted and the purged will fight for their political survival.

Mr. Hun Sen should learn from his past experiences. He should know this well because he was himself a victim of Pol Pot’s purges in 1977. For his own political survival and to avoid being killed, Mr. Hun Sen has fled to Vietnam and has returned victoriously with the Vietnamese invading army on 7th January, 1979.

Mr. Hun Sen’s strategy of political victimisation against Mr. Chea Sim’s loyalists could potentially result in bloody armed retaliations from Mr. Chea Sim’s loyalists who, as cornered dogs, will strike back and strike hard. His purges against Chea Sim’s loyalists are reminiscent of those Khmer Rouge purges which saw the hunters (Pol Pot’s side) and the hunted (Hun Sen’s side) brutally massacring each other in 1977 that only ended with the Vietnamese invasion that has brought Mr. Hun Sen to power on 7th January, 1979.

Mr. Hun Sen could draw the two parallels and analogies so he could ponder the potential dangers to his country and his iron fist rule. He should know that no one, himself included, can survive forever politically and that his political immortality will have its use-by-date one day. By drawing this analogy one would want to remind Mr. Hun Sen to stop committing his sins and ponder his own fate when he falls from power.

Mr. Hun Sen began his purges against Mr. Chea Sim’s loyalists since after the 1993 election, when Sin Song, Sin Sen and others were arrested and purged with manufactured evidences after they were accused of allegedly plotting a fake coup in 1994.

The conspiracy against Gen. Ke Kimyan has also been manufactured some time ago because Gen. Ke Kimyan has stood in the ways of Mr. Hun Sen many times in the past. The real reasons for his sacking were not derelictions of duties or his impropriety but rather he was sacked because he refused to follow Mr. Hun Sen’s orders blindly.

Gen. Ke Kimyan has been accused by Mr. Hun Sen of engaging in illegal business activities and for trying to protect illegal land purchases. One would ask, if these are the real reasons behind his sacking then, all of senior government officials, Mr. Hun Sen included, will be dismissed on grounds of impropriety as Gen. Ke Kimyan has been accused of committing.

Madame Yu Ay, a senior minister, has been accused of land-grabs of thousands of hectares from poor peasants in Kampong Speu. Om Yintieng, Hun Sen’s personal advisor, has been reported as engaging in illegal deforestations of thousands of hectares of forests in Rattanakiri province. Sok An, Deputy Prime Minister, owned many controversial parcels of prime real estate lands in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. Senator Ly Yong Phat has been accused of land-grabs in Koh Kong province. Senator Lao Meng Khin ( Yeay Phu’s husband), has engaged in many controversial business deals and has engaged in controversial land fills at Boeng Kak Lake which flooded the Phnom Penh city recently and Gen. Kun Kim and Hun To, Hun Sen’s nephew, both have been reportedly engaged in land-grabs in Rattanakiri of thousands of hectares. These people have not been dealt with by Mr. Hun Sen and the courts yet because they are Mr. Hun Sen’s relatives and cronies.

Not surprisingly, even Mr. Hun Sen himself has been accused by Global Witness in the “Cambodia’s Family Tree” report of having been involved in thousands of hectares of forest destructions. In this sense, Mr. Hun Sen has committed impropriety. And, if Gen. Ke Kimyan was sacked because of impropriety, why his replacement and all the new appointees are tainted individuals (Gen Hing Bunheang involved in grenades attacks on 30th March, 1997 and Gen. Kun Kim has engaged in numerous human right abuses) and all of them are Mr. Hun Sen’s loyalists? Could this double-standard rings an alarm bell in our ears?

So, the only obvious explanation to his sacking is that Gen. Ke Kimyan is a very honest military leader who is very popular within the Cambodian People’s Party and within the military ranks. He could be a potential political threat and a serious rival to Mr. Hun Sen’s political future. As a consequence, Gen. Ke Kimyan has to be sacked, not because of his impropriety, but rather because of Mr. Hun Sen’s insatiable thirst for a political conquest through purges of political opponents and rivals in his quest for a political supremacy.