Animals Defending Democracy...

“The [CPP]... emphasises that it will do everything possible for the sake of defending the elected National Assembly and the Royal Government, the constitution, and democracy.”

CPP honorary president Heng Samrin, 7 January, 2014

“When they arrived and descended from their trucks, they were already shooting around. I saw 10 of them put up a wall of riot shields, and then I saw a gun poke through and it shot at me. If you didn’t run away, they would just pick you out and shoot you.”

Hem Oeun, 23, a wounded garment worker inside the Canadia Industrial Park, 7 January 2014

“I have a wound this deep [pointing to the top joint of her pinky finger]. My brain is fine though. They weren’t afraid of the protesters throwing stones, they were only angry at them. I saw them shooting only to kill. It was like watching children play with fireworks.

Ouk Mara, 17, student wounded on her way home from school, 7 January 2014

“I was standing just outside my doorway watching everything when I was shot and I have no idea where the bullets came from. The military police were running around shooting indiscriminately, they had become so angry after the people started throwing stones at them.”

The doctor said if I had been shot any lower [in the chest] I would be dead now…[but] now I also can’t move my left arm at all, or even feel it when people touch it.

Heath Rady, 20, wounded female worker from the Canadia Industrial Park, 7 January, 2014

“I saw them shooting rifles from the top of the building. They were picking us off one by one, but I was lucky because I was low down [near the base of the building],”

Chea Noth, 25, slightly wounded at the Veng Sreng shooting, 7 January, 2014

“I was shot through the stomach and intestines, and the bullet passed through me. I had run upstairs to my room to watch it all and they shot from the ground upward and got me. They didn’t shoot to threaten us, they shot to kill us.”

So Nar, 27, wounded while standing on the third floor of a residential building on Veng Sreng Street, 7 January 2014

“Even if it’s not at the level of martial law, I think the government [has the] authority to prevent violence, to set measures when the public security or the chaos is a threat.”

Prum Sokha, a CPP secretary of state at the Interior Ministry, 8 January, 2014

“We don’t suspend any constitutional rights, but we wait for things to cool down. Freedom of assembly is not suspended, but is simply no longer guaranteed.”

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan, 8 January 2014

Well, it is obvious the CPP has been doing their very best to defend democracy, but not practicing it. So did the Khmer Rouge.

It is rather fascinating that with all the glorified titles and PhDs attached to their names, the CPP prominent and luminaries could not come up with any way to preserve their democracy, besides the shooting option. So did the Khmer Rouge, minus glorified titles.

Then again, only animals use violence to settle conflicts; their brain capacity, if any, is rather limited. 

UBA

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