“Our country has reached a new point with the
presence of His Excellency Sam Rainsy…on stage today; the culture of dialogue
has happened in Cambodia and replaced the culture of conflict and killing each other…
Half my life, I have worked on peace negotiations more than war… Recently, I
met a good partner: His Excellency Sam Rainsy. I don’t want to use the word
‘opposition.’ I want to use ‘party in government’ and ‘party out of
government’—these are sweeter words.”
Premier Hun Sen, 15 April 2015,
The Cambodia Daily
“លទ្ធផលទីពីរ នៃវប្បធម៌សន្ទនានេះ គឺការជួយជម្រុញ ឲ្យមានការដោះលែងពីពន្ធនាគារ ការលើកលែងទោស ឬការលើកលែងការចោទប្រកាន់ ចំពោះបងប្អូនជនរួមជាតិទាំងអស់ ដែលតុលាការបានផ្តន្ទាទោស ឬបាន កសាងសំណុំរឿងពាក់ព័ន្ធ ទៅនឹងព្រឹត្តិការណ៍នយោបាយ ដែលបានកើតមានឡើងក្រោយពីការ បោះឆ្នោត ថ្ងៃទី ២៨ ខែកក្កដា ឆ្នាំ ២០១៣។”
CNRP president Sam Rainsy, 11
April 2015, Sam Rainsy Facebook
“Whoever raises it [court summon for Kem Sokha], raises
it for the wrong reasons, which has nothing to do justice; if it has nothing to
do with justice, it can only be political.”
CNRP
president Sam Rainsy, 4 April 2015, The Phnom Penh Post
“We cannot interfere with the power of the court. This
affair is a story about the court and Kem Sokha, not a story about Hun Sen and
His Excellency Sam Rainsy.”
Premier Hun Sen, 10 April 2015, The Phnom Penh
Post
“As a symbol of national reconciliation and
Khmer unity, I took part this morning in a popular ceremony to celebrate the
Khmer New Year (2559 in the Buddhist era) along with Prime Minister Hun Sen in
Siem Reap provincial capital city.”
CNRP president Sam Rainsy, 13
April 2015, Sam Rainsy Facebook
“We must stay together because, at the very
least, we have the same Cambodian blood.”
Premier Hun Sen, 15 April 2015,
The Cambodia Daily
Now
that euphoria surrounding the cosiness between Hun Sen and his newly found
partner Sam Rainsy has somewhat subsided, perhaps it is time to dig a bit
deeper beneath the culture that drives the development.
First,
it is unclear if the two leaders share the same concept of the culture of
dialogue. Sam Rainsy maintains the culture he has been pursuing delivers
freedom to those who are intimidated and jailed by political motivations. While
Sam Rainsy sees Kem Sokha case as harassment by a politicised court, Hun Sen
refuses to accept any interference to legal due process. They may misread each
other to the extent the culture of dialogue may drive nothing more than their
political expediency.
Second,
the two have formed an exclusive club – leaving Kem Sokha out in the cold. He is
not invited to share the Siem Reap limelight with the two amigos. Sam Rainsy
implies himself alone is sufficient to be a symbol of national reconciliation
and unity by celebrating the New Year with the premier. Kem Sokha is left to
the mercy of Hun Sen who may or may not soften his stance and instruct his
court to let Kem Sokha off the hook. The court must have gathered enough
materials in the seven-hour interrogation of Kem Sokha to hang him, as soon as
it receives the premier’s nudge.
Third,
the premier no longer regards CNRP as the opposition party – it is now “the
party out-of-government”, which sounds so positive. But what does this party
out-of-government entail? Does it function like a challenger for power, or it
is just another sweet rubber stamp – like the National Assembly, the Senate,
the Constitutional Council, and the court – which Hun Sen commands at will?
Fourth,
Hun Sen hits the perfect note when claiming all Cambodians must be together as
they have at least the same blood. This would mean something commendable if he
stopped hounding Kem Sokha and removed the imposition of a single Khmer
citizenship on members of the new NEC. If the single citizenship guaranteed
faithfulness to the nation as he argues, it would then have to be imposed as
well on all other top state instruments. Anyhow, a predicament is that Cambodians
with multiple citizenships have yet to murder Cambodians to match what the past
and present single citizenship leaders have achieved.
Thus,
there exist some fundamental differences within this exclusive club. These are
the differences that cannot be easily reconciled given a patronage system that
has strengthened Hun Sen’s power base. Ultimately, one of the two club members
must sell out their basic principle for the club to last. Would it be Hun Sen to
give up his power base and fundamentals? Or, would Sam Rainsy be the one to bow,
with or without being blackmailed?
Perhaps
the culture of dialogue is just a cover of being tamed when the opposition
turns into the party out-of-government; and Sam Rainsy no longer insists voters
choose either him or Hun Sen; now they can have both.
Ung
Bun Ang
20iv15
Parthian Shot
With
USD35 million on the offering, those in Heaven can say anything to those
trapped in Hell. They speak so well of Hell that they may move there
themselves.
“Cambodians enjoy all the freedoms of a
democratic society, including freedom of religion and freedom of speech…
Cambodia has a high standard of health care, with multiple hospitals and
general practitioners… Cambodia is a safe country, where police maintain law
and order,” it says. “It does not have problems with violent crime or stray
dogs.”
Australian Department of Immigration, Letter
to Australia’s Nauru refugees “Settlement in
Cambodia”, 10 April 2015
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