By Serey Ratha Sourn
Now that the Cambodian elections are over, the political parties are starting to cut deals in contempt of the will of Cambodian people who are the real masters of the country. First, the political parties try to defend their own interests without regards for national interest by ignominiously sharing ministry Porto folios and greedily grabbing honorific and lucrative positions for their party members.
The Cambodian people have tried hard since 1991 to vote out the Cambodian People Party (CPP), the Vietnamese puppet, but those Cambodian political leaders who loudly claimed to be the champion of anti-communism, democracy and strong opponents of CPP ended up by rallying to the CPP , then, finally voted to let the CPP take power.
In 1993, in order to fulfill his ardent desire to return Cambodia back to a monarchy, through the Paris Peace Agreement of October 23, 1991 which articles never mentioned the monarchy, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, as President of the Supreme National Council (SNC), abused and used his powers as SNC President to terminate the UN mandate in Cambodia before it could complete its tasks, contrary to the Paris Peace Agreement’s spirit.
The 1993 election gave the FUNCIPEC the absolute majority. According to the constitution, the Funcipec was supposed to form the government, but Prince Sihanouk put pressure on his son Prince Rannaridh, the majority leader, to share a 50-50 government with the CPP minority. Cambodia then ended up being governed a bizarre two-headed hydra government with two co-prime ministers, two co-defense ministers, two co-interior ministers etc...It was Prince Sihanouk’s idea to share the power with the communist CPP with disregard for the will of the majority of the Cambodian people who had voted out the Vietnamese puppet. This constituted also treason against the combatants who sacrificed their life and fought valiantly against the Vietnamese aggression and the Vietnamese puppets.
In 1998, under the veneer of political equilibrium, under Norodom Sihanouk’s initiative, the Senate institution was created from scratch in order to appoint Chea Sim, the President of CPP as Senate president. However, at the end, it was the communist CPP which took over the power. The CPP used Sihanouk to legitimate the CPP’s power grab. Several million of dollars are spent annually to fund this useless Senate institution, which sole reason for being, is to have Chea Sim sign into laws whatever CPP wants, should the King become “incapacitated”.
Following Hun Sen’ s coup of July 5 & 6, 1997, the opposition parties fled to Bangkok and formed the United Democrats of Cambodia (UDC) to oppose to Hun Sen’s Junta and form a Cambodian Government in exile. The UDC was constituted by the Funcipec (Rannaridh), SRP (Sam Raingsy Party), BLDP (Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party or Son San Party) and Neutral Party (Bour Hell). It was also Sihanouk who sided with the CPP to destroy the UDC by pulling out the Funcipec, the major member, from the UDC to form a new government with the CPP junta which had overthrown the Funcipec government just a few months before. This, in contempt of the sacrifice of several hundred of thousands of Buddhist monks, students, peasants and workers who demonstrated in Phnom Penh’s streets for months against the results of the 1998 election and asked for the dismantling of the Hun Sen government. Several thousand protestors were later assassinated secretly by Hun Sen’s Police.
In 2003, under the pressure from Sihanouk, Funcipec broke again its alliance with SRP to join again the CPP to form a new government with a very “big head but a weak body” the government members outnumbered the Parliament members two to one. They shared half and half the administration, all local power levels, from local districts to provinces and governments. This made the Funcipec members happy for acceding to grades and honors.
However, all this looked good very well only in paper but the reality of power was firmly in the hand of the communist CPP.
In the election 2008, even thought the leaders of the opposition parties knew well that arrogance, and disunion of democrats were their weak points, the opponent leaders, nevertheless, were unable to rally their parties under the same banner to compete against the Vietnamese puppet CPP in order to win the election, and this in spite of the repeated pleas from the Cambodian people to do so.
As usual, after every election the opposition parties formed a democratic alliance to combat the Vietnamese puppet CPP. In 1998, they formed the Democratic Union of Cambodia. In 2003, it was the Alliance of Democrats with Funcipec and SRP (Sam Raingsy Party). And in 2008, it was the four party alliance between SRP, HCR (Kem Sokha), NRP (Rannaridh) and the Funcipec, but to day this alliance have remain only two parties, SRP and HRP after NRP and Funcipec turn off to join CPP.
Why are the four political parties unable to unite before the election?
Why did some party opponent leader secretly try to make deal in sharing ministry port- folios with CPP in the back of other allied partner?
It seems that the political strategy of the opposition parties in 2008 follows the same path as the ones in 1998 and 2003. In the end, the opposition leaders will have recourse as usual to ex-king Norodom Sihanouk to solve Cambodia’s political problems and he, as usual, will design a solution, as usual, which pleases Hanoi and the Vietnamese puppet.
Only the power of, by and from the People and the solidarity of the Cambodian people, the true owners of Cambodia, can change the political regime and select its genuine government.
To entrust our future and the defense of Cambodia to political leaders or political parties or Norodom Sihanouk who had never, ever been independent of Hanoi, is equivalent to shackle Cambodia with the Indochina federation under the Vietnamese yoke, or to put Cambodia on a silver plate to be shared and swallowed by Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.
What is left of Cambodia now, in land, forest, natural resources, rivers, monuments, heritage of our rich civilization and our religious beliefs are the results of the sacrifices of, by and for the Cambodian people. Cambodia is not the property of political parties nor king and nor their clans.
Looking back at the political solution authored by Norodom Sihanouk in 1993, 1998 and 2003, with what is going on now in 2008, we can see which political leaders are traitors which ones are the genuine defenders of Cambodia.
In 1993, Norodom Sihanouk had destroyed the spirit of Paris Peace Agreement and betrayed the Cambodian people’s will. In 1998 and 2003, Funcipec led by Norodom Rannaridh and under King Norodom Sihanouk betrayed again the Cambodian people’s will by sealing an alliance with the Vietnamese puppet CPP.
For the above reasons, only SRP and HRP to reject the results of the 2008 elections which was not free, unfair, undemocratic, manipulated and rigged by the CPP. SRP and HRP have to claim back the voting rights of legitimate voters whose names were deleted from electoral lists by the NEC. Their vote should be counted.
The non-participation of SRP and HRP “elected members” to the first session of the Fourth National Assembly scheduled for September 24, 2008 is the only way to block the Fourth Assembly from constituted, hence, the only way to block the future Vietnamese puppet government from being constituted.
Any alliance with the CPP not only implies the recognition of the results of election 2008 proclaimed by the NEC, but also legitimizes the Vietnamese puppet government installed in Phnom Penh by the imperialist Vietnam, the same government which ceded land and territorial sea to Vietnam and Thailand.
In order to act People Power, the Cambodian people have to participate actively in public debates and to keep track of political developments and negotiations to know for sure who has betrayed Cambodia, who did not keep their promises, who collaborated with the Vietnamese puppet, who are the real defenders of Cambodia and sacrificed their life, time and fortune for Cambodia’s sake?
I wish for the Cambodian people to win and to select genuine leaders who will serve Cambodia first through a free, democratic and fair election.
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