Interview with Sam Rainsy, Cambodian MP

Dear Reader,

The following text is translated from French by Google Translate Tool with some human editing. It is not as efficient as a human translation, therefore I apologise for any errors that may have occurred. For those who can read French please read the original French text here "Interview with Mr. Sam Rainsy". - Khmerization.

By Emmanuel Deslouis
Eurasie.net

"You have to make Cambodia a state of law"
Leader of the Opposition in Cambodia, the Sam Rainsy Party member published last year his autobiography "Rooted in Stones." A very straightforward story that illuminates the upheavals of Cambodia for the past fifty years. Sam Rainsy has agreed to talk in detail, and discuss openly all the problems that plague this beautiful country.

Eurasie: How are you being portrayed by your opponents in Cambodia?

Sam Rainsy: The Cambodian People's Party (CPP), the party of Prime Minister Hun Sen, said that I will bring change. They want to frighten people by threatening "If Sam Rainsy came to power, it is quite upsetting." It is true that I am against the current power and the status quo that means injustice. When I envisage an agrarian reform, it is said that Sam Rainsy will take from the rich to give to the poor, leveling everyone to the bottom "as like under Pol Pot," while I just want to give land to the tiller. Between peasants on one side and the new feudal lords and land speculators on the other hand, I support the first camp. But the CPP accuses me of being an "instigator" behind the "troublemakers".

Eurasie: What are the pillars of your electorate?

Sam Rainsy: Landless peasants and workers. They are abused and exploited. The poor generally support my party. But there are also people who support the party of Hun Sen: Most of the time, it is not that their spirit adheres to the CPP, but their stomachs. So poor that they live day by day. They listen to Hun Sen who said Sam Rainsy does not give you anything to eat, we offer you a bag of rice that will allow you to live for several days. " I would say that my party does not have a sack of rice, but a vision and hope. This does not prevent the poor from being entrapped by Hun Sen, rather than accepting my speech.

Eurasie: What voters capture you best?

Sam Rainsy: The young and educated circles. Studies show that when the standard of living rises, more people vote for us than for the party in power. They, then, did not vote with the stomach but with their heads or ... with their heart.

Eurasie: What is appreciated at home in Cambodia?

Sam Rainsy: Perhaps the courage to oppose the dominant forces and fidelity to principles. People say 'Why knock a stone? ". The CPP-state system has everything (money, force, power). Why persevere against them? Because we must maintain our beliefs and principles, despite the killings, imprisonment, the exile of the activists. And it works: the number of our voices, our newsletters, continues to increase from one election to another despite the intimidation, cheating and buying votes, and has been for over ten years.

Eurasie: Fighting against corruption in Cambodia, when one is the Minister of Finance, isn't it like emptying the ocean with a small spoon, right?

Sam Rainsy: It's very hard, it may take considerable time, but I do not despair. That said, to confront the brute force and the wall of money, it's very difficult, but I hope to succeed in my life.

Eurasie: The attack is another way of doing politics in Cambodia in recent years. You and your supporters have painfully experienced. How do you explain such impunity?

Sam Rainsy: It comes from the trauma resulting from the genocide perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge. When people were slaughtered by the thousands. People have seen large-scale killings. Traumatized, terrified, they are silent. All these horrors have taken place with impunity. And the current system is made up of former Khmer Rouge.

Eurasie: Do you think the Khmer Rouge tribunal will lead to something constructive?

Sam Rainsy: If it ends quickly, can be. Otherwise ... you know, in ten years, the main suspects, already old, will all be dead, then let the government try the dead. It will be a work of history, rather than judicial. If the ruling comes soon, it may splash people, from top leaders down to heads of district during the time of Pol Pot who occupy positions much higher now. They are afraid of a real court, which is progressing quickly. The government is therefore drag things to delay the judicial process. And I think the international community i starting to understand that!

Eurasie: There has been a Nuremberg (trial) in Germany.

Sam Rainsy: Yes, because the situation was not the same. Imagine Germany after the war with all its former leaders, with the exception of Hitler, still in power, would it make Nuremberg? No, there was a show trial, as in Cambodia today.

Eurasie: Do you think like Father Ponchaud that this trial is incomplete because it does not judge the great powers that supported the regime?

Sam Rainsy: In my opinion, we must identify, mark the charge, otherwise we can not do anything. It is necessary to identify the brain and levels just below, as commanders region. Judging the Americans, the West, ASEAN, which argued later, this is not the same thing. We must focus on 1975-1979.

Eurasie: In your autobiography, one can follow your changing feelings with regard to Norodom Sihanouk. First revolted, when he bluntly rejected your father and when he put your mother in prison, and then admiration in the 1980s, when he was a unifier. In retrospect, what do you think his attitude today?

Sam Rainsy: He is a complex character who has to navigate rough seas and difficult times. Who was right for some things but was mistaken for many things. He himself acknowledges. He said "One who can run Sihanouk is not yet born." He was wrong because he could regain power in Cambodia and which preserves a CPP who is serving a foreign power and the Mafia. But he is now a king-father powerless to Hun Sen who does what he wants. Overall, he has failed to operate as he might have to consolidate democracy in Cambodia, as foreseen in the Paris Agreements. Non-Communists have been cheated by the communist and neo-communist mafiosi. When Sihanouk wanted to return to power, Hun Sen has refused, and his son Ranariddh, too. The latter is the main fault, he missed this opportunity by incompetence and corruption.

Eurasie: What qualities do you find to Sihanouk?

Sam Rainsy: His uncompromising patriotism and probity. That's why I respect him.

Eurasie: By trying to compromise, first taking side with the party of the Khmer Rouge and then Hun Sen. Didn't he (Sihanouk) push the country towards chaos?

Sam Rainsy: Sihanouk remained in his habits, that he was the father of all, he could meet everyone. When he was king, he did. He could be a strong leader. But when he thought to do the same with Hun Sen and the CPP, like he gave royal titles to former Communists, thinking to integrate these characters under his wing. But it did not work. From this point of view it was wrong. The world has changed, he was not in step with time.

Eurasie: As in Vietnam and Laos, Cambodia is still under the thumb of communist leaders of the 1980s despite the failure of their policy. What do you attribute that?

Sam Rainsy: There is a close correlation between dictatorship and economic failure. If you take the countries that have the same leaders in power for decades, it is generally the poorest. There is no possibility of change. The abuses and corruption, that makes these countries remain backwards. In contrast to good governance and the rule of law. This is not necessarily a question of ideology. These are men who cling to power. It is a vicious circle: they have committed misdeeds in the early years, they have to stay in power, otherwise they lose everything. This goes until the day when everything explodes.

Eurasie: A few years ago, actress Piseth Pilika was murdered in Phnom Penh in broad daylight. We learnt about this affairs, not by the Cambodian press, but by the French media, that senior officials were involved (in the murder). The fear was too strong to denounce publicly for fear of reprisals. Are the media still being muzzled or is there an opening?

Sam Rainsy: There are two kinds of media: print and broadcast media. In the press, there is no censorship of the murders but once in a while! You notice that it is a relatively free press, even if it is done at your peril. It is the Democratic front because the press is just 1% of the population. The largest circulation not exceeding 20 000 copies. The main newspaper: Rasmei Kampuchea, "Light of Cambodia", is a journal of the CPP. Otherwise, there are about two hundred newspapers (on sales) and most of them have sold about a hundred copies. Even if they reach 1% of the population, that is nothing.

Eurasie: And Audiovisual?

Sam Rainsy: The media are controlled by the ruling party. There are seven TV channels, all directly or indirectly controlled by the CPP. There are about 3 radios among the twenty in total which are relatively independent. But they do not cover the whole country. So when we talk of the media, the picture is deceptive.

Eurasie: Currently there is a conflict between Cambodia and Thailand about a temple on the border of both countries, Preah Vihear temple. Each claim it. Without going into details or the arguments of others, do not you think that the conflict has been politicised by the Thai side and by Hun Sen for electoral purposes. By inciting nationalism, was he (Hun Sen) able to hide all his problems just in time for the general election?

Sam Rainsy: Yes, there are many things that are not known. Each represents the interests of his country in the name of noble causes. Thais know how to adapt. During the colonization, to counter the French, they supported the British. During World War II, they were allied to the Japanese. They adapt themselves for national unity, the current tension can help Thais to unite and to rebuild their unity.

Eurasie: and for Cambodia?

Sam Rainsy: It is clear, we try to create tension with a neighboring country. So, remember that in January 2003, just before the legislative elections in July of that year, there were riots against the Thai. Then Thaksin and Hun Sen have concluded a deal. The first wants to launch a development project in Koh Kong.

Eurasie: For what purpose?

Sam Rainsy: Probably to have a political base before returning to power in Thailand. He gave false assurances to Hun Sen, in particular about the temple of Preah Vihear. For Hun Sen, it is convenient, it helps to deflect the problems of the east (Vietnam) to the west (Thailand).

Eurasie: Really?

Sam Rainsy: Yes, there are border problems between Vietnam and Cambodia. The Vietnamese eating Cambodian territory, this what the farmers in eastern provinces told me when I met them as a member of parliament. Hun Sen idoes not people to talk about this issue, and when people talked he threatened them with "coffins". Yes, Hun Sen remains under the influence of the Vietnamese, discreet but strong. There are always Vietnamese advisers. Even those (Vietnamese advisers) of the 1980s remain in the entourage of Hun Sen. Indeed, for any decision made, he can take his helicopter to Vietnam which is a few tens of kilometers from his residence.

Eurasie: So Cambodia is nibbled by Vietnam and Thailand?

Sam Rainsy: Over the centuries, our two neighbors to the east and west wanted to swallow Cambodia. We would have disappeared without the intervention of France in 1863. It was King Ang Duong, who has appealed to Napoleon III. Vietnam and Thailand (or Siam) are often fighting each other through their Cambodian puppets.

Eurasie: Your political party won the second place in terms of seats, with the CPP of Hun Sen being first in last July election. How do you analyze this?

Sam Rainsy: Read the final report of the European Commission. In a nutshell, these elections do not meet international standards. It can not be clearer. The results would be much more favorable to the opposition we represent if elections were fair. There is a general feeling which goes against the CPP.

Eurasie: What's your assessment of your years in government?

Sam Rainsy: All key reforms remain unfulfilled.

Eurasie: How would you describe the character of Hun Sen?

Sam Rainsy: A political animal who has been very successful in one thing: survival at the head of state of Cambodia. His genius: survival by clinging to power through political intrigues that resolves with an iron hand and has been for almost 30 years. He is even better than his Vietnamese masters. In return, when you have that ambition to stay in power that provides impunity it is disastrous for the country, the great little chef has no vision for Cambodia. (It is a case) where the interest of a man is blended with the interests of the country.

Eurasie: What action do you have now in Parliament?

Sam Rainsy: Acting by all legal means, democratic, peaceful, law ... it will be difficult because we have no right. But I think this system will implode, an implosion precipitated by the international crisis. It is much more serious than previously thought. Nobody is safe from a global storm, especially when you're a small country highly dependent on the rest of the world such as Cambodia. Especially so when it is managed as it is. There is already a housing crisis that worsens over time. The tide is turning, farm prices and incomes of farmers collapse, construction sites stopped, factories closed. Among proponents of the establishment, there is only a facade of unity, they will eat each other when the economic crisis will turn into a social and political crisis. Sometimes there are significant signs in history, this crisis is certainly one of them.

Eurasie: In your book, one can feel how important are yours and your wife's commitments to politics. How do your children see your commitment?

Sam Rainsy: It varies according to my three children. The eldest has followed our journey from the very beginning, he understands. The middle one was quite traumatized, she remained in France away from us. The third, who followed us to Cambodia, she drew in a strong experience of life. She is the most committed in Cambodia, where she lived from 5 to 15 years.

Eurasie: Were you not tempted to return to France, given the magnitude of your job?

Sam Rainsy: I have a job to do in Cambodia. But I admit that when I'm in France, I feel good because it is a state of law. When you live (in such environment) all the time, you don't feel it. My goal: to make Cambodia a state of law. I'm not afraid, I do not bend down, equality before the law, equal rights for all. In France, I feel safe, we have trust, we have hope which we do not have in Cambodia.

Interview by Emmanuel Deslouis

1.Please read Sam Rainsy's interview with the Phnom Penh Post here.