The king, the army and the police reshuffle and the semantics of the words "Siem" and "Yuon"

KHMER INTELLIGENCE NEWS

4 February 2009

No army or police reshuffle in the next three weeks (2)

King Norodom Sihamoni left Cambodia today for a three-week visit to China where he will stay with the King-Father and the Queen-Mother in Beijing. Some observers infer that there would be no army or police reshuffle during the King's absence because only the Monarch can sign off Royal Decrees promoting or demoting high-ranking government officials.

49 potential Assembly seats for non-CPP parties (1)
Funcinpec (FUN) and Norodom Ranariddh Party (NRP), which have just signed a cooperation agreement for the upcoming provincial and district elections in May 2009, would have won 9 National Assembly seats, instead of 4 (2 + 2 ), had they presented a single list of candidates at the last parliamentary poll in July 2008.

If the following non-CPP political parties had been united last year they would have won the following number of Assembly seats (out of 123):

- Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) + Human Rights Party (HRP): 34 instead of 29 separately (26 + 3).

- SRP + HRP + NRP: 41 seats instead of 31 separately (26 + 3 + 2).

- SRP + HRP + NRP + FUN: 46 seats instead of 33 separately (26 + 3 + 2 + 2).

- SRP + HRP + NRP + FUN + Smaller Parties: 49 seats instead of 33 separately (26 + 3 + 2 + 2 + 0).

Simulations are made in the framework of the prevailing proportional representation system using the largest-average formula. Details at http://tinyurl.com/63zuyc

Land grabber Keat Kolney testified in favor of Hor Nam Hong in Paris (1)

In relation with the defamation lawsuit he filed against opposition leader Sam Rainsy before the French Court, Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Nam Hong produced last December in Paris a testimony from Ms Keat Kolney, who is Finance Minister Keat Chhon's sister.

Keat Kolney wrote: "Mr. Hor Nam Hong, whom I knew and met at special meetings presided over by Ieng Sary [at the Boeng Trabek re-education camp], was torn apart [in his conscience] and had to resign himself to following the will of the Khmer Rouge."

Keat Chhon recognizes that he was Pol Pot's personal secretary and special adviser from 1975 to 1982. His sister Keat Kolney is currently involved in land grabbing in the Northeast of Cambodia and has clashed with indigenous people (hill tribe minorities) there.

See details of Keat Kolney's activities at http://tinyurl.com/cos5al and at http://tinyurl.com/dkeedq

Semantics and politics: "Siem" and "Yuon" versus Thailand and Vietnam (2)

Ordinary Cambodian people continue to widely use old and traditional terms to speak about their neighbors even though they may not sound politically correct for some people.

For instance, headlines in today's main Khmer-language newspapers, both government-affiliated and opposition-affiliated, call Thailand or Thai authorities "Siem". Similarly, the same newspapers have been often calling Vietnam or Vietnamese authorities "Yuon".

Actually, the words "Siem" and "Yuon" have been used by the Khmer people since several hundreds years ago, at a time when Thailand (formerly Siam) and Vietnam (formally Annam) did not exist under their current names, as evidenced by inscriptions on century-old temple steles.

Nowadays, in their daily language, Khmer people indifferently use "Siem" or "Thai" on the one hand, and "Yuon" or "Vietnam" on the other. There are old geographic places such as Siem Reap province, Kampong Siem district (in Kampong Cham province), Banteay Yuon (a village in Pursat province), Prek Yuon (a river in Kandal province). In culinary arts, there is a dessert called Chomnei Siem (Thai delicacy) and a dish called Samlo M'chu Yuon (Vietnamese sour soup).

Therefore "Siem" and "Yuon" are not derogatory words as some foreign "experts" pretend.

See today's Cambodian newspapers' headlines at http://tinyurl.com/d9ouqu