17th February, 2009
Opinion by Khmerization
The rumours of the arrest and the detention of Gen. Ke Kimyan has sent shockwaves through the Cambodian military and political circles. The rumoured arrests of Gen. Ke Kimyan and Gen. Chhin Chanpor, if they are true, would prove of Hun Sen’s paranoia and his insatiable thirst for a political supremacy.
Gen. Ke Kimyan’s arrest would also prove that his sacking was not due to his impropriety but rather it was due to political reasons. I agree with Mr. Son Chhay that, if Gen. Ke Kimyan has committed impropriety and misconduct, due judicial process must be applied. To just arrest him under the order of a Prime Minister is communistic in nature.
Mr. Hun Sen’s purges of Mr. Chea Sim’s loyalists and his promotion of his cronies, including the recent promotion of his son, Hun Manet, to the rank of brigadier-general, have been viewed as a political manoeuvre to achieve his political supremacy. His political manoeuvre seem to suggest that there is an internal power struggle raging within the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).
Mr. Hun Sen’s heavy-handed measures against his rivals within the CPP seem to be working for now. He probably had succeeded in intimidating other would-be rivals into silent. But Mr. Hun Sen have made them cornered dogs, and as the saying goes “a cornered dog will bite back because it has nowhere to escape”. Mr. Hun Sen’s heavy-handed purges can only be described as a self-destruction because the “cornered dogs” from the Chea Sim’s faction will strike back when the opportunity arrives.
Mr. Hun Sen’s purges have brought Cambodia’s rather stable political environment to a dangerous level. The short political stability that Cambodia has enjoyed in the last ten years might be crumbling. His purges against his fellow former comrades-in-arms are reminiscent of the Khmer Rouge purges in the 1970s which saw millions of the “perceived enemies” being massacred in a grand scale which only ended with the rebellion of the purged faction which led to the invasion of the Vietnamese army in 1979.
One would not be surprised if Mr. Hun Sen is deposed in a coup in the near future. The Chea Sim faction, which still has a sizable support within the military circle, sees itself as being victimised and persecuted by Mr. Hun Sen’s paranoia and his insatiable for the ultimate power. The only way to survive politically is to rebel. Therefore, Mr. Hun Sen’s downfall is foreseeable. Mr. Hun Sen’s self-destruction is in the making.
With the arrest (?) of Gen. Ke Kimyan, the question that will be asked is, who would be next? Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, who is an in-law of Gen. Ke Kimyan through their children’s marriage and an in-law of Chea Sim through his marriage to Chea Sim’s sister, might be Mr. Hun Sen’s next target. He has been seen as a serious rival to Mr. Hun Sen’s prime ministership because of his popularity within the CPP and his youthful outlook.
One can imagine that, after the arrest (?) of his in-law, Sar Kheng will have to watch Hun Sen’s every move very closely if he is to survive politically. By the same token, one can also imagine that, with his heavy-handed measures against Mr. Sar Kheng’s in-law, Mr. Hun Sen is conscious of the fact that Mr. Sar Kheng will watch his every move and might strike back one day, therefore pre-emptive strike might be taken against Sar Kheng before the latter has a chance to strike back. This is the scenario I can foresee.
Opinion by Khmerization
"Mr. Hun Sen’s heavy-handed purges can only be described as a self-destruction because the “cornered dogs” from the Chea Sim’s faction will strike back when the opportunity arrives."
The rumours of the arrest and the detention of Gen. Ke Kimyan has sent shockwaves through the Cambodian military and political circles. The rumoured arrests of Gen. Ke Kimyan and Gen. Chhin Chanpor, if they are true, would prove of Hun Sen’s paranoia and his insatiable thirst for a political supremacy.
Gen. Ke Kimyan’s arrest would also prove that his sacking was not due to his impropriety but rather it was due to political reasons. I agree with Mr. Son Chhay that, if Gen. Ke Kimyan has committed impropriety and misconduct, due judicial process must be applied. To just arrest him under the order of a Prime Minister is communistic in nature.
Mr. Hun Sen’s purges of Mr. Chea Sim’s loyalists and his promotion of his cronies, including the recent promotion of his son, Hun Manet, to the rank of brigadier-general, have been viewed as a political manoeuvre to achieve his political supremacy. His political manoeuvre seem to suggest that there is an internal power struggle raging within the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).
Mr. Hun Sen’s heavy-handed measures against his rivals within the CPP seem to be working for now. He probably had succeeded in intimidating other would-be rivals into silent. But Mr. Hun Sen have made them cornered dogs, and as the saying goes “a cornered dog will bite back because it has nowhere to escape”. Mr. Hun Sen’s heavy-handed purges can only be described as a self-destruction because the “cornered dogs” from the Chea Sim’s faction will strike back when the opportunity arrives.
Mr. Hun Sen’s purges have brought Cambodia’s rather stable political environment to a dangerous level. The short political stability that Cambodia has enjoyed in the last ten years might be crumbling. His purges against his fellow former comrades-in-arms are reminiscent of the Khmer Rouge purges in the 1970s which saw millions of the “perceived enemies” being massacred in a grand scale which only ended with the rebellion of the purged faction which led to the invasion of the Vietnamese army in 1979.
One would not be surprised if Mr. Hun Sen is deposed in a coup in the near future. The Chea Sim faction, which still has a sizable support within the military circle, sees itself as being victimised and persecuted by Mr. Hun Sen’s paranoia and his insatiable for the ultimate power. The only way to survive politically is to rebel. Therefore, Mr. Hun Sen’s downfall is foreseeable. Mr. Hun Sen’s self-destruction is in the making.
With the arrest (?) of Gen. Ke Kimyan, the question that will be asked is, who would be next? Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, who is an in-law of Gen. Ke Kimyan through their children’s marriage and an in-law of Chea Sim through his marriage to Chea Sim’s sister, might be Mr. Hun Sen’s next target. He has been seen as a serious rival to Mr. Hun Sen’s prime ministership because of his popularity within the CPP and his youthful outlook.
One can imagine that, after the arrest (?) of his in-law, Sar Kheng will have to watch Hun Sen’s every move very closely if he is to survive politically. By the same token, one can also imagine that, with his heavy-handed measures against Mr. Sar Kheng’s in-law, Mr. Hun Sen is conscious of the fact that Mr. Sar Kheng will watch his every move and might strike back one day, therefore pre-emptive strike might be taken against Sar Kheng before the latter has a chance to strike back. This is the scenario I can foresee.
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