[KI-Media note: The following text was also distributed in Khmer, however, because we do not have access to the Khmer fonts used, we are unable to publish the Khmer text. If someone from CFC/CBC reads this message, please send us the Khmer text in PDF format to kiletters@gmail.com]
Mr. Hun Sen in Paris
Mr. Hun Sen does not receive good press coverage in France. For several years now, major newspapers in Paris never ceased to harshly criticize the corruption gangrene, the violations of human rights, the relentless dictatorial violence and other “dirty jobs” of his regime. According to our French friends, his current visit to Paris was organized under his “insistent request” made during several months and following “serious preliminary discussions” between his representatives (including the one conducted by his minister Hor Nam Hong during last May) with the French authority.
We were assured also that the French government is fully aware of the facts and events which are taking place in Cambodia. Furthermore, in announcing the visit of Mr. Hun Sen, the [French] ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a communiqué recalling that France “co-presided the Paris Accords (on Cambodia) in 1991 which initiated the reconstruction process of this country.” It is hoped that during upcoming meetings between Mr. Hun Sen and his ministers with their French counterparts, the issues of human rights and the rule of law in Cambodia would be raised with a positive contribution from France because of the more than century-long links between France and the true Khmer Country and People who have suffered and endured so much during the past decades.
However, there is another aspect of the Cambodian prime minister’s visit to France that should be underscored: Mr. Hun Sen succeeded in securing an invitation to attend the 14 July parade commemorating the well known French Revolution in 1989 on the honorary podium. Therefore, it is clear that the Khmer kingdom’s “Strongman” is coming to Paris to try to dust off his tarnished image, and he is hoping that his presence among prestigious head of states would confer on him a “mark” of recognition of his power, at least from the outside, at a time when the economic crisis and internal, as well as border troubles seriously shake his regime.
In fact, Mr. Hun Sen is coming also to talk about “major regional issues” at a time when the regional context is rather dangerous: the impasse under which the Preah Vihear temple conflict was reignited by Thailand, the currently known increased tensions between Vietnam (which Mr. Hun Sen’s regime is largely a client of) and China, and the influence of these two countries on Cambodia currently.
Regarding the Thai military occupation of Preah Vihear, let’s recall that, on 22 July 2008, Mr. Maurice Ripert, France ambassador to the UN, following Cambodia’s complaint, called for an “immediate meeting” of the UN Security Council to find a peaceful solution – a legal solution abiding to the current international norms and conventions. His action was based on the procedure stipulated by the 1991 Paris Accords on Cambodia to resolve such problem. However, Mr. Hun Sen, hoping to obtain some cool off in order to spare his interests in the region, instead opted for “bilateral negotiations” demanded by Bangkok which resulted in spectacular bloody failures and Thailand’s categorical refusal to withdraw its troops from the temple area. On the other hand, all signs also point to the fact that Vietnam is readying itself to toughen its position against China, a situation that could cause a general conflict which would be very difficult to contain. Because he is linked to the engagement of “defense cooperation” with Hanoi, more so than ever, Mr. Hun Sen must obtain particular considerations and recognitions through either material support or, at least, political support from the West, and from France, in particular.
What will happen, if following this short visit in Paris, Cambodia’s “Strongman” would be able to “polish” his image on his return to Phnom Penh? The answer is that, Cambodia – which is already drowned under a culture of impunity, under a corrupt regime, under denial of rights, under violence, under generalized top-to-bottom irresponsibility, under the plundering of the national heritage to the benefit of neighboring hereditary enemies –could face a more painful fate that the one it has known for the past more than 30 years.
Paris, 11 July 2009
For Cambodia’s Border Committee in France and Worldwide,
(Signed) Dy Kareth
Vice President
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