A Change of Guard

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Sunday 14 February 2010

Mr. Hun Sen’s Curses And the Thai Bully


Op-Ed by Khmerization
13th February, 2010

“The Thai bully and its hegemonic ambition of expansionism will always be an obstacle and a hurdle to a peaceful and good neighbourly co-existence between the two nations. Only when Thailand gives up its hegemony and expansionist motives toward Cambodia, can a peaceful and good neighbourly co-existence between the two neighbours be realised and achieved.”


Mr. Hun Sen’s vitriolic diatribes against the prime minister of Thailand, Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva, will undoubtedly reflect bad on the reputation of all Khmer people that we are a bunch of uncivilised and uneducated race. And his profane outbursts against another country’s head of government is inexcusable and cannot be justified as he is also a head of a government. By launching a scathing personal attack on the prime minister of Thailand, which we had an unresolved border conflicts with, will further complicate the matter and undoubtedly delay the resolution of the sensitive border issues.

Mr. Hun Sen’s tirades against Mr. Abhisit, which come in the forms of curses, have puzzled even the many Cambodian nationalists. His dare to Mr. Abhisit to swear in front of sacred objects that Thai troops did not invade Cambodia is acceptable if his language is not disturbingly un-diplomatic. The phrase such as “If you don’t tell the truth about Siem [Thai] troops’ invasion of Cambodia on 15 July [2008], let the magic objects break your neck, may you be shot, be hit by a car, may you be shocked by electricity or [may you be shot] by misfired guns”, cannot be justified when it comes from the mouth of a head of a government.

Mr. Hun Sen’s curses are also directed at Mr. Abhisit’s family as well. “Will Abhisit swear on having all his family members be killed and having them [perished] in a plane crash, if [he still claims] that Siamese troops did not invade Cambodia?”, he added.

He accused Thailand of not only invading Cambodian territory, but cheated on history as well. “Not only did Thailand actually invaded [Cambodia], it also invaded and cheated on history by changing the name of Preah Vihear temple to Phra Viharn”, he continued.

He chided Abhisit as the worst prime minister Thailand has ever had. “Among all of the Siem [Thai] PMs, nobody is as bad as Ah Neung [derogatory term for ‘this guy’], he said.

“Ah Nis [derogatory for “this guy”] is crazy, he is all confused, he deserves to be scolded at. This guy has no family honour”, he went on.

These sorts of language is unbecoming of a prime minister of a country. However, Mr. Hun Sen’s un-diplomatic outbursts and antics were borne out of his anger and frustration with the Thai objection of his scheduled visit to Cambodia’s Ta Moan Thom temple on 8th February. He feel humiliated that, as a prime minister of a sovereign country, he needs to ask a permission from a foreign country to visit his country’s temple. His frustration and humiliation led to these sorts of uncalled-for outbursts.

It is very diplomatic of Abhisit to keep his cool not to retaliate. On the surface, he did not retaliate in words, not because he didn’t want to, but because, deep down, he has a hidden motive to advance Thailand’s border agenda. This rationale is made based on the subsequent Thai military manoeuvres afterward. After Mr. Hun Sen’s antics, Mr. Abhisit stealthily ordered large deployments of Thai troops, numbering to 8000, according to some estimates, into the border areas in a provocation attempt to stir up Mr. Hun Sen into a real fire fight which Mr. Abhisit hopes to deliver a knock out military punch of Mr. Hun Sen in the same way Mr. Hun Sen landed him a verbal knock out punch.

In this dispute, due to military in-equilibrium, Mr. Hun Sen, with an unmatched military power to a Thai military might, has to resort to personal verbal antics and outbursts to fight back against the Thai bully and invasion.

Mr. Hun Sen’s vitriolic tirades against Mr. Abhisit serve no purpose for the Cambodian cause and will undoubtedly reflect on his already-tarnished personal integrity and gangster-like image. He risked becoming an international pariah in the eyes of the international community if he continues these sorts of uncivilised outbursts against the head of government of another country.

I am neither proud nor am I an apologist of Mr. Hun Sen’s un-diplomatic and obscene tirades against a head of government of a neighbouring country, but I can understand his anger and frustration. While I am indifferent to his crude styles, I, however, am particularly concerned about the international ramification of his obnoxious and unacceptable un-statesmanlike behaviours have on Cambodia and the Cambodian people generally.

While I abhor Mr. Hun Sen’s latest un-diplomatic language and his antics against Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva, I unequivocally deplore the Thai bully and stand over tactics vis-à-vis Cambodia over border issues. The Thai bully and hegemonic ambition was the root cause of the present recurring Khmer-Thai border conflicts and Mr. Hun Sen’s latest rage.

The Thai blatant aggression, conducted with hegemonic and expansionist motives, can only be viewed with contempt. If Thailand is insatiable with the annexation of more than 10 Khmer provinces in the past, then Thailand, and Abhisit for that matter, will never cease their drives for more annexations of Khmer territories at present and into the future. Thailand’s insatiable appetite for the conquer of Cambodian territories is the root cause of all conflicts in the past and present between these two nations. The Thai bully and its hegemonic ambition of expansionism will always be an obstacle and a hurdle to a peaceful and good neighbourly co-existence between the two nations. Only when Thailand gives up its hegemony and expansionist motives toward Cambodia, can a peaceful and good neighbourly co-existence between the two neighbours be realised and achieved.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I agree. Mr. Hun Sen's language is unacceptable in international diplomacy, but the Thai aggression and invasion of Cambodian territory violate and breach international laws. Thailand's invasion of Cambodian territory must be condemned by international community.

Anonymous said...

Hun Sen reacted emotionally. If he doesn't take it personally, he wouldn't reacted so emotionally. Doesn't that mean he cares about this issue dearly to his heart? I rather have someone who speaks how he feels than putting up a fake smile for the sake of being friendly. Don't forget it has been 2 years that Hun Sen has been quiet about this. To me, that is enough time for patience. I'm sure if someone tries to break into your house for that long, you won't have that warm welcoming face anymore. Before you judge others, why don't you put yourself in the position of those you are so inclined to judge and the situation surrounding.

Anonymous said...

like like your comment 1253. 100% agree and more.

Anonymous said...

No "Overlapping" or "Disputed" 4.6 km2 Area...It's all within Cambodia!
ไม่มีพื้นที่ 'ทับซ้อน' หรือ 'โต้แย้ง' ๔.๖ ก.ม.๒...เป็นดินแดนในกัมพูชาตลอดมา!

The delineation of boundary between Cambodia and Thailand by the mixed French-Siamese commission was not a mere coincidence. It was done on the agreement that the French position in Indochina gave up Chanthaburi and Trat provinces; and Siam returned Siem Reap, Kampong Thom, and Battambang provinces, which it had conquered and occupied for over two centuries back to Cambodia. It's a misconception for Thais to think that the Franco-Siamese treaty of 1904-07 was an unfair treaty while France was a super power at the time. King Sisowath considered the treaty a major accomplishment during his reign by regaining Cambodia's most important historial land back. On the other hand, King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) of Siam believed it was to the best interests of Siam for gaining Chanthaburi and Trat provinces from the French possession and safeguarding their homebase country from being a colony of the west. Chanthaburi and Trat provinces proved to be a great bargain for Thailand today with a vast area of the Gulf of Thailand, islands, and large oil and gas deposits beneath the sea floor. This land trade off also gave Bangkok a more proportional distance away from Cambodia, roughly 120 miles from the border. The Franco-Siamese treaty of 1904-07 showed Annex I map with a clear and finite boundary line between Thailand and Cambodia. There were no so-called "overlapping" or "disputed" 4.6 km2 between the two kingdoms. The Annex I map was subsequently being used by the Royal Government of Cambodia under the leadership of then King-Father Norodom Sihanouk in the World Court case regarding Preah Vihear in 1962, in which the court ruled by a vote of 9 to 3 that Preah Vihear Temple and the adjacent areas were in the territory of Cambodia.

---Khmer Surin
---ชาวแขมร์จังหวัดสุรินทร์

Anonymous said...

A very fair piece, Khmerization. And a great piece, Khmer Surin. You both have done a good job here.

Anonymous said...

Lok Khmer Surin, thank you for your insight. Excellent. keep coming, brother.