Op-Ed by Khmerization
2nd April 2010
The US decision to cancel a delivery of its military aid to the present Cambodian government seems like a déjà vu and reminiscent of the US sour relations with Sihanouk’s Sangkum Reastr Niyum government in the 1950s and 60s. The then United States government wanted Cambodia to adopt a US-friendly policy in exchange for economic and military aid. Sihanouk rejected America’s overtures and instead opted for China’s aid. Sihanouk’s rejection of American aid led to the deterioration of relations between the two countries which then led the US government to cut off all aid in the late 1960s. The cut of aid by America and Sihanouk’s acceptance of aid from China had culminated into a strain in the relations between the two countries which had precipitously led to the US orchestrating a coup against Sihanouk in 1970.
By the same token, Hun Sen’s toying with China and his present anti-American attitude could be a premonition and recipe for the repeat of the 1970 event. The then US Administration had used Defence Minister and Prime Minister Lon Nol to turn against Sihanouk and then induced a coup d’etat to topple him. America could now do the same with Hun Sen by using some of his closest lieutenants to topple him.
Hun Sen is now repeating Sihanouk’s fatal mistake by playing a dangerous game with America. Another US-induced coup d’etat might be hatched sooner or later should Hun Sen choose to ignore America and continue to irritate America with his cosy relations with China. Hun Sen, like Sihanouk, had been duped and hypnotised to believe that China is Cambodia’s only saviour. Like Sihanouk, he is of the view that only China could help Cambodia to counter America’s bully and that Cambodia could use China’s political and military leverage to protect itself from the Vietnamese expansionism and hegemony. Sihanouk’s gamble and miscalculations had cost Cambodia irreparable destruction and the loss of nearly 2 million of innocent Cambodian lives. Hun Sen’s present gamble and miscalculations could likewise lead to another calamity and disastrous consequence for Cambodia and the Cambodian people.
I am of the opinion that Hun Sen’s policy of playing off one superpower against another is dangerous for Cambodia. Cambodia’s intimate relations with only China is neither good for Cambodia nor the Cambodian people in the long run, but is dangerous. I am of the view that good relations with all the superpowers, especially America, are in the best interests of Cambodia. Good and smooth relations with America will ensure an enduring democracy, security and long lasting economic prosperity which have been proven in other countries that have accepted American aids and political guidance like Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea, Israel and the Philippines. Good relations with China, as seen in Cambodia in the 1950s and 60s, will only bring short term security, political stability and economic prosperity, but will face misery and destruction like in the 1970s when Cambodia was led by China’s proxy- the Khmer Rouge regime. Today, China’s massive investments had been pouring in in exchange for big concessions such as forestry concessions, farmland concessions, mining and hydroelectric dam-building concessions. Most of these concessions will cause disastrous and irreparable environmental damage to Cambodia and, without a doubt, they will generate big benefits and high returns for China in the future. As such, the notion that Chinese aids are unconditional and without a tie is a myth and misconception.
On the other hand, the US aids are mostly conditional on Cambodia improving democracy, human rights and institutional reforms, which will only benefit Cambodia and the Cambodian people. Most of the countries that received American aids, like Israel, Turkey, Thailand and the Philippines, have never had any problems with American conditions because governments of these countries are democratically elected and their human rights records are acceptable to the United States subsequent governments. Cambodia under Mr. Hun Sen cannot accept American conditions because it is corruption-prone, incompetent and its human rights records are appalling and therefore cannot be made comparable to these countries in any sense.
I can sense the ghost of the 1970 coup d’etat returns, sooner or later, if Hun Sen’s recalcitrance and his anti-American policy still persists.
2nd April 2010
“I can sense the ghost of the 1970 coup d’etat returns, sooner or later, if Hun Sen’s recalcitrance and his anti-American policy still persists.”
The US decision to cancel a delivery of its military aid to the present Cambodian government seems like a déjà vu and reminiscent of the US sour relations with Sihanouk’s Sangkum Reastr Niyum government in the 1950s and 60s. The then United States government wanted Cambodia to adopt a US-friendly policy in exchange for economic and military aid. Sihanouk rejected America’s overtures and instead opted for China’s aid. Sihanouk’s rejection of American aid led to the deterioration of relations between the two countries which then led the US government to cut off all aid in the late 1960s. The cut of aid by America and Sihanouk’s acceptance of aid from China had culminated into a strain in the relations between the two countries which had precipitously led to the US orchestrating a coup against Sihanouk in 1970.
By the same token, Hun Sen’s toying with China and his present anti-American attitude could be a premonition and recipe for the repeat of the 1970 event. The then US Administration had used Defence Minister and Prime Minister Lon Nol to turn against Sihanouk and then induced a coup d’etat to topple him. America could now do the same with Hun Sen by using some of his closest lieutenants to topple him.
Hun Sen is now repeating Sihanouk’s fatal mistake by playing a dangerous game with America. Another US-induced coup d’etat might be hatched sooner or later should Hun Sen choose to ignore America and continue to irritate America with his cosy relations with China. Hun Sen, like Sihanouk, had been duped and hypnotised to believe that China is Cambodia’s only saviour. Like Sihanouk, he is of the view that only China could help Cambodia to counter America’s bully and that Cambodia could use China’s political and military leverage to protect itself from the Vietnamese expansionism and hegemony. Sihanouk’s gamble and miscalculations had cost Cambodia irreparable destruction and the loss of nearly 2 million of innocent Cambodian lives. Hun Sen’s present gamble and miscalculations could likewise lead to another calamity and disastrous consequence for Cambodia and the Cambodian people.
I am of the opinion that Hun Sen’s policy of playing off one superpower against another is dangerous for Cambodia. Cambodia’s intimate relations with only China is neither good for Cambodia nor the Cambodian people in the long run, but is dangerous. I am of the view that good relations with all the superpowers, especially America, are in the best interests of Cambodia. Good and smooth relations with America will ensure an enduring democracy, security and long lasting economic prosperity which have been proven in other countries that have accepted American aids and political guidance like Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea, Israel and the Philippines. Good relations with China, as seen in Cambodia in the 1950s and 60s, will only bring short term security, political stability and economic prosperity, but will face misery and destruction like in the 1970s when Cambodia was led by China’s proxy- the Khmer Rouge regime. Today, China’s massive investments had been pouring in in exchange for big concessions such as forestry concessions, farmland concessions, mining and hydroelectric dam-building concessions. Most of these concessions will cause disastrous and irreparable environmental damage to Cambodia and, without a doubt, they will generate big benefits and high returns for China in the future. As such, the notion that Chinese aids are unconditional and without a tie is a myth and misconception.
On the other hand, the US aids are mostly conditional on Cambodia improving democracy, human rights and institutional reforms, which will only benefit Cambodia and the Cambodian people. Most of the countries that received American aids, like Israel, Turkey, Thailand and the Philippines, have never had any problems with American conditions because governments of these countries are democratically elected and their human rights records are acceptable to the United States subsequent governments. Cambodia under Mr. Hun Sen cannot accept American conditions because it is corruption-prone, incompetent and its human rights records are appalling and therefore cannot be made comparable to these countries in any sense.
I can sense the ghost of the 1970 coup d’etat returns, sooner or later, if Hun Sen’s recalcitrance and his anti-American policy still persists.
6 comments:
I can see the similarity between the two situations here. Hun Sen could suffer the same fate as Sihanouk at the hand of United States CIA.
You forget to take into consideration why the 1970's coup happen. America needed to bomb the shit out of our southern provinces. What stake do they have in toppling Hun Sen today? Nothing in the same manner as in 1970's. Another thing is remember that Sihanouk didn't fully have control of the military. I believe Hun Sen has much more influence and power over the military than Sihanouk did with his. Sihanouk had major opposition within his army aka his cousin prince serimatak. Who is an opposition to Hun Sen in the army? I couldn't find one.
All and all, today's situation and circumstance is very much different from the 1970's where there were mounting pressure inside the society for the foreign aides to keep the economy going. Nowadays, the US barely has any form of economic aides to Cambodia. It can cut off whatever it wants and Cambodia wouldn't be affected as much as it did in 1970's.
The bottom line is ask yourself this question "what does America get out of a coup now?" In the 1970's, they got through the coup the chance to bomb our southern provinces to destroy the Ho Chi Min trail and strop the Viet Cong coming into the South. There is no Vietnam War right now where America needs to do that.
I wouldn't worry about such silly and hopeless attempt by the Americans to pressure us for political influence leverage right now.
There's nothing new under the sun -- history repeats itself. Yes, I sense that anxiety from within and trouble from without have just started again. Before it's too late HunSen must beg for extra help from China and Yuon or he will be destroyed by his American enemy. Watch out! Cold war is around the corner. We will be watching the same play cast by different actors.
who do you blame for this calamities to the khmer people?! i think getting along with your nieghbors is better in the long run. just look at european unions. BUT WE NEED TO GET KHMER KROM AND KOH TRAL BACK.!!!!!!!
Our folks say: neighbors are gold, relatives silver. That all depends what kind of neighbor we are having. We would neither fight with the next door neighbors nor have the aggressive ones side by side. Desperately, we need a bright leader who would neither offend nor please our neighboring countries.
12:28 AM,you provide a very good rationale here. Because of communist threats, Vietnam War and the Cold War, America had a good reason to stage a coup in Cambodia in 1970. The possibility of a coup induced by America at this present time is very remote and a coup staged by Cambodian army officers are even more remote because Hun Sen tightly controls the army and police. However, Hun Sen has been seen to be very close to many Muslim and dictatorial countries, namely China, countries in the middle east, Burma and he has expressed public supports for many dictators and indicted war criminals in Africa and other regions like Chevez in Venezuela,the late Milosevic of Serbia, Mugabe in Zimbabwe etc, etc in the recent past. The United States can use terrorism threats to get rid of Hun Sen. It is possible.
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