Heng Samrin, Chea Sim and Hun Sen released pigeons during the 7th January Day celebration today.Friday, 07 January 2011
Vong Sokheng and Sam Rith
The Phnom Penh Post
It is time for our leaders to wake up and take notice of the general fear ... of losing national independence.
MORE THAN 10,000 members of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party are expected to gather at the party’s headquarters today to mark the 32nd anniversary of the day the Khmer Rouge regime was toppled by Vietnamese troops in 1979.
Senate president Chea Sim is scheduled to give a speech at today’s event, to express the party’s gratitude to the Cambodian and Vietnamese soldiers “who sacrificed their lives to save the Cambodian people”, according to a copy of a prepared statement obtained by The Post yesterday.
“On this occasion, I would like to appeal to all patriots to maintain the precious spirit of January 7 and keep continuing to strengthen the unity of the government under the umbrella of the King, in order to take Cambodia toward glory,” the statement reads.
The January 7 anniversary – known as Victory over Genocide Day – remains a divisive issue, however, with some commentators claiming yesterday that the day marks the moment the country fell under the influence of Hanoi.
In a statement yesterday, political observer Son Soubert argued that January 7 had initiated a period of domination by Vietnam.
“It is time for our leaders to wake up and take notice of the general fear, felt by the great majority of the Cambodian people, of losing national independence and sovereignty,” the statement reads.
Former Prime Minister Pen Sovan, who was dismissed from office in December 1981 and imprisoned for 10 years after criticising the extent of the Vietnamese presence in Cambodia, said the CPP had “betrayed” him and was “manipulated by Vietnam”.
“It is bad for the ruling CPP, which not only conceded territorial sovereignty to Vietnam, but has also brought a lot of illegal immigrants into Cambodia and provided a lot of economic land concessions, leased for 99 years, to Vietnam,” he said.
“I think they are a group of extremists.”
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Hun Sen lashed out at critics of the January 7 holiday, emphasising the importance of the day in Cambodian history.
Speaking at a high school inauguration in Kampong Cham province, the premier said all criticisms of the event were politically motivated.
“I would like to say that January 7 liberated everything, including ghosts and evil spirits and even liberated the heads of those who are cursing January 7,” he said.
Yesterday, police in Siem Reap reported the discovery of an antigovernment leaflet released in advance of January 7, which described Hun Sen as a “second Pol Pot” and blamed his government for a host of ills, including the Diamond Island stampede.
“We have not yet identified the people who threw the leaflet,” said Keo Sambath, Siem Reap’s deputy provincial police chief. “We are investigating.”
In August, Takeo provincial court convicted four people on disinformation charges after they were accused of distributing antigovernment leaflets in advance of last year’s January 7 celebrations.
The leaflets, which were found scattered in three Takeo districts, asserted that the day should not be viewed as one of liberation, but as the day Cambodia became “abused and occupied” by Vietnam.
The plot’s alleged mastermind was convicted in absentia and sentenced to three years in prison and fined 6 million riels (US$1,430).
The three other convicts were sentenced to two years in prison and fined 2 million riels (US$476).
The Phnom Penh Post
It is time for our leaders to wake up and take notice of the general fear ... of losing national independence.
MORE THAN 10,000 members of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party are expected to gather at the party’s headquarters today to mark the 32nd anniversary of the day the Khmer Rouge regime was toppled by Vietnamese troops in 1979.
Senate president Chea Sim is scheduled to give a speech at today’s event, to express the party’s gratitude to the Cambodian and Vietnamese soldiers “who sacrificed their lives to save the Cambodian people”, according to a copy of a prepared statement obtained by The Post yesterday.
“On this occasion, I would like to appeal to all patriots to maintain the precious spirit of January 7 and keep continuing to strengthen the unity of the government under the umbrella of the King, in order to take Cambodia toward glory,” the statement reads.
The January 7 anniversary – known as Victory over Genocide Day – remains a divisive issue, however, with some commentators claiming yesterday that the day marks the moment the country fell under the influence of Hanoi.
In a statement yesterday, political observer Son Soubert argued that January 7 had initiated a period of domination by Vietnam.
“It is time for our leaders to wake up and take notice of the general fear, felt by the great majority of the Cambodian people, of losing national independence and sovereignty,” the statement reads.
Former Prime Minister Pen Sovan, who was dismissed from office in December 1981 and imprisoned for 10 years after criticising the extent of the Vietnamese presence in Cambodia, said the CPP had “betrayed” him and was “manipulated by Vietnam”.
“It is bad for the ruling CPP, which not only conceded territorial sovereignty to Vietnam, but has also brought a lot of illegal immigrants into Cambodia and provided a lot of economic land concessions, leased for 99 years, to Vietnam,” he said.
“I think they are a group of extremists.”
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Hun Sen lashed out at critics of the January 7 holiday, emphasising the importance of the day in Cambodian history.
Speaking at a high school inauguration in Kampong Cham province, the premier said all criticisms of the event were politically motivated.
“I would like to say that January 7 liberated everything, including ghosts and evil spirits and even liberated the heads of those who are cursing January 7,” he said.
Yesterday, police in Siem Reap reported the discovery of an antigovernment leaflet released in advance of January 7, which described Hun Sen as a “second Pol Pot” and blamed his government for a host of ills, including the Diamond Island stampede.
“We have not yet identified the people who threw the leaflet,” said Keo Sambath, Siem Reap’s deputy provincial police chief. “We are investigating.”
In August, Takeo provincial court convicted four people on disinformation charges after they were accused of distributing antigovernment leaflets in advance of last year’s January 7 celebrations.
The leaflets, which were found scattered in three Takeo districts, asserted that the day should not be viewed as one of liberation, but as the day Cambodia became “abused and occupied” by Vietnam.
The plot’s alleged mastermind was convicted in absentia and sentenced to three years in prison and fined 6 million riels (US$1,430).
The three other convicts were sentenced to two years in prison and fined 2 million riels (US$476).
5 comments:
To all my fellow Cambodian brothers and sisters and all the new and older generation of our real Khmer blood.
No matter how defensive of the Hun Sen, Heng Samrin, and the Chea Sim are pertaining to the so-called the "New Life" of Cambodian people save by Yuon and liberated our people from the genocide regime of Pol Pot. For the past thirty-two years Yuon have tried very hard to portray themselves as the rescuer/liberator of our Cambodian people to the world and to our Cambodian people and especially to our new generation that they were the hero for saving lives of their parents, grandparents, and their ancestor from the extinction.
The Yuon's objective was firm and continue to be firm to use that propaganda to our Cambodian people through the government that they support (their puppet gov't) for their interest only to be persistence, notwithstanding of any opposition and/or any criticism of anyone group. Consequently, our government must fulfill that objective for the Yuon. So, of course the government must lashing out and threatening to anyone that oppose the view.
Just remember this, my fellow Cambodian, the old and the younger generation of all Khmer. YUON WAS OUR NATURAL ENEMY FOR MANY GENERATION AND MANY CENTURIES, WE HAD MANY AWFUL HISTORY WITH YUON.
Also, remember this, Yuon NEVER want to be friend with us for a mutual benefits and good causes. Yuon ALWAYS want something from us, Yuon have taken our territories over half of our existing land size, and Yuon took over all of our valuable islands, Yuon took most of our maritime (sea territories) ,to this date Yuon continues to use every tactics of how to control our lives, our economics.
YUON WERE ALWAYS VERY BRUTAL TO OUR PEOPLE FOR MANY GENERATION, WHEN ANY OF US WERE SMART AND STRONG ENOUGH TO STAND-UP TO THEM, AND THE HISTORY HAVE SHOWN THAT WE BACK DOWN MOST OF THE TIME, BECAUSE WE AFRAID, AND WE WERE TOLERABLE PEOPLE, AND THEY KNEW THAT, SO THEY CONTINUE TO USE THE SAME TACTICS. MAYBE, A LITTLE DIFFERENT NOW.
This modernization of age, WE MUST STOP HAVING THE PERCEPTION THAT THE YUON IS MORE INTELLIGENCE THAN US, BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT. We must stop intimidating be the Yuon, we must free from the Yuon's conquer, we must have new approach to the Yuon, just like we have been doing with the Thai for the last couple of years.
See, I am not anti-government of our, I just don't want to the Yuon to be involve in our internal affairs, the more they involve the more problems and devastation we have. And believe me they have been more deeply involved for the thirty-two and counting.
SAM RAINSY HE IS NOT KHMER AT ALL HE JUST SET srp COMPANY FOR EARN A LIVING, ONLY KHMER ABROAD BELIEVED IN HIM, HE IS A BIG LIAR. HE DO NOTHINGS ARTEHR THAN DEVIDE AND SPREAD HATREAT CRITICISIM, ANY ONE FALL INTO BELIEVE RAINSY IS EATHER THEY DO NOT KNOW REALITY OR THEY ARE DUMP. RAINSY IS THE MOST SELFISHNESS MAN, HE CAN'T MANAGE HIS ANARCHY SUPPORTOR, HE LET KI GIVE WILD BEAST PROVACATION, sAM RAINSY CAN'T CONTROL ANYTHINGS, YOU CALL YOURSELF A LEADER RAINSY YOU ARE TRUE IDOITIC, I BET IF YOU DO BUSINESS YOU WILL FAIL BECAURSE YOU ARE LOSER STILE LOSER. Rainsy tonigh looke youreslf in the mirror see .... you are street wilds politiciant, can't control anythings../.
I agree 722. We are not against our government. I am against the yuon. And I understand that this present government are trying to do in long term with the yuon. But please don't lose anymore Khmer land. We ordinary citizens need to support each others. If we lose more land with cpp government then it is time to assinate our leaders.cus they should learn by now with the yuon.
Celebrating 7th January Day will not bring anything, only divisions and disunity among Khmers. Celebrating the Paris Peace Agreements of 23rd October, 1991 will bring national reconciliation and Khmer unity. So, Hun Sen must cease celebrating 7th January and instead celebrate 23rd October. To celebrate 7th January is like to glorify foreign invasion, to celebrate 23rd October is to celebrate peace and national reconciliation.
7:22AM, very well said, sir. Someone who didn't know about the history between Cambodia and Vietnam would think that comment like yours is racist or whatever they want to label it. I want to tell those people that they don't know the truth. They're not Khmer. They're not wearing our shoes, so they wouldn't know how we feel. Only Khmer know about Vietnamese. We have been fighting the Vietnamese encroachment and invasion since they put their first foot in Prey Nokor(south Vietnam) when they were just refugees escaping their Mi Son rebellion civil war sometime in mid 17th century. Look where they are today. Before all those fiasco of anti-Vietnamese sentiment, many things lead to that.
At first, the Vietnamese made themselves appeared very innocent and vulnerable toward Khmer. Khmer are Buddhist, so being commpasionate come almost natural. Khmer helped them out. This is our greatest mistake. We should have learned what Vietnam did to to Champa, prior to this. To sum it up, Khmer saw Vietnamese as sworn enemy forever because of that one thing, call TRUST. Khmer felt betrayed, So Khmer no longer had any trust for the Vietnamese because they always lose something everytime they start showing trust. This distrusfullness toward Vietnam is being passed on from generation to generation. A constant reminder to Khmer to never trust Vietnamese. Everytime Khmer trust them, Khmer always lose something. And it appears that today Cambodian government is gambling by start trusting Vietnam again. Again and again, history begin to repeat betwwen Cambodia and Vietnam.
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