An excellent, balanced article and well-sourced, though nothing that many of us did not already know about Mr Hun Sen.
Any apologists of him or his regime who find it hard to swallow even the suggestion that he retains his 'Stalinist' trait or character, will do well to read this article thoroughly, and should they fail to see the validity in the description still, they should then redefine their understanding of Stalinist tactics on how to deal ruthlessly with political rivals or opponents.
There were widespread allegations that some captured Funcinpec soldiers during the coup even had their eyes gouged. Unreliable, malicious rumours? No worse than the fate of Ho Sok and other captured military officers who had summarily been executed during this time.
Personally, it was not hard for me to foresee Hun Sen resorting to this brutal tactics of his. My brickbat is mainly for those Funcinpec figures like Ranariddh and his father (Sihanouk) who knowingly walked their followers into the trap set by this battle-hardened, violent communist, and while they have since survived and even managed to prosper by collaborating with him, the sad truth remains that so many of their faithful rank-and-file members or foot soldiers who had been with them since the Resistance days had been far less fortunate.
On the surface, both Hun Sen as a person and the country he still rules with an iron grip have changed. But, the country itself is still being held hostage to his legacy of 1997. The leader of the main opposition party has been forced into exile, just like Ranariddh once was. Several general elections had been held since 1997 with predictable outcomes.
Fair game? Yes, in Hun Sen's and his Vietnamese advisors' terms. For the Khmer people, it's nothing less than a tragedy.
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Anonymous said...
This is very a good article and it is fair assessment. I was wondering what roles do Funcipec leadership play after leading their own members into hell? SRP at least was kind enough to hold commemoration service for those who sacrificed their lives during the coup, even though it is political opportunism. What did the prince do for the people who sacrificed their life for him? You can say all the thing about the Cambodian style of politics or its current leader. This is nothing new in Cambodia; does it make it right? No, not all. You remember when Sihanouk was in power and Son Ngoc Thanh's people were executed not because they were traitors to Cambodia but because they were a threat to Sihanouk. It turned out a couple decades later those people were defending Cambodia interests rather Sihanouk's interest that's why they were killed. If I have to choose which leader to work for and which leader that will have your back when trouble time; I would gladly say PM Hun Sen rank top on my list. He took care of his followers not like other politician who used them and tossed them away to the corner after they were done. Right or wrong, this is Cambodia style of politics and I am sure Western society did it differently; it may not be as violence but the tactics being controlled to remain in power is more discreet but it is a cutthroat concept likewise. My hope is that Cambodia will change from a violent to a more diplomatic politics as new generation become more educated and new leaders learned what democracy is all about etc. Cambodia needs improving, I am not denying it. I've seen PM Hun Sen is looking to change for better future; he knows that no one can live forever. It is the law of nature. Why do you think he is grooming his son? His son study in the US and my hope that he will bring democracy to Cambodia. I realized that others wanted to have the same chance in leadership but it is most likely that PM Hun Sen's son will be the next Prime Minister after his father. Let's face it, PM Hun Sen had cemented his support with Cambodians already. You have to learn how to survive in Cambodia. Choosing the wrong leaders to follow can have life and death consequences.
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