កឹម សុខា: “ខ្ញុំសូមកោតសរសើរវីរៈភាពលះបង់របស់បាតុករយ៉ាងអង់អាចក្លាហាន។ ក្នុងនាមខ្ញុំអ្នកដឹកនាំគណបក្សសង្រ្គោះជាតិ ខ្ញុំមិនអាចបំភ្លេចបានទេ ខ្ញុំមិនអាចក្បត់ឆន្ទៈបងប្អូនបានជាដាច់ខាត។ ខ្ញុំសូមប្ដេជ្ញា ប្រគល់អាយុជីវិតខ្ញុំ គឺរស់នៅដើម្បីបំរើឆន្ទៈខ្មែរជានិច្ច ។ រស់នៅដើម្បីខ្មែរ មិនធ្វើឆ្កែបំរើពួកផ្ដាច់ការជាដាច់ខាត។ រស់នៅដើម្បីបំរើខ្មែរ មិនធ្វើឆ្កែបំរើពួកពុករលួយជាដាច់ខាត” កឹម សុខា។ — at Democracy Park.
Published: September 7, 2013
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Thousands of supporters of Cambodia’s opposition rallied against the authoritarian government of Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday, calling for the United Nations to help lead an investigation into accusations of cheating in the July 28 national elections that the governing party says it won.
Protests by farmers and strikes by garment workers are relatively common
in Cambodia, but Saturday’s demonstration by a newly unified political
opposition was one of the most potent symbols of defiance against Mr.
Hun Sen in recent years.
The leaders of the opposition, Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha, told demonstrators that they would stage additional protests until their demands were met.
“We want a leader who is full of dignity, not a leader who steals
votes,” Mr. Kem Sokha, the vice president of the opposition Cambodia
National Rescue Party, told the crowd on Saturday. “We will not stop
until there is a solution.”
Analysts question how long opposition supporters will remain passionate
about the issue. The three-hour protest, which was peaceful and largely
confined to a public square,
seemed relatively unthreatening to the 28-year-long rule of Mr. Hun Sen,
who in addition to the apparent loyalty of the army and the police has a
praetorian guard of thousands of soldiers. His party machinery is
firmly entrenched throughout the country, its domination stretching from
national institutions to village patronage networks.
But the usually demonstrative and garrulous prime minister has been
relatively quiet in recent weeks, leaving analysts guessing about his
next moves. The opposition says it will not attend National Assembly sessions until the election irregularities are addressed, but some members of Mr. Hun Sen’s party say they plan to form a new government with or without the opposition’s attendance.
Despite demands by the opposition to withhold official election results until the political standoff
is resolved, Mr. Hun Sen’s party, the Cambodian People’s Party, is
expected to be declared the victor by the National Election Committee on
Sunday. Analysts say the official results are not likely to differ
significantly from preliminary tallies by the committee, which showed
the Cambodian People’s Party winning 3.2 million votes compared with 2.9
million for the opposition, an uncomfortably slim margin for Mr. Hun
Sen, who has dominated the country’s politics for decades.
Cambodian and international election monitors have pointed to numerous,
significant irregularities in the elections that have the potential to
alter the outcome.
“We can’t say with confidence that these elections reflected the will of
the people,” said Laura Thornton, the resident director of the Cambodia
office of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs,
an American organization that promotes elections.
Among the biggest issues was the large number of temporary identification cards
the government issued before the election. Although temporary cards are
normally reserved for those who lose their ID cards, the National
Election Committee has said that as many as 800,000 temporary cards were
issued, or about 1 per 12 eligible voters.
Ms. Thornton said the government, despite repeated requests, had not
explained why so many people needed temporary identification cards
to vote. Initial data collected by her organization shows that the use
of temporary cards was concentrated in areas where the governing party
was in a close contest with the opposition, raising the possibility that
the ID cards could have been used illegally as a tool to allow
ineligible voters like minors or foreigners to vote.
On Friday, the Constitutional Council, a body that according to
Cambodian law has the final say in election complaints, rejected the
opposition’s claims of irregularities.
No comments:
Post a Comment