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[Kem Sokha and Hun Sen on the way to Assembly Session, Image from Facebook] |
By Khmer Wathanakam
www.khmerwathanak.blogspot.com
Over
the past year, political atmosphere has been heated up caused by one
man, Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has clung to power more than 30 years
and continues to hold it tightly regardless of what may happen. To
maintain his power grip, Hun Sen has shamelessly used his dirty tricks
to assassinate his opponents, to imprison, to force into exile, to
insult, to threaten, and to break up their unity, and to confuse the
situation prior to election seasons. Hun Sen will be sleepless, if he
perceives his opponents are stronger and more popular than him. In order
to stay on top of his opponents, he has to create rain and storm to
weaken and destroy them in any circumstance. A murder of Dr. Kem Ley, an
exile of CNRP leader, Sam Rainsy, the imprisonment of CNRP's senator
Hong Sokhour and CNRP's MP Oum Som Ann along with other activists, the
human right activists, NEC deputy secretary general, violent mob against
two CNRP's MPs, and a plotted sex scandal against Kem Sokha are the
most important political events that have been orchestrated by Hun Sen
this year. Although Kem Sokha and CNRP's commune chief, Mr. Seang Chet,
have been freed, there are many more political prisoners still in jail,
and the government failed to investigate Dr. Kem Ley's murder case that
now falls into a pattern of numerous murder cases previously that they
have never found a real murderers to justice. The current detente won't
last longer the same as previous ones, but it will open an opportunity
for CNRP to negotiate with Hun Sen in order to release its activists,
human right defenders, and the other political prisoners.
There
is nothing new and surprised that Hun Sen promptly released Mr. Kem
Sokha and Mr. Seang Chet simultaneously, for he is the one who was
behind this issue. And Hun Sen has enormous power to throw any one into
jail or to release them on his will. As he declared that if CNRP was
quiet and did not mention about international pressure on him, he might
release more CNRP and human right activists, otherwise they would stay
in jail until the end of their term. Hun Sen repeatedly warned that
they have to read his behavior carefully. This Hun Sen's tirade just indicates
that he is the man who can make rain and storm in Cambodia politics. He
can point his finger at any one to go to jail, to go in exile, or to be
killed as Dr. Kem Ley if he wants to. No one can stop or check his
undeserved power, since he has controlled all national institutions
which should be independent according to the constitution---court, ACU,
police, military, finance, and so forth.