The Familiar Sign Dominating Villages Across Cambodia

The bright colourful sign was erected in my village district. It's the ruling party Cambodian People Party (CPP). The party signs are all over on the streets of Phnom Penh too. I saw a lot of them along the Sisowath Quay and on the Russian Blvd. A friend of mine is so tired of this sign. One time he and I came across to the sign and he exclaimed: "Merl ! boros jomkout bey nak ! -- មើល​​ ! បុរស​​ ចំកួត បី នាក់ -- Look ! these three stooges* " I then told him to be respectful even if we don't share their policies of leading our country.

This is a big publicity or propaganda for the CPP. I don't see other party signs at all. I think this is not a fair representation. The CPP controls the laws -- maybe the law allow them to post their own party signs, but when other opposition parties asked for their signs to be put up, permission is needed. Usually permission is not granted; therefore the opposition party signs will be torn down.

Furthermore, the CPP does everything to benefit its own party and pleases Yuon Hanoi. I heard from an elder of my village. He said that many times when any Khmer nationalist asked for permission to have a radio station, the ruling CPP denied by stating the reasons there's no more radio frequencies left. But instead they granted the permission to the Vietnamese immigrant/Vietnamese embassy to operate the Vietnamese language radio station in our Srok Khmer. By pleasing Yuon Hanoi, CPP leaders are indeed stooges*.

- Vanak-

*Stooge -- [informal] Someone who always does what someone else wants them to.
-- Longman Advanced American Dictionary(c) 2000.