Just a little more than four months time, in July 2008 we Cambodians will be voting general election for the party that will lead our country for the better. The voice of the people will be heard. In the mean time our Prime Minister Hun Sen is still holding absolute power and centralised all power of running the country to himself. From building roads, schools, naming gardens and bridges, to judicial making processes and deciding who should be in or out of prison, PM Hun Sen involves with all of the final says. At Phnom Penh ’s roadside café, I remember one of my closest friends has once just casually mentioned “នៅប្រទេសកម្ពុជា យើង គឺយើងឥតមាន ត្រូវការ ច្បាប់អីទេ ពីព្រោះនាយករដ្ធមន្រី្តហុន សែន ផ្ទាល់ គឺជាឪ ជា ម៉ែ នៃច្បាប់ទាំងអស់ We don’t need the rule of laws in Cambodia because PM Hun Sen himself is the mother of all rule of laws”.
In the current event at Kompong Som (Sihanuokville) there was a clash between villagers and the local authority protecting the interest of the private company Thai Bun Rong. For generations there were 125 families who were living on the premises of this 13 hectares plot of land. The clash resulted one villager was shot by bullets to his leg and both of his arms were broken. Also four other villagers were arrested and were tossed in prison.
With the election time is coming closer, there would never be any better opportunity for PM Hun Sen to give more promises, hand out gifts and appeasing to the villagers for the purpose to win or buy their votes. Yesterday he flew to Kompong Som and gave a decree to immediately release those four villagers from prison. He compensated $750 to the injured man and $300 to each of the four who were in prison. It’s so ironic that the plot of land was originally belong to the people’s ownership. PM Hun Sen then awarded the 13 hectares of VILLAGERS’OWN LAND back to the villagers.
PM Hun Sen gave the publicity of a speech to propagandise his cause: [my translation] “When something like this has happened, I must apologise to the people. I must apologise for the injured and I must apologise for those that were tossed into the prison. What has happened here, now I must give the state’s land to the people. The land is belonged to the state and the state partitions and gives it to the people. I have nothing to fear when partitioning the land for the people. What I fear is if I partition the land and give it to other countries. I fear if I partition our frontier and ceded to other countries. I, Hun Sen, has no reasons to fear for partitioning the land to our people! “
As usual, our prime minister speech is very macho as one would have expected if he truly is a dictator. PM Hun Sen’s apology may have appeared lowly, modest and so wholeheartedly, which I know only happen for the purpose to have the people’s hearts to vote for his party. He may have won the hearts of 4 villagers that he just released from prison. But to me, especially during the election time, I know this very same trick well. For more than 28 years PM Hun Sen and his CPP cronies have led our Cambodia to deeper dept poverty and corruption. Sorry, Mr. Prime Minister, not again you don’t fool me. And sir, you still lose my vote.
Vanak
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Mr. Defense Minister Tea Banh was 'kissing up" to Vietnam. Hanoi responded with "good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive and long-term co-opporation".
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