CPP's thugs emerge again to intimidate border activists

[CPP's thugs armed with sticks blocked border activists to reach their goal, Facebook image]

By Khmer Wathanakam
www.khmerwathanak.blogspot.com

[Image Thy Sovantha Facebook]

The border dispute saga with Vietnam turns into humiliation for all Khmer when Hun Sen turns to his old tactics of using his militias or armed thugs to disrupt and intimidate border activists from visiting border post peacefully, only 100 activists were allowed to reach border post 203 while the rest watched from a distance.  This old CPP's dirty tactics had been used in the past when the opposition boycotted the parliament in protesting election fraud, by intimidating and disrupting all opposition's activities throughout the country.  We believe that this kind of violent tactics no longer being used by the CPP since the opposition agreed to join the parliament and to create a culture of dialogue with the CPP in order to avert all such violent confrontation.  Now the CPP may run out of patient or lose control when the opposition and the people demand transparency on border demarcation with Vietnam thus they return to violent tactic again.  So far, though Hun Sen accepts some errors in demarcation, and pledges to borrow original map from UN and other powerful countries-- the US, France, and Great Britain-- there is no sign the government has taken a concrete step to tackle with such a sensitive and critical issue yet.  After three day-meeting between the two border committee from the two countries, they have announced a contradicted result: Cambodia claimed Hanoi had made a big concession, agreeing to cease all activities on the white zones and to fill up at least three of eight excavated ponds while Vietnam repeatedly claimed that it has built roads, military outpost, and ponds only in its controlled territories. In fact, Vietnam made no any concession or correction on border dispute, instead it insisted that it had adhered and respected a previous memorandum in 1995.  Now over 80 per cent of delineation has been completed, and Hun Sen claimed that he could relocate border posts if found incorrectly based on the constitutional mandated map of 1964.  So far, the government has not received the original map yet, Vietnam did not budge to Cambodia's demand, and thousands of Cambodian borders activists were disrupted and not allowed to view border post, only 100 activists were allowed.  So the border issue with Vietnam more likely turned bleak; no sign of conceded and compromised tone from Hanoi.  How can Hun Sen's government resolve border dispute with Vietnam more effectively when Hun Sen still uses violent tactics to intimidate his own fellow Khmer border activists?  This is not a political but a national security issue that the government must heed and protect all those border activists as if Vietnam has done for its own border activists.

[Armed military personnel and CPP's ruffians stood ready to attack border activists if they cross a set line, image the Cambodia Daily]

It's very appalling as a Khmer to see other Khmer armed with sticks backed up by military personnel held up AK-47 ready to attack the fellow Khmer border activists who just want to see and find out a fact how far Vietnam has encroached into Khmer territories.  In such a circumstance, all Khmer should unite, stay together hand in hand, placing their differences aside in order to show up strength and power to deter our enemies.  Instead Khmer still accuse one another of playing politics on the border issue, then the enemies will look down on us and fear nothing, for they just stood watching and laughing at us arguing and threatening one  another.  The government should have  a concrete plan and clear strategy to resolve such an sensitive issue.  The way the government handles this situation just humiliates itself and the whole nation.  The government should accommodate and protect its own people from violence that can break up between the two countries not to send armed thug to threaten and attack its own people who peacefully walk to see our own border demarcation.  Hun Sen, when talking about a culture of dialogue with CNRP recently, he emphasized that fighting and violence is obsolete nowadays.  But what we have seen now is no different from the past.  Such a tactic can't subdue heart and minds of the people who have incensed with such unjust actions committed by Vietnam and Hun Sen's regime, but it creates more anger and animosity toward the CPP even stronger in the next election.

[Khemr confront with Khmer not Vietnamese, Facebook image]

Cambodian border guards should stand on the middle line between Vietnamese and Cambodian activists, coordinating and preventing any violence may break out as in the previous incident.  But instead, Cambodian military personnel stood with Ak-47 ready to shoot their fellow Khmer if they dare to cross the forbidden line. They regarded their own fellow Khmer as if enemies in the battle, indeed they are the peaceful group of Buddhist monks, youths, farmers, and opposition MPs who walked with empty hands only held flags to show their national pride and patriotic spirits.  Those CPP's ruffians armed with sticks, threatened and yelled at the group of activists who begged them not to beat up their fellow Khmer, for they came to find the truth and to protect land for all Khmer including those Khmer thugs.  One activist yelled at those ruffians, " don't beat up our fellow Khmer, it's nonsense; I don't live here, I'm from Phnom Penh want to see Border encroachment from Vietnam.  You (thugs) would regret in the future."  However, no one  knew for sure where those plain clothe ruffians came from; some confirmed that those thugs are not local people; they may be mercenaries or plain clothe police.  Although their identities were not disclosed to journalists, frequently we used to see the government deployed such the violent-prone thugs to disrupt and beat up the opposition activists in the past such as on Freedom Park, Kampong Cham, Kandal, Koh Kong, Anlong Veng and so forth during election fraud protests in 2013.

If Hun Sen has a political will to solve border issue with Vietnam accurately and fairly, he should not handle this situation in a tense and fearful atmosphere. He should order the border guards to stand protecting the fellow Khmer border activists, cooperating and guiding them to reach a final goal in a peaceful manner.  Instead, Cambodian border guards held up their rifles ready to shoot the group of peaceful activists with empty hands without providing a clear instruction to them.  The way that Cambodian border guards and ruffians had acted has clearly encouraged the Vietnamese to encroach more Khmer land since they stand to protect the Vietnamese interest in front of fellow Khmer.  Since the previous incident, Cambodian government dared not to condemn violence instigated by the Vietnamese thugs who caused injuries both sides while Vietnamese government repeatedly condemned Cambodian activists, branding them as the extremists who had attacked the Vietnamese villagers along the border injured seven of them when it never recognized injuries had happened on both sides as all Khmer media had reported.  The two border incidents have indicated that Vietnam still dominates over Cambodia politically and militarily without a question. Hanoi rebuked and accused Cambodian activists as provocateurs and demanded Cambodian government to prevent such a violence in the future.  In fact, Hanoi is a culprit, the Vietnamese attacked Cambodian activists first while Cambodian just tried to defense themselves.   Hanoi's behavior and attitude toward Khmer is unacceptable since it blames Khmer as the extremists and provocateurs, but instead Vietnam is a real hypocrite.