Both sides should restain from verbal and violent attacks on each other

[Image Sam Rainsy's Facebook Page]

By Khmer Wathanakam
www.khmerwathanak.blogspot.com

A violent mob organized by the ruling party, beaten up two CNRP's MPs severely injured has stirred up more political confrontation between the two leaders.  After condoning violent protest against CNRP's vice president Kem Sokha, Hun Sen also warned that Sam Rainy will face jail term , for he had allowed Hong Sok Hour who was accused and jailed by Hun Sen's court for forging a document about Cambodia-Vietnam border treaty, publishing on his Facebook Page. Sam Rainsy when seeing his party members were beaten up viciously by a violent mob set up by Hun Sen, as a leader of the party, he strongly condemned that brutal attack and demanded the government to bring those perpetrators to justice. Additionally, he compared Hun Sen's tactics of violent intimidation against his party to the fascists in Italy before the World War II in order to delay the two critical elections in 2017-18.  Such an analogy even made Hun Sen more furious, and he demanded Sam Rainsy to apologize him publicly or a culture of dialogue between the two parties will be ended.  Now Sam Rainsy has faced two more imminent threats from Hun Sen--to face a jail term and to apologize him publicly for comparing him to a fascist. A question is whether Hun Sen's threat to put Rainsy behind bar real? And should Sam Rainsy apologize Hun Sen publicly? Sam Rainsy may face an unpleasant choice. A short answer is Sam Rainsy must deny any wrong doing involved with Hong Sok Hour publishing a so called forgery.  And he doesn't need to apologize Hun Sen publicly either.  And another question, does Hun Sen allow Rainsy out of hook? It may or may not, but only a political dialogue between the two parties will solve this continuous political confrontation by tuning down their political rhetoric and violent threat.

Hun Sen condones violence and also pretends to condemn it

[Image credit VOD]

 By Khmer Wathanakam
www.khmerwathanak.blogspot.com

A pattern of violent tactic against political dissidents by Hun Sen's regime has been repeated in Cambodia since the 1993 election sponsored by the UN.  This wily, tricky regime has very high skill in dealing with its political opponents by using all available means to humiliate, to weaken, and to destroy them at the end.  Usually, Hun Sen plays two actors in the same episode: to be an Asura and Devada at the same scene.  Since 1993 election, hundreds of opposition members, union leaders, workers, journalists, environment activists, and even movie and singer stars have been murdered in cold blood and viciously, but none of perpetrators has ever been brought to justice.  Such a culture of impunity has flourished in Cambodian society for decades.  No one can change or stop it if Hun Sen has magic power to plays two roles as an Asura and Devada at the same time.  Sometimes, a victim of violence or discrimination has become a double victims or an innocent person has been framed as a scapegoat to cover up a real murderer. Cambodia has become a hybrid society; it is a constitutional monarchy democracy on the banner, but in reality it is a authoritarian and mafia state. During Pol Pot's regime, they taught people to be obedient and deaf in order to survive, but in the current regime they teach people to see black as white and good people as bad and vie versa.  It is very unusual and unreasonable that the prime minister organizes a violent protest against the opposition, a powerless group who has no role to make any key decision relating to the country's affair while the prime minister has all power to decide a fate of the nation.  Ridiculously, those protesters demanded Kem Sokha to resign from his post as vice president of the National Assembly, a powerless position, why not asked Hun Sen and Heng Samrin to resign, who have held power over three decades and committed countless mistakes and atrocities? In democratic countries in the world, the people protest and criticize their leaders or the ruling party, for they run the country so they eventually makes some mistakes.  And the people demand them to resign when they commit severe mistake or fail to fulfill their promises, not to ask the opposition leaders to resign; they can't hold accountable for the people since they don't rule the country. Such a violent mob against the opposition party rarely happens in democratic countries, only in authoritarian states.  But this violent mob here can be easily to prevent it if Hun Sen did not give a green light and the authority has been given order to stop it.

Hun Sen unleashes another wave of violence against innocent CNRP's MPs

[Violent protesters in front Kem Sokha's residence, RFA]

 By Khmer Wathanakam
www.khmerwathanak.blogspot.com

A  violent set up protest against Mr. Kem Sokha, a vice president of the National Assembly and vice president of CNRP took every one by surprise since this violent protest was quietly organized by the CPP's network, and they intended to harm the CNRP's MPs physically and emotionally.  This violent mob usually incited and organized by Hun Sen who used to play such a shameful and violent game against his opponents numerous times in the past.  This is not a new story, as Dr. Kem Ley said, " when I read this story, I already know who is an author."  Exactly, all the sagas of such violent protests always organized and stoked by the powerful person who is siting above the law.  A clear evidence that confirmed Hun Sen had stayed behind this violent demonstration is a Hun Sen's statement from Paris, warning the opposition party, " if you get mad, don't play and if you play, don't get mad. And playing at this time you can lose the vice president post of the National Assembly too." Magically, less than 24 hours after Hun Sen's statement, a large group of violent-prone mob dominated by men, and some of them wore black caps to hide their clear identity stormed in front of the National Assembly and the other big group besieged Kem Sokha's residence, demanding him to step down from his position.  And some of them pretended to be CNRP's supporters accusing Kem Sokha of making empty promise during his 2013 election campaign.  The other evidence that indicated this violent protest was set up by Hun Sen and his CPP's supporters is the situation around the National Assembly Building is so unusual because there were big group of loud protesters, but there were no police and security forces presence to protect the National Assembly as well as to stop or disrupt the protesters as they used to do in the past according to a CNRP's spokesman, Mr. Yem Sovann, Human rights observers, and the Journalists' accounts.  All these proofs have clearly pointed out that This violent mob that caused severe injury two CNRP's MPs was orchestrated and set up by Hun Sen and his security agents.  Hun Sen is more likely to order this violent protest to counter peaceful protest by Khmer overseas in France during his three day state visit in Paris.  Because Hun Sen baseless accused the opposition stayed behind those protesters against him in Paris when the CNRP has strongly denied its involvement.

Is Hun Sen's threat of war real if he loses election?

[Image credits www.rfa.org]

By Khmer Wathanakam
www.khmerwathanak.blogspot.com

In the past few months Cambodian political atmosphere has turned into a boiling point since Hun Sen has reneged all his political agreements with CNRP on July 22, 2014 by employing his old tactic of intimidation and imprisonment CNRP's political activists including a senior CNRP's official Senator Hong Sok Hour, a border expert for the party.  Along with imprisonment, Hun Sen frequently repeats his threat of war if he or his party lose the incoming general election in 2018 by inciting or encouraging his military, police commanders and his appointed provincial and district governors to turn against the winning party if those officials will be replaced with new members from the wining party.  Furthermore, Hun Sen recently has promoted his second son, Hun Manith, to be a chief of an intelligence department similar to the job of the US's CIA director while his oldest son, Hun Maneth, has maintained a position as a deputy commander of his father's bodyguard unit, an elite troop designed to protect Hun Sen and his family is similar to the US's secrete service which is assigned to protect the President and his family.  Many analysts and political observers have concluded that Hun Sen has tried all his ability to cement his long time power grip by promoting his children and his relatives to the key security positions in order to clarify his doubt and fear of losing power.  The more Hun Sen fears, the more he makes threat to all his opponents and all the people.  Will the war really happen if he loses election? The answer is may or may not happen, but if it happens, it will be a short one, not a protracted war as in the 1970s and 1980s.

As a new election is about two years away to happen, Hun Sen has deployed his old trick, threatening his opponents as well as the whole nation that war will be imminently happen if his ruling party lose election.  This verbal threat should not be looked over since Cambodia had experienced the most bloody war and genocide in the 1970s and fallowed by invasion war in the 1980s,  many people have a good reason to fear about it. Most Cambodian people had lost their loved ones during past wars and genocide, and no one wants to see such a horrible event happening again in any circumstance.  However, the fear of war has been fully exploited by Hun Sen in recent election campaign in 2013, and now he starts to renew his threat of war again.  Although the economy has grown in a remarkable way under Hun Sen's rule, human rights, democracy, and a rule of law in the country seem move in opposite direction from the economy growth.  Hun Sen never let democracy flourish as the economy; he may try to walk against the water current or try to prove that political theory is wrong.