For most people in the democratic world, the national election is a normal democratic process to choose their leaders based on the policy and ability of those leaders to run a daily work for the country. But in Cambodia, this election would be more meaningful than that. This election outcome will distinctly push the nation into two opposite directions: if the CPP continues to win, Khmer will live under the same dictatorship, and the fate of the nation will be endangered. But if the CNRP win, Khmer will get the true democracy and the nation will historically survive from Vietnamization. Thus, in the upcoming election, Khmer must look at these two key aspects that the two major parties stand for.
The CPP which formerly created in 1951, a remnant of the Indochina Communist party created by Ho Chi Minh, has survived through many different circumstances until its final victory in 1979 supported by Vietnamese troop. Since then, this party has continued to rule the country until today and well prepared to maintain its power by all means as needed. These party is strong and powerful because Hanoi has played a key role behind the scene to direct all the CPP's policies. Without Vietnamese behind the stage, the CPP would be disappear since the UN supervised election 1993. In contrast, the CPP has grown stronger and bigger when it overwhelmingly took over 90 National Assembly seats in the previous election. Most people have always asked themselves why the CPP got all the seats which they were not deserved. However, there are many factors that have guaranteed the CPP's continuous victory -- intimidation through its whole network in the country, registering and voting system is manipulated by the CPP's installed NEC, all illegal Vietnamese immigrants allowed to vote freely, buying votes through gifts and false promises are a common practice, all major media networks under the CPP control--In general, most aspects of daily lives of the country is systematically controlled by the CPP.
On the other hand, Hanoi would not easily let Khmer free from their political and economic influence that has been rooted over our country for centuries. Vietnam had systematically created a long term plan to swallow Cambodia at all cost. And this ambiguous ideology has penetrated into Vietnamese leaders in all generations. Even the failure of Emperor Minh Mang and his son, Thiev Tree in the vietnamization policy over Khmer in 1848, it would not deter other later Vietnamese leaders from carrying on its long term plan of conquering over Cambodia. Namely, Ho Chi Minh had set an other plan to take over Khmer under the well-known banner of Indochina Federation. But this plan was disrupted by the Geneva Peace accord in 1954 which required all Vietminh troop withdraw from Cambodia though these Vietminh troop later returned to help Khmer Rouge in late 1960s and early 1970. Nevertheless, Pol Pot did not see Vietnam as helpers but as the real aggressors in term of political and territorial integrity. By late1973, all Vietnamese troops were forced out from Cambodian territory under Khmer Rouge control through negotiation and some forceful means. After the Khmer Rouge's victory over the Khmer Republic 1975, the relationship between Pol Pot's Regime and Hanoi never got into positive direction because Vietnam always treats Khmer as subordinate partner and forced Khmer to accept their patronage under the so called cooperation treaties among three countries in Indochina--Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.
But Pol Pot's unwise policy towards Hanoi just created an other dangerous situation for the nation. By early 1979, Vietnamese troop invaded Cambodia under a banner to save Khmer lives from the Pol Pot's Regime, and restored the current CPP to life again. Khmer have learnt the trick from Vietnam as Vietnam learnt the their mistakes in the past. Since 1979, Vietnam has more comfortable position to control Cambodia than ever before through their CPP client by claiming that the situation in Cambodia is irreversible meaning that Hanoi cannot let Cambodia free any more. And this claim is still accurate by today. After Paris Peace Agreement 1991, Hanoi has changed its political tactics to rule Cambodia through its client, the CPP. The main policies for keeping Khmer under Hanoi's control are: first to break Khmer unity into small pieces at all cost as we had seen the destruction of the Son San's Party, Funcenpec, and numerous attempts on Sam Rainsey Party. Second, to infiltrate the CPP faithful members in all the national institutions -- the military, police, courts, media networks, financial and business networks, and even the religious and Royal institutions are deeply run by the CPP such as Kong Samol and Tep Vong... Third, to allow free flow of Vietnamese immigrants into the country without check; one Vietnamese translates into one vote for the CPP undoubtedly. Fourth, to build up a new CPP generation by placing all the top CPP's children in high positions namely, Hun Manet, Hun Many, and so on in order to continue Hanoi's ambiguous policy for future greater Vietnam known as Indochina Federation.
For Khmer, it is not too late to rescue our nation from this imminent thread of Vietnamization but time is running out, the longer the CPP has ruled, the deeper Hanoi roots in the country and the much harder to dig out than today. Now a newly formed CNRP by Sam Raisey and Kim Sokha, has clearly answered to the problems of our Nation that has faced for centuries. This time, Khmer don't need to go to the jungle to carry the guns to liberate our nation as used to be, but we have to wisely use our sacred ballots in stead of the bullets to rescue our motherland from death thread peacefully. To archive this historical mission is not too hard but demands strictly discipline our minds, by refusing all temptations by the CPP to buy out and to break up our Khmer unity under the CNRP's leadership. When the CNRP win, its means that all Khmer win, our motherland is rescued from the death, and all Khmer will get a true democracy that differs from this current fake democracy.
Now the chance is coming, the stake is very high for all Khmer to make a historical decision for our nation and for our lives. Our choice is between dead and alive for our nation, between true democracy and dictatorship, between Khmer interest and Vietnamese interest, between justice and injustice, between corrupted and clean government, and between sustained economic development and depletion of our natural resources. Do we want to live under the dictatorship of the CPP and Hanoi's yoke for an other five years or we want to live in our own true democratic nation? Make our best choice for our lives and our nation.
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