Innocent People Fell into Hun Sen's Preys

A ruthless leader

Cruel treatment on protesters by Hun Sen's security forces

By Khmer Wathanakam

The worse violent crackdown by Hun Sen regime since 1998, which killed at least four and severely injured 37 garment factory workers has sent a shock wave of grief and sorrow to all Khmer people inside and outside the country, who have witnessed such horrendous events repeatedly over the past 35 years under a notorious leader Hun Sen's iron fist rule. A brutal response and cruel treatment of Hun Sen's security forces on empty hand protesters at Freedom Park and Veng Sreng Road just happened less than a week after Hun Sen returned from Hanoi has clearly demonstrated that Hun Sen had set a well coordinated plan to crush protesters by using Hanoi's tactic as we predicted in our previous article. Hun Sen has deployed his two Vietnamese taught tactics--to lure his enemies into his trap and to launch preemptive strike. 

As our intuition in a previous article a few days before this brutal crackdown, an absence of Hun Sen's security forces on the streets did not mean Hun Sen feared the protest, but he just tricked his opponents into his trap and ambushed.  Now his plan has succeeded again when garment factory workers chose some forms of defiance and violence by closing roads and throwing objects at security forces, they completely pushed themselves into Hun Sen's trap.  Then Hun Sen used heavy hands to smash them at free will by accusing protesters as anarchists who destroyed public and private properties and created instability in society and subjected to be severely punished.  And what Hun Sen had responded to empty hand protesters is very brutal and cruel in front of Khmer people and international community.  If Hun Sen is a true Khmer leader, he will be regretful for what he has done to those young innocent people who had just demanded for their better living.

As a well coordinated plan, Hun Sen's security forces also turned violently against peaceful protesters at Freedom Park, using his preemptive strike or surprised attack on hapless protesters and Buddhist monks who strictly adhered to nonviolent means since the start of a series protests four months ago.  For just less than two hours, they razed the park into an empty space where thousands of protesters have stayed over the past two weeks.  This is a strategy that Hun Sen used to extirpate his opponents by targeting a base of people power and leadership along with a looming lawsuit against the protest leaders--Sam Rainsey and Kem Sokha.  At least for now, Hun Sen successfully uprooted the momentum of the people power against his brutal regime by ruthlessly cracked down on protesters and possibly imprison their leaders in a near future.  Now all his opponents fell into his trap like rats; Sam Rainsey and Kem Sokha's political fate may fall into Hun Sen' s hand again if they are not wise enough to navigate through such a vulnerable situation.

Now, all CNRP's elected members and supporters must stay united no matter what; Hun Sen may unleash some more old tricks as he has seen the CNRP fell into his trap.  After a bloody coup 1997, Hun Sen installed Ung Hourt to replace Ranaridh, now if Rainsey an Sokha faced prison term as alleged of inciting violence though is not true but not guaranteed under Hun Sen's court system, the CNRP's elected members must stay united at all cost since it's only best way to survive and to continue struggle for true democracy and justice for the country.  The CNRP should regroup and review its current strategy with high precaution, for they face with highly tricky and ruthless opponent covertly backed by Hanoi.  What Hun Sen has handled with the protesters not only reveal his cruelty but sent a clear message from his boss, Hanoi, to break patriotic will of Khmer people and to intimidate them from rebellion against its patronage system in Cambodia or they meet the same fate as those victims.

The current struggle is a century old issue, there is no quick fix since our opponents have all leverages on their hands. There is no match with them in term of gun barrel, but we have a better match in term democratic process that all parties had agreed in Paris Peace Accord, so we must demand them to play a fair game with us in the future or we won't play.  For the current event, Hun Sen tries to bring the CNRP leaders to court while he brutally attacked and killed many innocent people is free.  In response to such injustice, the CNRP should work with human right groups to compile all evidences and witnesses to bring Hun Sen to the International Criminal Court (ICC) since at this time we have enough and overwhelm evidences against him.  All these gruesome images speak loudly enough how cruel and brutal Hun Sen is.  If the CNRP was able to collect three million thumbprints to UN, now it can do the same to bring other three million thumbprints to the ICC to bolster the case.