Prince Ranaridh Returns to Cure or to Curse the Nation?

Prince Ranaridh and his wife (Google image)

ដោយខែ្មរវឌ្ឍនកម្ម:
www.khmerwathanak.blogspot.com

Prince Ranaridh, a man without principle, returns to politics when he saw the country still in deep political crisis due to massive election fraud that had cost the opposition victory.  As political deadlock has dragged on more than six months, Prince Ranaridh spots opportunity and imagines himself as the best choice for the people when the two major parties are unable to break a political iceberg.  Whatever Prince Ranaridh has in his mind is his choice; but actually his political life is already dead, for his incompetence and unreliable political behavior.

Prince Ranaridh has inherited political characteristic behavior exactly from his father King Sihanouk who, through his political life, had been off and on in politics in countless times.  Then Prince Ranaridh seems to fallow his father legacy, jumping into politics as opportunity is suitable and retires when sensing defeated.  Now and again, Ranaridh naively thinks that the people may still fallow him as they had done in the past,  and he assumes that he still has popularity as his father did.  Nowadays, however, Ranaridh has to think twice though he is a Ph.D law professor, he is perhaps dumber than most ordinary people.  He totally failed to comprehend the current situation in the country based on what he talked to the VOA, he had nothing new offering to solve the current crisis and to save the nation.

From 57 seats in the parliament in 1993 to zero seat in 2014, from premiership position with an entourage and a battalion of bodyguards to now driving a car by himself, Ranaridh has shown no remorse or shame of his mistakes in the past when he and his father had agreed to share power with Hun Sen who later launched a bloody coup against him, killing hundreds of his faithful supporters.  And gradually, Hun Sen has destroyed his party into pieces, Ranaridh seemed take no grudge or prepared to fight back but to let himself floating along Hun Sen's political wave.  Consequently, not only his party is dead but the whole nation has fallen on a verge of demise if we cannot find a way to rescue her on time.  We believe that Ranaridh and his father have committed enormous mistakes that cost the life of Khmer nation through collaboration with foreign enemies.  Now he should stay quiet and don't sell himself to Hun Sen for political use again, giving the people more opportunity to rescue the nation which is on a brink of destruction by the current regime.

If Ranaridh is a true nationalist, he should look back to the past 20 years what he has done for the nation.  He let himself used by Hun Sen to legitimize his corrupted, puppet government and even to destroy his own party and the whole nation.  Without Ranaridh and his father, Cambodia may be well off the Vietnamese yoke since 1993. They are the main obstacles to keep Khmer nationalists from achieving their goal of bringing true independence and democracy for the nation.  Now when Khmer people are uniting to rescue the nation from a brink of destruction, he comes up again to claim that he concerns about corruption while he is among the most corrupted person when he shared power with Hun Sen in previous terms .  Now his goal is likely to hinder the current progress of the people who are moving forward steadily to bring true democracy and independence for the nation.

On the other hand, his return to politics is likely a collusion with Hun Sen in order to split the opposition votes since Hun Sen, hitherto, has failed to buy out and to break up the opposition as if he used to do successfully in the past.  Now his alternative strategy is to split the opposition voices as much as he can by striking a deal with Ranaridh to create a new party which can participate with the next election if Hun Sen reaches a compromise with the CNRP to conduct new election next year.  Any emerging of new political party will put Hun Sen in political advantage because it will reduce the votes from the CNRP more than the CPP.  In last year election, the other six smaller parties including Forncinpec wasted nearly a half a million votes when the CPP had only 300,000 votes more than the CNRP though it had tried to cheat with all means.

Without those smaller parties, the CNRP easily beats the CPP even in such an unfair condition.  That why Hun Sen still shares a small pile with Forncinpec even though this party failed to capture a seat in the parliament but about 250,000 votes enough to put the CNRP well behind the CPP.  This is how Hun Sen still interested with Nhek Bunchay and Princess Arun Racksmey.  Now Ranaridh comes up with a new party and new name, technically against Hun Sen, but it even makes Hun Sen happier, for Ranaridh's newly created party will be just an obstacle to the opposition and helps to keep Hun Sen stay longer in the power.  In 2008 election, the CPP captured 90 seats when Sam Rainsy, Kem Sokha, Ranaridh, and Nhek Bunchay had their own party.  Now Hun Sen wants to make it happen again in the next election if the CPP and CNRP agree to hold midterm election in order to end the current crisis.

Now all Khmer have enough lessons to learn over the past 20 years. Why we lose, and why we can't defeat Hun Sen.  If Ranaridh is a true nationalist, an experience politician, and a true Khmer leader, he should not make any more mistakes, for Cambodian people and the country can no longer endure another five-year mistake.  As a Ph.D law professor and long term politician, Ranaridh should use his knowledge and wisdom to help rescue our nation from an imminent destruction under Hun Sen's iron fist rule, not to create any more obstacles for the people to rescue the nation.  Absurdly, during interviewing with VOA, Ranaridh raised his concern about corruption and a welfare of workers, but he forgot how big corruption he had committed when he shared power with Hun Sen in the past.  furthermore, he claimed himself as a true nationalist and royalist, but in fact he is an opportunist and parasite leader.  As Prince Sisowath Tmeco said, " an opportunity for the royalist is disappeared now."

Based on his incompetence and unreliable behavior in the past, Prince Ranaridh should stay out of politics and continue to hold his current position is more suitable for his age and ability.  The people have more than enough says about his political failure and incompetence, and his chance to garner supports from the people is very slim; nonetheless, he tries to split the votes from the opposition, but this time he may share only some votes from the Forncinpec.  He can't put his father's legacy to test by naming his new party similar to Sankum Reas Neyom.  It won't work since the majority of voters now are younger generations, they may hear only the name of Sankum Reas Neyom without true experience and taste.  The conviction for the royalists had been done when his sister Princess Arun Racksmey perceived that the people may still love the royalists when hundred thousands of them came up to mourn King Father's death; then she jumped to take over Forncinpec president position, but ultimately Forncinpec lost all its four seats. As Khmer nation is on a verge of demise, now the people are looking for who are honest and able to save the nation and to serve the people, but to look up to Prince Ranaridh's ability to save the nation and his honesty to serve the people as if to look up to the stars in the sky.