Wednesday, March 4, 2009

2nd Episode: A Tale of "A Strongman in a Weak State"

Good to have chance read your idea (2:05AM). I am lucky to engage in debating with you about this issue. Of course this idea is not yours alone, many Cambodians think like this too.

I concur that this idea exist because having many factors:
  1. Cambodian people are still afraid of war because each day Hun Sen and his teamwork talk about Khmer Rouge brutality and social turmoil. In your idea, this propaganda produces positive change slowly in Cambodia like what you think or not? I tell you, it is just the tactic of power men who cling to power until they die. Ok, many Cambodians say that they are not immortal, one day those evil leaders will dies. Yes this is true, but they have to know the bad legacy as well as their clans and their families are not going to die? NEVER DIE!
  2. Cambodian people are having one syndrome called "PTSD" that they don't want to see change, they experience enough suffering (now they are living in the well of suffering). You may be like that too. But you can think again that "when you are living in the well of suffering, and maintain that status quo or let it change slowly, is your suffering will be better or worse?)
  3. Cambodian people are brainwashed too much by their own leaders since King Sihanouk, Lon Nol, Pol Pot, and finally Hun Sen. Those leaders have never encouraged Cambodian people to development their own capacity, productive personality to have self-determination, self-confidence and self-progress at all.
You have to think twice about this. Human beings in the world have the same desire: hate suffering and love happiness. It is regardless of where they are living: Asia, Europe, Africa or else where. This is simple to understand, no need to finish college or university like you suggested.

Regarding National Congress is important in the chapter of Constitution. This chapter should not be omitted or neglected if Cambodia wants to develop its democracy. But Hun Sen comes up with that proposal because it is certainly reflecting Cambodia as a "Weak State with a Strongman". This proposal shows that Hun Sen is a strongman only to make war, instability, dictatorship and bullying his own people. He is not a strongman to develop democracy, to protect his nation from poverty, to protect foreign invasion or other national catastrophes.
Is he strong or is he weak? Though this small chapter invaluable in the Constitution, he dare not to make a deal and face with it. He should push this chapter into practice in order to build his fame as a democratic leader as well as to play his political model role for future Cambodians. He should not be so cowardice. He is strong to fire anyone from position, he is strong to force or break all public demonstrations, he is strong to defeat all his opponents...but why he is not strong to implement this important chapter in the Constitution.
It will not cause any turmoil like he jeopardized. It depends on good or bad logistics. National Congress is very important to listen the voice of the bottom Cambodians as well as to give them chance to learn on how to develop "self-determination", "self-progress", and "self-reliance". Cambodian leaders should stop the culture of fooling Cambodian people in order to enjoy selfishness, short term benefit or fake benefit for themselves and their clans.

This episode of "A Tale of a Strongman in a Weak State" reflects the continual political culture of Cambodia that has always weakened and fooled the Cambodian people in order to benefit their arrogant power ambition. This culture shows only in a "Weak State" with an "less educated strong leaders".
In brief, last time I mirrored Cambodia as a "weak state" because this country is still not able to protect the weak, the poor, the farmers and the indigenous people. Cambodian political leaders, the middle classes and the elites are still earning their living at the expenses of the poor, the weak, the farmers and the indigenous people.
You are welcome to read and enjoy next 3rd episode in the same tittle "Weak State with a Strongman".

KY

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Bengemike,
As the one who had engaged in the affairs of SE Asia particularly, the three Indochinese countries affairs, I am convinced that your present analysis is more than accurate n I fully share ur view. Being in journalistic career for the last 17 years and being a staunch supporter of the lone lasting Opposition party {the SRP}, I came up with an idea that unless we we, the Khmer people bravely further our struggle then success is within our reach.I would rather divide the fight in the contemporary era to liberate Cambodia into two stages:
- Firstly, the armed struggle waged by the 3 Cambodian resistant factions against the V/M Occupants and its puppet the Heng Samrin regime had been achieved with the signing of the Paris Peace Agreement in 1991.
- Secondly, what we are engaging right now is to topple the HS ruling Regime through the regime change { bldg internal democracy}. Althought thios task has yet to achieved, we are still able to move slowly and steadily towards the final success onme day. Why can I say that bcos in Cambodia right now It is clear that only two parties compete with each other the CPP vs SRP that means in thge future HS find it hard to divide the democratic voice any more.
We are more hopeful than the Lao people bcos we keep fighting. Unless, we fight we can survive as a country giving the geopoliticaL situation that Cambodia has to live in between the two big hegemonists and expansionist neighbors who always want to swallow us. I still have a dream like u as we have a precious paper that is the Paris Peace Accord.
CHEERS,

Anonymous said...

Yes, this is critical that Cambodian opposition leaders should play soft policy to overcome the hardship.

Soft policy that focus on the rule of laws, not on the personal law. Sam Rainsy has well done in strengthening the opposition party, but his headway to premiership and final victory require his changes: political rhetoric change, attitude change and party's policy change.

CPP will one day divided by its fractional tendency. Most of those good persons in CPP will join the SRP. But SRP has to project its broad space to welcome those fractions.

Cambodian peoples perceive well what is their future goal?