Recent official appointment of Mr. Thaksin, ex-Prime Minister and a convictee, to the post of Economic Advisor by Prime Minister Hun Sen caught Cambodian intellectual communities worldwide speechless. Initially, most of us including myself thought that the Prime Minister was just bluffing to piss off Mr. Abahsit, Thailand's Prime Minister. Once he actually got His Majesty the King to inked the appointment letter, I was really shocked and embarrashed - so most of my friends. Now as a son of Cambodia, I wonder, what is in the world PM Hun Sen's thinking when he went out of his way to appoint the man, and to have his people and his nation humiliated? Was Cambodia really short of its own intellects? Really, do we need a Thai, a corrupted convictee, to teach our people and the nation how to build and run our country's economy? Mr. Thaksin in his speech was rightly pointed out that Cambodia has potential long term growth given the size of its own human resources abroad. As he said eloquently, "Cambodians living overseas - bring them back to Cambodia." A point which the government of Cambodia has been either missing or simply ignored given its own political background and ideology.
Was it really necesary for the Prime Minister to appoint his friend, most wanted by Thailand? Could the PM has done it without being so official? And exactly what Cambodia got to gains from this particular move? The fall outs have begun: ambassadors recalled, grants and aids have been reviewed or terminated, relationship between two nations have gone way south. The two peoples that depend on cross border businesses have been negatively affected by this unecessary provocation. Tension could not have come at a worse time between the two peoples and what will be the end game, no one knows for sure.
While the state of the economy is in crisis, high unemployments, job losses, people loosing farm lands due to land evictions, high debts, border encroachment from the East so on and so forth, it is worth to ponder and question the real motive of our country's leader in making such a clumsy move. Is it really worth it for all of the above-mentioned in the name of a golf buddy friend, Thaksin? Was our PM being ill-advised? Or was he encouraged to do it in order to keep Cambodians out of the Eastern issue? While we stop doing businesses with Thais, who do we turn to? More imports from Vietnam. More employments created there and shipped it across the border to us. What factories do we created to supply our country's basic needs during the last 20 years? Soaps, tooth brush, tooth past, shampoo, shoes, personal neccessities at affordable prices.
A friend of mine told me that it is truly a humiliating time for our country, especially for all of us, that the Cambodian government could not come up with a credible Cambodian economist to the job. I could not have felt any worse, myself. It takes a Thai to tell us how to build a country's economy, a citizen of a country that is almost at war with us.
But, one has to look beyond this sentiment, because there are games being played to distract the publics from any real issues at hand. Look at what the country is facing economically given high unemployment where factories are still closing, students who are out of schools with grim prospect of finding suitable works. There are people who are loosing lands to corrupted famillies' officials, and more deals behind doors with little transparencies on gas & oil exploration, land concessions or another word, development projects.
With this latest development concerning border encroachment which resulted in the stripping of H.E. Sam Rainsy's immunity, the government has reacted aggressively without any regards for its own people's interests, but Vietnam. It's shocking to see that our minister Var Kimhong explained without investigate the actual complaints of the actual people who have lived and farmed on those land for generations. Chantrea's land encroachment tby Vietnam is just one of prime examples of the many others that are facing Cambodia's territorial integrity and our nation's survival. Given, there are 100,000 or so hectars have been concessioned out and who know how many more on the horizon, the question remains what Cambodia will actually look like 10 or 20 years from today?
There were slogan that Thais never give up their Damras (Kbouns), and Youns never get rid of its cheating tricks (Lbaix) while Khmers are Sout Ka Troot, Youns take all the land. Take Kampuchea Krom as an example, and Cambodia-Proper is on a slippery slope to such destination. Then the question will be, when will Khmers awake to this new reality which long been guided, misguided by the current regime installed to single handedly vietnamize Cambodia for good. Shortly, after the invasion of 1978, at the United Nations, the ambassador Vietnam told the UN body that Cambodia and Vietnam are brother for eternity, and that situation is now irreversible. The economic policies of Camobodia today were designed and implemented specifically to benefit Vietnam, and Vietnam alone. Just look at who control the main arteries of our economic life lines? All the deals the government signed mostly with who, and what will happen to those land concessions after 99 years? Will we live to witness the return of those lands? Who will work and grow their famillies on those lands? Take Koh Trol as an example, does that island still belongs to us or under our control? Look at the strength of our economy compared to Vietnam ? Look at the speed and ability of Vietnamese merchants, settlers who can obtain ID cards at will, legally bought land from poor farmers with high debts, in twenty five years or so, it's all over. Ho Chi Minh's vision and dream of annexing Cambodia may finally completed if we are not waking up in time - something that Emperor Minh Mang and his men could not do back in the late 19 century. Your best chance to save Cambodia is to vote this highly pro-Hanoi regime out coming the next election.
I do not want to advocate any misunderstanding or hatred to the people of Vietnam. I think our two peoples can live and prosper together. I would love very much to see our two peoples live together side by side in harmony with mutual respect and deep understand of each other's distinct cultures and indentities. Vietnam must understand our own aspiration to survive and live as a people and a nation. Their on-going policy of land encroachment, economic imbalance, and aggressive immigration policies will not serve the two nations' interests in the long term. Respecting our territorial integrity will be required as a positive step forward among others. If any thing we learn that history tends to repeat itself in a peculiar way, especially when it comes to Cambodia.
This latest move to silence H.E. Sam Rainsy could backlash the government and eroding Cambodian people's trust on its ability to defend and protect their lands and interests. It may prove to be a changing game for Cambodian nationalists after all. The focus now will be when it comes to national interests and territorial integrity who stand up for Cambodia and who stood up for the interests of Vietnam? It could not be more clearer than that, my friends.
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