Great analysis Ung Bun Ang, Of course, Hun Sen has learned nothing to judge the March 18 day. Hun Sen has been purely influenced by the trend of Cambodian population.
When major Cambodians are still devoting to monarchy and believing in Samdech Sihanouk, Hun Sen will take this chance for grant. Or we can say he is the best opportunist. Of course, Hun Sen is smart to use monarchy for his political power legitimacy. Not only Hun Sen needs Sihanouk or monarchy, though VN who invaded Cambodia during 1979-1989 had appealed Sihanouk to go back to take his throne back. Samdech Sihanouk is the best Cambodian demagoguery and he is also the best follower of VN and China in Cambodia history. Cambodia has lost its self-strength because of her incapable leadership! KY On Thu, Mar 19, 2009 at 7:34 PM, Alternatives Watch <[email protected]>wrote: > > Alternatives Watch – 20iii09 > > > INEVITABLE DISASTER > > > So, prime minister Hun Sen lays the blame squarely on Lon Nol’s 18 > March 1970 coup d’état that plunged the nation into wars and > suffering. He says without the coup that dismissed head of state > prince Sihanouk, the war would not have taken place, and the Pol Pot > regime would not have existed. He claims, “Had they let Sihanouk lead > the country, Cambodia would have developed more and prevented millions > of deaths”. > > Hun Sen may be right, but his statement reflects a short term view, > and based on a crucial assumption that the then prince Sihanouk was > capable of leading the country to long term prosperity. > > The prince was not. First, he had a poor judgement of characters when > he nurtured Lon Nol to be his right hand man whom he later condemned > as a traitor. It took only one bad call to bring him down. Second, > Sihanouk did not know where his power base was. He had built up a > totalitarian regime so well that he believed he was the power base. > During his rule of 17 years, the prince had 28 prime ministers, giving > each one of them almost nil opportunity to do anything with the > average of about 7 months on the job. He instigated an effective > divide-to-rule strategy that led to continual conflicts between the > government and the National Assembly, so that all executive powers > came to, and eventually rested with, him. Third, his economic policies > were predominantly short term focussed, and mostly driven by > demagoguery; otherwise, they were derailed by the ever increasing > corruption. The economy was so run down that his last government > formed in 1969 was aptly called the “Government of Salvation”, headed > by none other than Lon Nol. > > Perhaps the prince’s fatal error of judgment his opponents used to > bring his regime down was in his foreign policy. He sided with China > and Vietnam in the Vietnam War with an expectation that they would > ultimately win, and they would then protect his regime. He provided > food supplies and military logistic support to the Vietnamese > communist troops who used Cambodian border areas as their sanctuaries. > He was right about the communist victory; but his regime was propped > up only to the extent that the foreign powers could use him to > invigorate the Khmer Rouge rebellion for their own agenda. > > Thus, with an ineffectual totalitarian like Sihanouk who did not > believe he could be wrong, Cambodia in the 60’s was waiting for a > disaster to happen. > > The prince did, however, have the option of retiring after the coup to > save Cambodia from any civil war and subsequent devastations. But the > urge to revenge would prevent him from taking the failure gracefully. > His call for a national uprising and subsequent war was just an ego > trip for personal gratifications that cost Cambodians dearly. He > decided on retaliation eventhough he knew his communist patrons and > the Khmer Rouge would kick him out once his use-by-date expired. > Still, to the failed totalitarian, it was a sweet revenge. > > > Ung Bun Ang > > > Quotable Quote" > > “The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind.” > > Attributed to: Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968), U.S. civil rights > leader. > > > > -- Cambodian Brighter Future depends on enduring conscience and tireless strivings of Cambodian Younger Generation! http://cambodianbrightfuture.blogspot.com --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. This is an unmoderated forum. Please refrain from using foul language. Thank you for your understanding. Peace among us and in Cambodia. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/camdisc Learn more - http://www.cambodia.org -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
