November 12, 2009 CAMBODIA SHOULD LOOK WEST AND EAST AT THE SAME TIME IN THE DEFENSE OF HER TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY
The CPP-dominated National Assembly is planning to suspend my parliamentary immunity on Monday, November 16. There will be a special parliamentary session with the lifting of my immunity being the only topic on the agenda. I expected this move by the Hun Sen government. It proves how subservient the Cambodian authorities are to the Vietnamese government. On November 4, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung “proposed that the Cambodian government take due measures to deal with [Sam] Rainsy's acts of sabotage and not permit similar cases to occur, as they negatively affect the fine relations between the two nations.” See official statement from Hanoi at http://www.nhandan.com.vn/english/news/041109/domestic_vs.htm On October 25, as an elected representative of the Cambodian people, I had only expressed my support for, and solidarity with, Cambodian farmers who are victims of land grabbing along the Vietnamese border in Svay Rieng province. See the context of my intervention context and evidence at http://tinyurl.com/ykblbpr The attempt to silence me by lifting my parliamentary immunity also shows that the current Phnom Penh government totally ignores King Father Norodom Sihanouk's concern about Cambodian farmers losing their rice fields because of border encroachments by the Vietnamese authorities as I elaborated in my November 7 letter to the Retired King. See related documents at http://tinyurl.com/yzcxqyq and at http://tinyurl.com/yec3hw5 Vietnam's Prime Minister apparently blew out of proportion my symbolic gesture to morally come to help Cambodian farmers who are victims of local injustices involving Vietnamese authorities. But this incident could also show that I embarrassed Vietnam by shedding light on a much bigger issue with strategic implications and much higher stakes than one may first consider. The recent appointment of fugitive Thai national Thaksin Shinawatra as an adviser to the Cambodian government in order to exacerbate tensions between Cambodia and Thailand may be just a ploy to divert the public attention from much more serious problems concerning Cambodia’s territorial integrity, which appears to be more vulnerable on our country’s eastern border than on the western border with Thailand because of Vietnam’s more subtle expansionist policies and Hun Sen’s subservient attitude towards Hanoi. Sam Rainsy Member of Parliament -- 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
