PM: War result of foreign meddling
PR IME Mi n ister Hun Sen said on Sunday that Cambodia’s recent histor y of conf lict was caused by foreig n interference.
“The wars t hat happened were caused by provocation, incitement, support, smeari n g a n d i n t e r f e r e n c e from foreign powers, and the g roup of ig nora nt people w ho p u s h e d C a mbo d i a to plunge into wars and [a] genocide regime,” Hun Sen wrote on his of f icia l Facebook page.
His message was accompanied by a photo of him from his youth, as well as severa l photos of y ou ng K h mer Rouge sold iers a nd depictions of warfare.
“My yout h did not k now what is ca l led comfort a nd happiness. Even schooling, I did not get t hat enough . . . I was even wounded on my body a nd I was blinded in one of my eyes.
“We are fed up with wars a nd sepa rat ion f rom loved ones.
“Now we choose peace over ever y t hing because it is t he b r e a t h o f o u r l i f e ,” he w r ote, rem i nd i ng h i s compatriots to protect peace for themselves and the next generation.
Socia l a na lyst Meas Nee s a id Hu n S en’s message may have been intended to shield international criticism on what ma ny obser ver s have labelled a deteriorating human r ig hts a nd democracy situation in Cambodia.
He said t hat criticism from
the international community should not be regarded as interference by other countries.
“Even Pol Pot, who k i l led people, was condemned by t he world, so t he criticism is not a kind of internal interference or incitement.
“The international community works together to demand t he respect of human rights a nd prevent a ny i nju st ic e from happening. It has been doing so for many decades to protec t hu man r ig ht s a nd democracy,” he said.
Nee cont i nued t hat i f foreigners were to be blamed, it shou ld be appl ied equa l ly bet ween t he US a nd China, a nd not just ent i rely at t r ibuted to Western countries.
“We have to give equal value to ever yone [and] to all countries, and we have to remember t hat no cou nt r y i n t he world can sur v ive a lone and treat its own people arbitrari ly,” he said.
Plunge into war
Cambodian historian Diep Sopha l cla i med Hun Sen’s message r ef le c t e d r e a l it y. Sopha l reca l led t he factors that led Cambodia to plunge into war, leading to the rise of the Khmer Rouge regime.
“During the Cold War, China, Russia and the US pushed countries around the world to be in t heir polit ica l bloc.
“So, in order to do that, they had provocat ion st rateg ies, like giv ing money, weapons, and politica l guarantees.
“This was the cause of the US-led Lon Nol coup d’etat, while communist China and t he Sov iet Un ion le d t he K h mer communist movement [ K h mer Rouge ],” he said.
Sophal said both China and the US were involved with the Khmer Rouge, but both countries keep smearing each other – most recently the spat between the US and Chinese embassies in Phnom Penh.
“T he US bla med Ch i na, while China blamed the US. But who are the ones suffering? It’s Cambodian people,” he said.
A row between embassies
Ea rl ier t his mont h, a row er upte d bet ween t he US Embassy a nd t he Chi nese Embass in Phnom Penh.
It st a r te d when t he US Embassy posted a message on it s of f ic ia l Facebook page c l a i mi ng it s c ou nt r y had played no role in the 1970 Lon Nol coup d’etat t hat many attribute as the starting point f or t he fol low i ng de c ade of chaos t hat eng u l fed t he countr y.
It also suggested the Chinese were responsible for upholding the Khmer Rouge regime.
T h e C h i n e s e e mba s s y responded wit h a Facebook post of their own mocking the American claims.
In the post, the Chinese Embassy ironically claimed that it was not the US government who instigated the coup, but in fact it was the “CIA”.