Cambodia Election Guide

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/3096627.stm

Cambodia Election Guide

Sam Rainsy's party hopes to make a mark

Cambodians go to the polls on Sunday amid worries over voter
intimidation and violence.

Reports say at least nine political activists have been killed since
the start of the campaign. The Interior Ministry has denied the
killings are politically motivated.

This is the third election since the UN-sponsored poll in 1993, which
marked an end to years of turmoil. The National Assembly, or lower
house, has 123 seats with members directly elected for a five-year
term.

In May the National Election Committee (NEC) said 25 of Cambodia's 46
political parties had successfully registered.

In early June the NEC said it had removed the Progressive Cambodia
Party and the National Construction Party for failing to submit
deposits and documentation.

On 19 June, the Khmer Helps Khmer party quit the race citing
intimidation at commune and village level.

Facts and figures
Number of seats: 123
Number of parties: 22
Polling stations: 12,826
Constituencies: 24
Registered voters: 6.75m.
Police: 30,000
Monitors: 150,000

Of the 22 parties now contesting the elections, Prime Minister Hun
Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP) is regarded as favourite after
winning over 60 per cent of the vote in last year's local elections.

The CPP is being challenged by Prince Norodom Ranariddh's royalist
Funcinpec party, a junior partner in the outgoing coalition. The
opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) is the other main contender.

There has been some debate in the media on whether or not Cambodia's
50,000 Buddhist monks should vote.

While the head of the Buddhist clergy, Tep Vong, has urged monks to
"remain neutral", a view backed by the government, head of state King
Norodom Sihanouk believes they should be exercise their constitutional
right.

Parties

Cambodian People's Party (CPP)

Hun Sen, who has led the CPP for the past 18 years, is running for
another term as prime minister on a platform of what he describes as
his "proudest achievements": stability, security, investment and
tolerance.

The party dominated Cambodian politics since the fall of the Khmer
Rouge in 1979. With over 90 per cent of village chiefs belonging to
the CPP, it has a strong power base.

Funcinpec

The United Front for an Independent, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia
(Funcinpec) is a royalist party founded in 1981 by King Norodom
Sihanouk. It too has its main support in rural areas. Now led by the
king's son, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, it has been the CPP's junior
partner since the 1998 elections.

Its election pledges are similar to those of the opposition Sam Rainsy
Party: fighting corruption, attracting foreign investment and
improving health, education and justice.

Sam Rainsy Party (SRP)

Founded in 1995 by Sam Rainsy, the SRP was originally known as the
Khmer Nation Party. Once a senior economy minister and member of
Funcinpec, Rainsy was expelled from the party in May 1995.

The SRP has adopted a strong reformist agenda and has achieved
considerable electoral success given its relatively short existence.
The party has criticized the CPP and has promised a crackdown on
corruption, tax avoidance and smuggling.

Other election pledges include more pay for civil servants, an extra
104 million dollars for education and a further 70 million dollars for
health.

The SRP has grown in strength after internal dissent within Funcinpec
resulted in defections to the SRP.

All three main parties have played the "race card" by stirring up
traditional hostility towards ethnic Vietnamese. Opposition media have
attacked the CPP for its communist roots and for allegedly planning to
cede territory to Vietnam.

The other parties contesting the election include:

The Cambodian Soul Party (leader: Moeung Mlop)
The Liberal Democratic Party (leader: Chhim Om-yon)
The Cambodian Women's Party (leader: Nuon Bunna)
The Indra Buddha City Party (leader: Noreak Ratana-vathano)
The Cambodian Children's Party (co-leaders: Ti Chhoeun, Ti Phila)
The Rice Party (leader: Nhung Seap)
The Farmers Party (leader: Pon Piset)

Timetable
Campaign: 26 June - 25 July
Election Day: 27 July
Initial results: 8 August
Official results: 14 August
Seat allocation: 15 Aug-7 Sept
Sidelined by the CPP from influential government posts, the party has
seen its support decline. In the 2002 local elections it gained only
21.4 per cent of the vote against 31.5 per cent in 1998.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/3095309.stm

Cambodians gear up for election

Prince Ranariddh has led a high-profile campaign

Cambodia's political parties are making their final appeal for votes
in the last day of campaigning before Sunday's national elections.

Election monitors have delivered a generally positive report on this
year's campaign, saying it has been conducted in a safer and freer
environment than past elections.

But they have also warned of technical and administrative problems, as
well as a pervasive climate of fear.

In Phnom Penh, thousands of supporters of the royalist Funcinpec Party
gathered on Friday to march to the palace of King Norodom Sihanouk,
who founded the party.

"Today is a good day. In two days, all the Cambodian people will vote
for a change," said Funcinpec's leader - and King Sihanouk's son -
Prince Ranariddh.

"They are fed-up with the communist regime," he said, before launching
into an anti-Vietnamese diatribe that has characterised his campaign.

Meanwhile supporters of current prime minister Hun Sen's Cambodian
People's Party (CPP) drove past in a convoy of trucks, and set up an
impromptu rally on the other side of the city.

Despite leading a quieter campaign, the CPP is still the favourite to
win the Cambodian elections.

Hun Sen himself has been virtually absent from the campaign trail,
which he claimed was to reduce the chance of violence.

Critics, however, have said he was so confident of winning, he did not
bother to enter into the campaign in earnest.

But former CPP President Heng Samrin said: "The CPP has actually done
a lot of campaigning at the lower levels, in villages, communes and
districts."

Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party is expected to win

"Our principles and platform is to continue the development in
different sectors - including roads, bridges, schools and hospitals,"
he told the French news agency AFP.

The Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) held its final rally in the central
provincial city of Kompong Cham.

Mr Rainsy himself walked between the vehicles on the main street, and
told 5,000 assembled supporters that the SRP would win.

He charged the CPP with corruption, and said the current government's
achievements in building infrastructure had been accomplished with
foreign donations, rather than government revenue.

http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/2...Stories/03.htm

Friday, July 25, 2003

Cambodian polls will run well: PM

PHNOM PENH — Cambodia's July 27 National Assembly general election
will take place smoothly, the country's Prime Minister Hun Sen vowed
on Tuesday.

He also pledged to guarantee political and social security before and
after the polling day on Sunday.

In a meeting with the head of the EU's observer delegation, Gordon
Longmuir, PM Hun Sen said this year's general election has many
advantages in comparison with those in 1993 and 1998.

It will take place while people are living in peace, without the
threat of the Khmer Rouge, and while democracy is being strengthened
and developed, he said. Cambodian people have become increasingly
aware of their roles and obligations in the election, he added.

The Prime Minister emphasised that Cambodia's most important task is
to ensure that the election takes place in democracy, freedom,
fairness and non-violence, meeting the people's hopes.

The National Election Committee (NEC) spokesman, Leng Sochea, told
Phnom Penh-based Viet Nam News Agency that the people's awareness of
democracy and freedom, in conjunction with respect for the law, will
be enhanced by the elections.

He said the people's understanding of democracy, and general
awareness, have been improved by elections, thus helping the building
of a country governed by the rule of law.

NEC brings together reputable personalities in the society who are
independent from all political parties, he said. About 5,500 officials
and staff of NEC have undergone training courses on elections, with
the help of international experts. Tens of thousands of people who
will work on election day at 12,826 polling stations nation-wide have
been chosen carefully and well-trained, Sochea added.

Unlike the past two general elections, voting papers were printed in
Cambodia instead of being printed overseas. The last voting papers
were printed on July 21, and all material was sealed under the witness
of observers and reporters the following day, he said .

It's the first time in Cambodia, through forums held by NEC and NGOs,
that candidates of all competing parties have been able to campaign
and discuss the issues directly in the present of thousands of voters.

Leng Sochea said NEC complied with all the necessary formalities for
about 29,000 people, of them 500 international observers. After being
granted with NEC cards, these observers would be free to visit any
election stations, and issue statements.

A group of Vietnamese observers arrived in Phnom Penh on Sunday for
Cambodia's election at the invitation of the Royal Government of
Cambodia.

The 10-member delegation, led by Vice Director of the Foreign Affairs
Ministry's Department for International Organisations, Pham Quang
Vinh, is expected to monitor the election process in Phnom Penh and
some provinces.

Leng Sochea said there would be a big turnouts as the Cambodians are
now well aware of their civil duties.

Leng Sochea said total costs for the general election will top
US$12.48 million. Cambodia's government is supplying $5 million, with
the rest coming from foreign countries and international
organisations.

More than 6.3 million Cambodian people will go to polls for 123-seat
National Assembly from which a government will be formed. — VNA/VNS

http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/2...Stories/26.htm

Friday, July 25, 2003

Cambodians gear up for general elections

As the Cambodian election campaign swings into its final days, three
parties are viewed as having dominated, with this analysis predicting
victory for the Cambodian People's Party.

Tran Chi Hung, VNA correspondent in Phnom Penh

The election campaign in Cambodia enters its final week with 23
political parties contesting for the123-seat National Assembly from
which a new government will be formed.

Three parties are widely seen as overwhelming the campaigning: the
Cambodian People's Party (CPP) chaired by Chea Sim, the royalist
FUNCINPEC led by Prince Norodom Ranariddh, and the opposition Sam
Rainsy Party (SRP) led by Sam Rainsy.

The remaining 20 are believed to have little chance of securing
considerable votes.

Since June 26 when the campaign began, thousands of people have
rallied on various occasions for campaign demonstrations.

The CPP proposed a 11-point programme, reaffirming its determination
to strengthen the achievements recorded during its five years ruling
to achieve national reconciliation and strengthen peace and social
stability.

The CPP says it is committed to the foreign policy of co-operation and
friendship with other countries based on the principles of respect for
independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of each other.

FUNCINPEC, for its part wanted in its 15-point programme to safeguard
a monarchy under a nationalist-religious-king institution. The
opposition SRP meanwhile proposed a 100 point-programme, focusing on
changing leadership, fighting corruption, improving people's life and
demanding justice for the poor.

Various campaigning tactics were used by politicians. Prince Ranariddh
kick-started the campaign by dropping leaflets from a helicopter in
Kampong Cham.

Supporters to the competing parties loaded convoys of cars and sped
through the capital city day displaying party emblems in populous
residential areas.

Most Phom Penh residents however can not realise all the contesting
parties while small traders have complained that noisy campaign
activities emblems have hindered them from daily business.

Under the regulations, the national Cambodian television (TVK) will
broadcast election campaign programmes with 44 per cent for the CPP,
27 per cent for FUNCINPEC, 19 per cent for the SRP and 10 per cent for
smaller parties.

In addition, three major parties are using to the utmost mass
communication means under their control.

The CPP used such television channels and broadcasting stations as
Apsara, Bayon, Channels 3 and 5 and the CTN, while FUNCINPEC used the
Ta Prom broadcasting station and the SRP, the "bee-hive" broadcasting
station together with the print press.

However, the battle of words happened only between the royalist and
opposition parties in the election campaign, not the CPP which
believes in voters who can distinguish between right and wrong.

The race for the national elections in rural areas inhabited by 85 per
cent of the total population is much fiercer than that in Phnom Penh.

The CPP's absolute success and FUNCINPEC's poor results in the
ward-communal level elections in 2002 was an expensive lesson in the
importance of having close contact with the people for all parties.

That's why, the campaign programmes of all parties are full of local
tours. Three months before the beginning of the election campaign,
Prime Minister Hun Sen delivered speeches in front of locals almost
every day.

The CPP's working groups have, for several months, toured 24 cities
and provinces nation-wide.

In the meantime, FUNCINPEC has organised its congresses in most
localities and included a number of princes and princesses into the
nominee list.

Meanwhile, the SRP has promised to settle land disputes and reduce
poverty in rural areas.

Candidates from the royalist and opposition parties have led the
promise making since the start of the campaign.

Both the SRP and FUNCINPEC promised to raise public employees' minimum
salary from US$30 to $100.

The Phnom Penh Post newspaper commented that these were empty promises
as the annual per-capita income currently stands at $280.

Recently, during a tour of Pailin, the former headquarters of the
Khmer Rouge, Sam Rainsy had promised not to bring ex-Khmer Rouge
leaders to the international court if he wins the national elections.

On the contrary, CPP candidates said that they will try to improve
people's living conditions. On July 18, Chairman Chea Sim said that
different from other parties, the CPP will do everything with a high
responsibility if it promises.

The public in Phnom Penh have been drawn into to a phenomena these
days because a number of candidates, particularly those from the
royalist and opposition parties, had been using inappropriate verbal
words to slash their rivals in a hope of securing more votes.

Aware of this, King Norodom Sihanouk, after a return trip from Beijing
on July 14, warned politicians of refraining from defaming others
while campaigning for the election.

Clearly, the election campaign, still fierce at this stage, has run
smoothly against warnings made by the opposition parties and several
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) before June 26 that threats and
violence could occur during the election process.

At a round-table symposium organised recently by the Cambodian
Journalists Club, the spokesman for the EU observer mission, Antonio
de Menzes, said the election process was going better than that in
1998.

The National Election Commission (NEC) reported that around 29,000
observers, including more than 500 foreigners, are supervising the
election process in the country. The 10-member observer delegation of
the Vietnamese Government arrived in Phnom Penh on July 20 to join the
work. NEC has to date given press cards to 500 reporters to cover the
event.

A majority of political analysts in Phnom Penh predicted that the CPP
would finish first in the race as it did in the 2002
ward-communal-level election, to lead the country for the next five
years.

The prediction was largely based on the CPP's successes and prominent
role in saving the nation from the Pol Pot genocide and playing as a
major force in the current national construction and development.

Many voters said openly that they will vote for the CPP because it
works for the interests of the people.

Prior to the election campaign, many suggested that FUNCINPEC would
drop to the third place because of its poor results in the 2002
ward-communal-level election.

However, these days, there were predictions that FUNCINPEC would be
second in the election, with between 25 and 35 seats. That is because
the party's system at the grassroots level is stronger than that of
the SRP, and the royalist faction remains a force with influence in
the society.

Analysts forecast that the SRP would have its seats in the national
assembly increased to 20-30, but would still land in third place.

In the 1998 election, the CPP won 64 seats, the FUNCINPEC, 43 seats,
and the SRP, 15 seats. Accordingly, the CPP joined hands with
FUNCINPEC to form a coalition government.

In this election campaign, CPP leaders announced that if their party
leads the racing, regardless of its seat rating, it wants to
collaborate honestly with partner parties in the spirit of national
reconciliation. — VNA/VNS

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southea.../EG26Ae01.html

Cambodia: And the challengers are ...

By Richard S Ehrlich

PHNOM PENH - In this haunted tropical land of mass graves, political
intimidation and languid post-colonial charm, people who survived Pol
Pot's "killing fields" and Prime Minister Hun Sen's tough regime hope
Sunday's election won't result in more corruption, despair and
violence.

Hun Sen is widely expected to be re-elected, but no one is sure who
will nab second place or whether a stable coalition can emerge without
bloodshed after the votes are counted.

"I don't care who wins, if it is Hun Sen, Sam Rainsy or Ranariddh, I
only care that they have enough money to do something good," said a
weary Cambodian businesswoman who suffered during the thousands of US
aerial bombing raids that began in 1969 and the 1975-79 death camps of
Pol Pot's communist Khmer Rouge.

"At least Hun Sen has organization, he has contacts with many, many
people because he has been in power a long time," she said in an
interview, referring to Hun Sen's stint as foreign minister and 18
years as prime minister. "Hun Sen and his people have money. We don't
want to have a leader who has no money, who just depends on [foreign]
aid and who is weak. Weak is no good," she said.

Sam Rainsy is the opposition candidate to watch. He may beat Prince
Norodom Ranariddh for second place and make life difficult for Hun
Sen, according to foreign observers monitoring the election for the
US-based Asia Foundation and other Washington think tanks.

People hoping for Hun Sen's downfall speculate that Rainsy and
Ranariddh may be able to combine their parliamentary seats to form a
majority, overcome their animosity and create a new government without
him.

"Cambodian people are scared in their minds and scared when they face
the world so they just want to survive and they hope, whoever wins the
election, after it will be okay," a Cambodian magazine publisher
explained in an interview. "I like Sam Rainsy because he is
'democracy' and he has no military people in his party. But because of
that, he may not be strong enough to provide security after the
election.

"People say America will provide millions of dollars in aid if we vote
for a new government without Hun Sen in it," the publisher said. "We
don't know if it is true or not. But all my neighbors are talking
about it. We don't consider that as vote-buying. We think, when
someone gives money, it is because of kindness. Then later, when that
person asks us for something, we do it, to return the kindness. That's
the way Cambodians are."

Washington and other foreign capitals hope a new government will
restrict Cambodia's lawless ambiance and uproot international
criminals based here who smuggle weapons, drugs and counterfeit cash
while enjoying a cheap, hedonistic sanctuary.

China is interested because it supported Hun Sen with military and
other aid, to project Beijing's southern regional influence.

Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP) wields control over the army
and police - often blamed for human rights abuses. His control
bolsters his chances at the polls because he promises security, mutes
opposition and blankets the country down to village level with a
perception that his party can be all-seeing and punishing.

Critics denounce Hun Sen as a thug who allegedly ordered the murder of
political opponents during his long reign. The prime minister has
consistently denied all such allegations and has never been officially
charged with any wrongdoing.

During the election campaign, meanwhile, Hun Sen's two main opponents
played the race card by echoing the late Pol Pot's rhetoric about
vampire-like Vietnamese settlers who allegedly steal jobs, over-fish
Cambodia's rivers and lake, and create other social problems.
"Cambodians don't like to live with Vietnamese because they say
Vietnamese make noise and may be involved in something bad," the
publisher said.

Vietnamese suffer widespread discrimination, human rights groups say,
and many fear for their safety. Rainsy frequently rails against yuon -
which some consider a racist term for "Vietnamese", though others
insist it is a traditional tag for people on the other side of
Cambodia's eastern border.

By stabbing at overpopulated Vietnam's alleged meddling in
impoverished, vulnerable Cambodia, Rainsy also tars Hun Sen, who was
initially installed as foreign minister by Vietnam during Hanoi's
10-year occupation of Cambodia in the 1980s.

Rainsy, meanwhile, projects himself as an innocent, incorruptible,
idealistic do-gooder. Some foreign fans have even portrayed him as a
male counterpart to Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Rainsy and Suu Kyi are both reed-thin, eloquent speakers who profess
nonviolence, but comparisons end there. Rainsy, a former finance
minister who runs the egocentric Sam Rainsy Party, makes endless
allegations about "dictator" Hun Sen, but is often unable to display
hard evidence.

Hun Sen's other main foe is Prince Ranariddh, president of the
National Assembly, or parliament, and leader of a minor coalition
party known by the French abbreviation Funcinpec. Cambodia is a
constitutional monarchy and the prince is the estranged son of
elderly, sickly King Norodom Sihanouk. Ranariddh's power, however, has
deteriorated because of defections among his supporters dismayed about
his lackluster abilities. The prince also plays the race card to smear
Hun Sen.

"Today we have to stop being afraid to talk about the yuon," the
prince declared at the start of his campaign. "Funcinpec is the only
party not under the control of Vietnam." Prince Ranariddh draws much
of his money and support from "royalists" who are often perceived as
opportunists exploiting Cambodia to ensure a lofty, elitist lifestyle
in a land where most people are desperately poor.

Hun Sen, born in 1952, served in Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge as a regimental
commander of Cambodia's Eastern Zone. In 1977, he fled to Vietnam,
apparently fearing purges by Pol Pot. He returned to Cambodia atop a
Vietnamese invasion in 1978 - which soon toppled Pol Pot - and
collaborated to allow Vietnamese troops to remain until their 1989
withdrawal.

During the Vietnamese occupation, Prince Ranariddh and his father
enjoyed US cash and support in their notorious coalition with Khmer
Rouge remnants, waging a shabby guerrilla war against Hun Sen and the
Vietnamese. In 1993, the United Nations staged a haphazard election
that resulted in Ranariddh and Hun Sen sharing power as "co-prime
ministers", but in 1997 their two sides battled in Phnom Penh with
tanks. As a result, Hun Sen solidified his power and forced the prince
to wander as an international fugitive until his conviction for
smuggling weapons and conspiring with the Khmer Rouge in the bloody
1997 street fighting against Hun Sen.

In a 1998 election, marred by violence and corruption, Hun Sen edged
ahead of Ranariddh while Rainsy trailed third.

In Sunday's election, voters can choose among more than 20 parties to
select a 123-seat National Assembly, which then creates a new
government.

(Copyright 2003 Richard S Ehrlich)

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southea.../EG25Ae02.html

Year 28: Cambodia gets ready to vote

By Pepe Escobar

PHNOM PENH - Sam was born in 1963. He was only 12 on April 17, 1975,
when Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge invaded and evacuated Phnom Penh at the
start of the infamous "Year Zero" - a demented mix of Stalinism, Mao
Zedong's Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution all rolled into a
unique, grotesque rural utopia. Had the Khmer Rouge remained in power,
Cambodia would now be in its Year 28.

In this virtual Year 28, Cambodia is still fighting to recover from
utter devastation. Unlike Sam, more than half of the population of 12
million is less than 18 years old. But this does not mean the period
from 1975 to 1978 has been erased from the collective memory - when up
to 2 million Cambodians were murdered or died of hunger, medical
negligence or forced labor in the Khmer Rouge's killing fields, in the
largest "autogenocide" of modern history. Just like Sam, every
Cambodian over 30 carries the trauma of losing all or part of his or
her family to the Khmer Rouge. The contrast with the achievements of
the sophisticated Khmer civilization couldn't be more graphic.

Sam has his own particular Khmer Rouge-related horror story to tell,
but all his attention is now focused on the Cambodian national
elections this coming Sunday. In a very polite, self-effacing,
circuitous Khmer way, Sam admits he will vote for the Sam Rainsy Party
(SRP), but he wonders about its real chances of winning the polls. Sam
has a university degree in engineering but he has to complement his
income by driving a taxi. As a Cambodian urban professional, he is
worried about jobs, deforestation and corruption - three of the
crucial themes in the SRP's platform, along with alleged Vietnamese
border incursions.

Sam is an acerbic critic of Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodia People's
Party (CPP). He says Hun Sen behaves as if "he owns the country". Sam
criticizes the party's myriad corruption schemes. He believes the CPP
is selling the country to the Vietnamese - although CPP ministers
swear their government never offered land to another country. As he
drives around the few recently repaved Phnom Penh boulevards where
US$45,000 sport-utility vehicles mingle with the army of motorbikes,
and one inevitable concrete shopping mall - billed as Cambodia's
epitome of modernity - contrasts with the art-deco derelict beauty of
the Central Market, Sam turns increasingly pessimistic: "Look at this
people. Their lives are not better than 20 years ago."

Sam's indictment of the CPP certainly rings a bell around Phnom Penh,
where a beaming Sam Rainsy, an urbane lawyer educated in France, could
be seen this week leading a rally along Sisovath Quay, the boulevard
facing the Tonle Sap River ringed with tourist-oriented riverside
cafes. But just behind the romantic-tinted Foreign Correspondents Club
- whose pristine French colonial mansion houses one of the coolest
bars in the world - there's a derelict French colonial yellow house
miraculously still not touched by urban speculation, where 12
policemen live crammed with their families in appalling conditions.
Their salary is not more than $30 a month, and it has not been paid on
time. But they will all vote CPP.

Sam Rainsy has been warning for days that the CPP is planning a
massive bribing operation, targeting party agents and election
monitors, although the Interior Ministry has officially forbidden
village chiefs from working as party agents. It's no secret that the
absolute majority are CPP. According to Rainsy, "either they accept
the money and they continue to live ... or they can face many things,
including death". Rainsy accuses the CPP of planning to submit fake
ballots and creating "ghost votes". In the previous electoral campaign
of 1998, Rainsy famously said that "we are not a corrupt nation
because we are poor. We are a poor nation because we are corrupt."
Today, the message remains substantially the same: "This country is
dying slowly because we have given in to intimidation and blackmail
too long."

Even though the SRP is a mortal enemy of the CPP, officials from the
former have been forced to deny almost on a daily basis that there
could be talks between the two parties to form a government coalition.
In the lovely words of a SRP member of parliament, "The CPP is wooing
us because they see the Sam Rainsy Party is a pure, beautiful girl."

The blame game among the main parties - the CPP, the SRP and the
royalist Funcinpec, led by prince Ranariddh - is pure thunder and
lightning. Funcinpec is accusing CPP of smearing the party leader's
wife, Princess Norodom Marie Ranariddh. Princess Marie was the
president of the Cambodian Red Cross for more than three years before
the title was passed in 1998 to Hun Sen's wife, Bun Rany. During
Princess Marie's presidency, $300,000 simply vanished, and the money
has never been found. According to an adviser to Prince Ranariddh, it
was in fact during Bun Rany's presidency that the Cambodian Red Cross
was making donations to villagers on behalf of the CPP.

In the countryside, the SRP blames the CPP for the distribution of
raincoats with the CPP logo. According to a SRP candidate, "people are
told that unless they vote CPP, the police cannot guarantee their
safety". The SRP has to fight the fact that in a country 80 percent
rural, conventional wisdom holds that only if you vote CPP do you get
some measure of development.

Funcinpec for its part wants to spend $200,000 organizing a national
lottery - with prizes ranging from cars and motorbikes to T-shirts. As
far as the party is concerned, this is a sound way of evaluating how
many members it has. But the party's co-secretary general, Bun Chhay,
was forced to make it clear that the lottery is not a dodgy scheme to
buy votes.

The favorite blame-game territory is the economy, which is in very bad
shape. According to Funcinpec candidate Kong Vibol, "More people are
jobless now than when Prince Ranariddh was co-prime minister. No
investors from Japan or the US are here since 1997." Under the CPP,
Cambodia has not been able to provide at least 200,000 jobs a year
needed by both its university graduates and its unskilled workers.
Funcinpec also accuses CPP of losing $200 million a year in tax
revenues because of corruption. CPP counterattacks by stressing how
the Hun Sen government has invested millions of dollars in basic
infrastructure - roads, bridges, water canals, schools. As for the
SRP, it stresses the selection of the best 200 Cambodian economists to
work with the party in case the elections are won. In words that
probably would make no sense to taxi-driving urban professional Sam,
an SRP parliamentarian said, "Our team is not taxi drivers like
members of Funcinpec."

The SRP may be confident to carry the working-class vote concentrated
in Phnom Penh. Leaders of the Free Trade Union of the Kingdom of
Cambodia have visited 180 factories in and around the capital, urging
voters to stay (and not go back to vote in the countryside) and
support the SRP. More than 200,000 workers run the Cambodian garment
industry: they could carry a crucial swing vote on Sunday. According
to Cambodian Labor Organization lawyer An Nan, Sam Rainsy himself
carries tremendous weight because he has been personally involved in
workers' strikes demanding better wages and better working conditions.
Both the SRP and Funcinpec have promised to raise wages to about $70 a
month. But according to CPP Social Affairs Minister Ith Sam Heng,
"this is a cheating promise in order to gain votes for the election".

Life expectancy in Cambodia is still similar to what it was in the
1960s. One in five children does not reach the age of 12. Half suffer
from malnutrition to a degree that impairs their full physical and
mental development. According to the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), fewer than 7 percent
finish primary school. Fewer than 2 percent finish secondary school.
Dr Beat Richner, head of the three Kantha Bopha children's hospitals
in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, says that every day they have to
hospitalize "90 up to 100 cases of hemorrhagic dengue fever." Richner
stresses: "The epidemia is increasing, and it is worse than in 1998.
The Ministry of Health was warned in December 2002 about the upcoming
epidemia. Nothing was done, neither measures of prevention nor
installations of additional correct facilities for correct curative
treatment. So we ask for the money to be spent for the dengue
epidemia. We are running out of money soon."

Phnom Penh is filled with small orphanages housing up to 60 people
each: professors (monthly salary $30), hotel or non-governmental
organization (NGO) staff, policemen. Some of the orphanages house more
than 500 children. These extended families are under constant threat
of urban speculation. Still spared the usual proliferation of
McDonald's, Nike stores and 7-Elevens, Phnom Penh on the other hand
offers unrivaled thrills to backpackers on the Great Indochina trail:
playing mujahideen in the Pkor Lan shooting club means getting their
kicks with an AK-47 or a M-16, not to mention Russian and Indonesian
grenades put in baskets like Easter eggs, or the chance to launch a
Chinese B-40 rocket - the same one the Khmer Rouge used to smash
planes landing at the now-computerized Pochentong airport.

Cambodia remains a fragmented jigsaw puzzle in 3D - involving
politics, morality and geography. Many pieces are missing: some are
distorted and simply don't fit; some are torn beyond recognition. The
projection of this jigsaw puzzle since the 1960s reveals a noble and
refined people persecuted by a non-stop avalanche of disasters: a
military coup, a brutal civil war, "strategic" bombing, a bloody
Marxist revolution, liberation and occupation by a hated neighbor
(Vietnam), mass hunger, decadence, more civil war. Cambodia is a
victim of geography and political naivete, a small nation under the
shadow of two giant neighbors: 60 million Thais to the west and 80
million Vietnamese to the east. So what about the great leader Hun
Sen? For urban professionals like Sam, he is nothing but a gangster.
Former Khmer Rouge, former Vietnam strongman in the 1980s - when he
led a dogmatic and corrupt government, cruel against its enemies and
many Cambodians - Hun Sen poses today as a "democrat". After
dictatorships and horrendous communist regimes, he may boast about the
success of an elected government under which Cambodia got its UN chair
back, its admission to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) - which led to more Southeast Asian investment - and its
probable admission to the World Trade Organization in September.
Cambodia first applied to the WTO in 1994.

Hun Sen and the CPP constantly take pains to stress their legacy as
the "heroes [who] drove away the Khmer Rouge and brought peace to the
country", according to the Chea Vannath, president of the Center for
Social Development: "They can claim that. But it's not a convincing
point for voters to change their minds." Critics of the government
prefer to stress the corruption and the absence of any effort to
prevent or even contain illegal deforestation.

Relations with China couldn't be cozier. Hun Sen hails China as
Cambodia's "most trustworthy friend" - although China supported the
Khmer Rouge in the past. China for its part has pledged to forgive all
of Cambodia's debts. In the past five years Hun Sen has made a series
of deals with the three leading Khmer Rouge survivors: Khieu Sampan,
Nuon Chea and Ieng Sary (a former Pol Pot second-in-command turned Hun
Sen's political ally). As he cozies up to China, he keeps suggesting
that Cambodians must "bury the past". Human-rights NGOs have a case
when they vehemently criticize the European Union, which made so much
noise trying to convict former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet:
nobody is forcefully demanding that Cambodia put its criminals in
jail. Methods of pressure wouldn't be lacking: more than 50 percent of
Cambodia's budget comes from international aid. There are widespread
fears that when Cambodia and the UN decide who must go to trial, Hun
Sen in the end may be the de facto prosecution, judge and jury all
rolled into one.

Hun Sen is not talking, before or after the elections. In the
beginning of July he said he would not answer journalists' questions
for one month. He wants to remain above it all. And the CPP as a whole
is also not interested in discussing anything. Four months ago the
Phnom Penh Post requested an interview with the CPP chairman and
president of the Senate, Chea Sim. There was no reply. Mark Malloch
Brown, the respected administrator of the United Nations Development
Program (UNDP), has said that Cambodia's development should be at the
heart of the election debate. Malloch Brown advised Sam Rainsy to
"cross-examine the government on how it's doing on poverty reduction,
jobs, education and health care". But thanks to CPP isolationism,
there has been no debate at all.

King Sihanouk is back in town for the elections, after another
four-month cancer-treating stretch in Beijing. At 80, Sihanouk is one
of the last surviving larger-than-life characters of the Cold War.
Many Cambodians like Sam worry about a future without the King, who
for better or for worse has been venerated for half a century as the
god who has preserved Cambodia from total, irretrievable destruction.
There have been suggestions that Sihanouk might privilege the
Funcinpec party, led by one of his sons. But Prince Sirivudh,
Sihanouk's half-brother, has put all speculation to rest: "The King is
neutral."

(Copyright 2003 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All rights reserved. Please
contact content@atimes.com for information on our sales and
syndication policies.)

==============

http://rectravel.com/pnh

Thanks for your collection of this up-to-date election guide. I find it
informative but am disturbed by this piece of info:

>
> Recently, during a tour of Pailin, the former headquarters of the
> Khmer Rouge, Sam Rainsy had promised not to bring ex-Khmer Rouge
> leaders to the international court if he wins the national elections.
>

It's pathetic that Sam Rainsy made such a promise. He should feel the pains
and sufferings of the victims of the RK genocide. He shouldn't deny them
their cry for justice. He shouldn't ignore their faint hope to see those
responsible for the genocide be brought to trials. He shouldn't make this
promise just because he and his family never suffered under - yet lived
comfortably during - the KR reign of terror.

If the promise is not in his official 100-point programme then his
sneakingly promising it only during his tour of Pailin shows how low he's
willing to stoop just to get votes. It shows that he is not frank with the
Cambodian in general.

If he's already sacrificed his integrity before he gets to the top then
there won't be any surprise that he will sacrifice anything just to hang on
to the top.

If the promise is in his official 100-point programme then his stand for law
and order and social justice is very questionable. If he doesn't bring these
mass murderers into justice, how do we expect him to deal with other
criminals and murderers, whose crimes and corruptions are very pale compared
to the KR genocide? He is making a mockery of the justice system.

Then, he is not different from Hun Sen whom he's vocally accusing of siding
with the KR and of permitting crimes and corruptions to go unpunished.

It is sad to see such a bright and educated political party leader make such
a stupid promise.

Vutha Chung

I'm deeply sadden to see my fellow Cambodians still believe in the dirty
communist propaganda. Tran Chi Hung, a Communist Viet Nam News correspondent
in Phnom Penh, is nothing but a lying sack of sh*t.


"Vutha" wrote in message
news:mMfUa.36028$Ma.8266886@news1.telusplanet.net. ..
> Thanks for your collection of this up-to-date election guide. I find it
> informative but am disturbed by this piece of info:
>
> >
> > Recently, during a tour of Pailin, the former headquarters of the
> > Khmer Rouge, Sam Rainsy had promised not to bring ex-Khmer Rouge
> > leaders to the international court if he wins the national elections.
> >
>
> It's pathetic that Sam Rainsy made such a promise. He should feel the
pains
> and sufferings of the victims of the RK genocide. He shouldn't deny them
> their cry for justice. He shouldn't ignore their faint hope to see those
> responsible for the genocide be brought to trials. He shouldn't make this
> promise just because he and his family never suffered under - yet lived
> comfortably during - the KR reign of terror.
>
> If the promise is not in his official 100-point programme then his
> sneakingly promising it only during his tour of Pailin shows how low he's
> willing to stoop just to get votes. It shows that he is not frank with the
> Cambodian in general.
>
> If he's already sacrificed his integrity before he gets to the top then
> there won't be any surprise that he will sacrifice anything just to hang
on
> to the top.
>
> If the promise is in his official 100-point programme then his stand for
law
> and order and social justice is very questionable. If he doesn't bring
these
> mass murderers into justice, how do we expect him to deal with other
> criminals and murderers, whose crimes and corruptions are very pale
compared
> to the KR genocide? He is making a mockery of the justice system.
>
> Then, he is not different from Hun Sen whom he's vocally accusing of
siding
> with the KR and of permitting crimes and corruptions to go unpunished.
>
> It is sad to see such a bright and educated political party leader make
such
> a stupid promise.
>
> Vutha Chung
>
>
>

Granted what you said is correct, but I know you had seen all those
Rainsy's protest letters since 1994 when the RGC launching offensive
operation to disband the KR. You had already seen the formation of
the Democrat Union which included the KR and Rainsy as well. You also
probably knows that SRP won a land slide in Pailin region for last
election. Rainsy will stoop to any low level as long as he get teh PM
seat.

"Pudgala" writes:

> I'm deeply sadden to see my fellow Cambodians still believe in the dirty
> communist propaganda. Tran Chi Hung, a Communist Viet Nam News correspondent
> in Phnom Penh, is nothing but a lying sack of sh*t.
>
>
> "Vutha" wrote in message
> news:mMfUa.36028$Ma.8266886@news1.telusplanet.net. ..
> > Thanks for your collection of this up-to-date election guide. I find it
> > informative but am disturbed by this piece of info:
> >
> > >
> > > Recently, during a tour of Pailin, the former headquarters of the
> > > Khmer Rouge, Sam Rainsy had promised not to bring ex-Khmer Rouge
> > > leaders to the international court if he wins the national elections.
> > >
> >
> > It's pathetic that Sam Rainsy made such a promise. He should feel the
> pains
> > and sufferings of the victims of the RK genocide. He shouldn't deny them
> > their cry for justice. He shouldn't ignore their faint hope to see those
> > responsible for the genocide be brought to trials. He shouldn't make this
> > promise just because he and his family never suffered under - yet lived
> > comfortably during - the KR reign of terror.
> >
> > If the promise is not in his official 100-point programme then his
> > sneakingly promising it only during his tour of Pailin shows how low he's
> > willing to stoop just to get votes. It shows that he is not frank with the
> > Cambodian in general.
> >
> > If he's already sacrificed his integrity before he gets to the top then
> > there won't be any surprise that he will sacrifice anything just to hang
> on
> > to the top.
> >
> > If the promise is in his official 100-point programme then his stand for
> law
> > and order and social justice is very questionable. If he doesn't bring
> these
> > mass murderers into justice, how do we expect him to deal with other
> > criminals and murderers, whose crimes and corruptions are very pale
> compared
> > to the KR genocide? He is making a mockery of the justice system.
> >
> > Then, he is not different from Hun Sen whom he's vocally accusing of
> siding
> > with the KR and of permitting crimes and corruptions to go unpunished.
> >
> > It is sad to see such a bright and educated political party leader make
> such
> > a stupid promise.
> >
> > Vutha Chung
> >
> >
> >

Pudgala,

I can tell you absolutely that it's not true - I don't know who the
author of this article is but he/she is mistaken. The truth of the
matter is Sam Rainsy has always wanted to bring those KR leaders to
justice for his family and million others who've lost lives there.


"Pudgala" wrote in message news:...
> I'm deeply sadden to see my fellow Cambodians still believe in the dirty
> communist propaganda. Tran Chi Hung, a Communist Viet Nam News correspondent
> in Phnom Penh, is nothing but a lying sack of sh*t.
>
>
> "Vutha" wrote in message
> news:mMfUa.36028$Ma.8266886@news1.telusplanet.net. ..
> > Thanks for your collection of this up-to-date election guide. I find it
> > informative but am disturbed by this piece of info:
> >
> > >
> > > Recently, during a tour of Pailin, the former headquarters of the
> > > Khmer Rouge, Sam Rainsy had promised not to bring ex-Khmer Rouge
> > > leaders to the international court if he wins the national elections.
> > >
> >
> > It's pathetic that Sam Rainsy made such a promise. He should feel the
> pains
> > and sufferings of the victims of the RK genocide. He shouldn't deny them
> > their cry for justice. He shouldn't ignore their faint hope to see those
> > responsible for the genocide be brought to trials. He shouldn't make this
> > promise just because he and his family never suffered under - yet lived
> > comfortably during - the KR reign of terror.
> >
> > If the promise is not in his official 100-point programme then his
> > sneakingly promising it only during his tour of Pailin shows how low he's
> > willing to stoop just to get votes. It shows that he is not frank with the
> > Cambodian in general.
> >
> > If he's already sacrificed his integrity before he gets to the top then
> > there won't be any surprise that he will sacrifice anything just to hang
> on
> > to the top.
> >
> > If the promise is in his official 100-point programme then his stand for
> law
> > and order and social justice is very questionable. If he doesn't bring
> these
> > mass murderers into justice, how do we expect him to deal with other
> > criminals and murderers, whose crimes and corruptions are very pale
> compared
> > to the KR genocide? He is making a mockery of the justice system.
> >
> > Then, he is not different from Hun Sen whom he's vocally accusing of
> siding
> > with the KR and of permitting crimes and corruptions to go unpunished.
> >
> > It is sad to see such a bright and educated political party leader make
> such
> > a stupid promise.
> >
> > Vutha Chung
> >
> >
> >

"Pudgala" writes:

> Yes, I've seen and heard all of what you said, but that has little, if
> anything, to do with the communist propaganda coming from VNA/VNS. What we
> are seeing here is communist Vietnam attempting to create a culture of
> division among us Cambodians via its dirty communist propganda. The more
> we're divided, the better it will be for Communist Vietnam.
It has a lot to do with the communist propganda from VC/NVN. They can
make it because of Rainsy's own actions. If Rainsy didn't do what he'd
done, it would be a little bit different. However, every khmer who had
gone through the KR regime are still having a big scar in their head,
even the khmer montagnard. No one want the VC/NVN(except those who are
benefit from them), but no one else can protect the victims of the KR
neither. So, there is little choice that that each khmer can have. Hun
Sen and the CPP knew very well this kind of game. Of course, unless
the american will do what they are doing for the iraqui, then thing
might change. But, I doubt very much that the american will sacrifice
the lives of their soldiers over Cambodia. On top of that, every khmer
knows where Rainsy was coming from. The same group who sided with the
VC/NVN and later the KR to murder their loves one.
>
>
> "Poulo Wai" wrote in message
> news:wk1xwdl528.fsf@comcast.net...
> > Granted what you said is correct, but I know you had seen all those
> > Rainsy's protest letters since 1994 when the RGC launching offensive
> > operation to disband the KR. You had already seen the formation of
> > the Democrat Union which included the KR and Rainsy as well. You also
> > probably knows that SRP won a land slide in Pailin region for last
> > election. Rainsy will stoop to any low level as long as he get teh PM
> > seat.
> >
> > "Pudgala" writes:
> >
> > > I'm deeply sadden to see my fellow Cambodians still believe in the dirty
> > > communist propaganda. Tran Chi Hung, a Communist Viet Nam News
> correspondent
> > > in Phnom Penh, is nothing but a lying sack of sh*t.
> > >
> > >
> > > "Vutha" wrote in message
> > > news:mMfUa.36028$Ma.8266886@news1.telusplanet.net. ..
> > > > Thanks for your collection of this up-to-date election guide. I find
> it
> > > > informative but am disturbed by this piece of info:
> > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Recently, during a tour of Pailin, the former headquarters of the
> > > > > Khmer Rouge, Sam Rainsy had promised not to bring ex-Khmer Rouge
> > > > > leaders to the international court if he wins the national
> elections.
> > > > >
> > > >
> > > > It's pathetic that Sam Rainsy made such a promise. He should feel the
> > > pains
> > > > and sufferings of the victims of the RK genocide. He shouldn't deny
> them
> > > > their cry for justice. He shouldn't ignore their faint hope to see
> those
> > > > responsible for the genocide be brought to trials. He shouldn't make
> this
> > > > promise just because he and his family never suffered under - yet
> lived
> > > > comfortably during - the KR reign of terror.
> > > >
> > > > If the promise is not in his official 100-point programme then his
> > > > sneakingly promising it only during his tour of Pailin shows how low
> he's
> > > > willing to stoop just to get votes. It shows that he is not frank with
> the
> > > > Cambodian in general.
> > > >
> > > > If he's already sacrificed his integrity before he gets to the top
> then
> > > > there won't be any surprise that he will sacrifice anything just to
> hang
> > > on
> > > > to the top.
> > > >
> > > > If the promise is in his official 100-point programme then his stand
> for
> > > law
> > > > and order and social justice is very questionable. If he doesn't bring
> > > these
> > > > mass murderers into justice, how do we expect him to deal with other
> > > > criminals and murderers, whose crimes and corruptions are very pale
> > > compared
> > > > to the KR genocide? He is making a mockery of the justice system.
> > > >
> > > > Then, he is not different from Hun Sen whom he's vocally accusing of
> > > siding
> > > > with the KR and of permitting crimes and corruptions to go unpunished.
> > > >
> > > > It is sad to see such a bright and educated political party leader
> make
> > > such
> > > > a stupid promise.
> > > >
> > > > Vutha Chung
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >

angkor@asia.com (Khmer Unity) writes:

> Pudgala,
>
> I can tell you absolutely that it's not true - I don't know who the
> author of this article is but he/she is mistaken. The truth of the
> matter is Sam Rainsy has always wanted to bring those KR leaders to
> justice for his family and million others who've lost lives there.

That is your truth. But, Rainsy's past actions told me
differently. How come when the RGC were trying to disband the KR,
Rainsy protested like hell? What was Rainsy plan to bring those KR
to justice if he could not catch them? Why did it take so long for
Rainsy to make a trip to Toul Sleng? Why only after the KR were
disintegrated? And why did he for alliance with the KR?



>
> "Pudgala" wrote in message news:...
> > I'm deeply sadden to see my fellow Cambodians still believe in the dirty
> > communist propaganda. Tran Chi Hung, a Communist Viet Nam News correspondent
> > in Phnom Penh, is nothing but a lying sack of sh*t.
> >
> >
> > "Vutha" wrote in message
> > news:mMfUa.36028$Ma.8266886@news1.telusplanet.net. ..
> > > Thanks for your collection of this up-to-date election guide. I find it
> > > informative but am disturbed by this piece of info:
> > >
> > > >
> > > > Recently, during a tour of Pailin, the former headquarters of the
> > > > Khmer Rouge, Sam Rainsy had promised not to bring ex-Khmer Rouge
> > > > leaders to the international court if he wins the national elections.
> > > >
> > >
> > > It's pathetic that Sam Rainsy made such a promise. He should feel the
> > pains
> > > and sufferings of the victims of the RK genocide. He shouldn't deny them
> > > their cry for justice. He shouldn't ignore their faint hope to see those
> > > responsible for the genocide be brought to trials. He shouldn't make this
> > > promise just because he and his family never suffered under - yet lived
> > > comfortably during - the KR reign of terror.
> > >
> > > If the promise is not in his official 100-point programme then his
> > > sneakingly promising it only during his tour of Pailin shows how low he's
> > > willing to stoop just to get votes. It shows that he is not frank with the
> > > Cambodian in general.
> > >
> > > If he's already sacrificed his integrity before he gets to the top then
> > > there won't be any surprise that he will sacrifice anything just to hang
> > on
> > > to the top.
> > >
> > > If the promise is in his official 100-point programme then his stand for
> > law
> > > and order and social justice is very questionable. If he doesn't bring
> > these
> > > mass murderers into justice, how do we expect him to deal with other
> > > criminals and murderers, whose crimes and corruptions are very pale
> > compared
> > > to the KR genocide? He is making a mockery of the justice system.
> > >
> > > Then, he is not different from Hun Sen whom he's vocally accusing of
> > siding
> > > with the KR and of permitting crimes and corruptions to go unpunished.
> > >
> > > It is sad to see such a bright and educated political party leader make
> > such
> > > a stupid promise.
> > >
> > > Vutha Chung
> > >
> > >
> > >