politics

I was sitting at the Rendezvous Cafe with Sam, discussing getting a new bathroom light fixture and a mailbox for my apartment, when he mentioned that the guy sitting at the next table was the AFP photographer. He had two Canon bodies on the table, one with a 400mm telephoto lens the other with some kind of fast wide-zoom lens, easily $9000 worth of camera gear. I introduced myself, saying, “Sam says you are the AFP photographer.” He replies, “AP”, as if I had just insulted him. And in a way I had. Sam had worked with Stig and Kevin at the AFP so I had assumed he knew the difference between the AP and the AFP. I doubt the AFP even has anyone in Cambodia anymore. I had been by the old headquarters back in 2000 and it was a language school. I explained the mix up and that I had been an AFP stringer back in ‘94. He was duly unimpressed. I said that the politics today were still just as absurd, but less lethal. He gave me a dark look and says, “I wouldn’t count on it staying peaceful.” A bit more small talk and I went back to sit with Sam. The AP photographer finished his coffee and got on his new 750 cc motorbike and drove off like a gunslinger. I never did like the AP, but it is a little disconcerting as they only show up someplace with a big per diem if there is blood in the water. So back to Sam; he will send some people to fix the light and install a mailbox. Look for that story later. I thought about the rental contract that Sam and I had signed. It included a prohibition on “illegal activities or political party” on the premises. Well, you know me, that sounds like a really great time. So let me fill you in on the current political situation (as far as I can figure). Hun Sen is the current Prime Minister of the Royal Government of Cambodia. He has been Prime Minister continuously since he lost the election back in 1993. For a part of his reign he was called Co-Prime Minister, until he deposed the other Co-Prime Minister (the one who won the 1993 election) in a bloody coup in 1997. To justify the coup, he accused his opponent of having secret negotiations with the Khmer Rouge to get them to accept amnesty and join the Royalist Party. After the coup, the KR accepted amnesty and joined the CPP (Hun Sen’s party). Some time later, Hun Sen pardoned the ex-Co-Prime Minister, who returned from exile and was allowed to rejoin the Parliament as head of the Royalist party. Hun Sen was originally one of Pol Pot’s cadre. After the KR defeated Lon Nol, (the US supported dictator who replaced King Sihanouk so that Nixon could get permission to bomb the crap out of the country legally) Pol Pot started a border war with Vietnam. Hun Sen was ordered to take his troops and attack the better armed and battle-hardened Vietnamese (basically a suicide mission). He decided to defect. Later, when the Vietnamese invaded and threw out the murderous Pol Pot regime, they installed Hun Sen in the new government. That was in 1979. Hun Sen lost an eye during the war. The Royalists and the KR began a guerilla war (backed by the US and China) against the CPP (backed by the Vietnamese).This continued until the UN sent 30,000 troops to oversee the election that was ignored. When I was here in 2000, Hun Sen was talking shit about the Vietnamese, because that always impresses the locals. Now, the Royalists have said that they will not oppose Hun Sen because the country needs to present a unified face to the aid agencies who are keeping them all in gravy. For this loyalty, Hun Sen has given the Royalists 30 million dollars. This money was raised by selling public property. The third largest party, and the one that won a majority of votes in Phnom Penh, is the Sam Rainsey Party, named after it’s western educated leader. They called foul on this and a few other glaring abuses of power. Hun Sen accused them of treason and arrested several of its Parliamentarians. Rainsey was able to escape to France. The King resigned in disgust (his words) leaving his unmarried 55 year old artistic half-brother to assume the throne. Now Rainsey is planning to return to Cambodia. Mysterious posters have been put up in the schools and universities accusing Rainsey of treason. He is accused of treason because he said that aid groups shouldn’t give money to Cambodia until the rampant corruption has been reduced. But if the aid groups stopped giving money, then Cambodians would suffer, thus, Rainsey wants Cambodians to suffer. So he will be returning soon and his party has asked for permits to hold a rally welcoming him back. These permits have been denied, but a rally opposing his return has been permitted. The reason given is that the government cannot guarantee the safety of the Rainsey supporters and bloodshed at the airport might deter tourism.