Politicians and Assassinations

Khmer Times
Sothea Nim,
President of WEBCONSOL
Montreal, Canada

Photo supplied

The assassinations of political and rights activists have taken place in the past. However, comparing many aspects, the assassination of Kem Ley was rather different from all previous cases.

For that reason, I find Mr. Ley’s death puts Cambodia in a relatively complicated situation. It is time for Cambodia to have solid national unity, while having different political views and tendencies. But the contrary, I have seen politicians commercializing Mr. Ley’s death shamelessly, from the very start.

I have seen one Facebook post after another, and many political moves with speculative rhetoric that embraces the finger pointing game. One of the worst moves I have seen was taken by the opposition leader Sam Rainsy when he launched his campaign to lobby the European Union to apply some sanctions on Cambodia, which included a ban on visas for government officials, a halt to trading activities and so on.

Mr. Rainsy has done this numerous times in the past. This is his strength and it’s something that he does best. Although this time it was different.

But looking at the many aspects, Mr. Ley’s case was different from previous ones. Mr. Rainsy’s latest political move made me think, what is politics and why does someone go into politics? Then it reminded me of a line in a joke: “Hi, I’m a politician and I’m honest. Hi, I’m a prostitute and I’m a virgin.”

I find this joke to be funny and also interesting – some think when a politician lies it’s okay because he’s a politician.

However, in my opinion, a politician needs principles, values and integrity. Above all, a politician needs to love her/his people and their country. A politician without principle reflects in her/his stance of important issues, so she/he flip-flops.

A politician without values reflects in her/his reactions to important issues, so she/he is a “yes man/woman” or a “no man/woman.” A politician without integrity, well, it reflects in her/his public image (i.e. corruption scandals, extramarital affairs, sexual harassment scandals, abuse of power, etc).

A politician who doesn’t love his people and his country reflects in her/his reaction to important issues as she/he always does it for herself/himself. She/he always plays politics for her/his party to gain politically, at the cost of the people and the country.

Getting back to Mr. Rainsy, I think he’s a fine and successful man. He has his strengths and he knows it. He’s very effective in leveraging off his strengths.

Nevertheless, based on my own definition, I observed that Mr. Rainsy’s reactions and actions on either small or major issues, including the death of Mr. Ley, to be non-principled, lacking in values and lacking a love for his people and his country.

One can express love, but that doesn’t mean that she/he really loves. If the public takes the time to review Mr. Rainsy’s record and his actions, they would clearly see that his expression of love is clearly for political gain. Given what happened, what Cambodia needs most right now is a spirit of national unity.

Mr. Rainsy has done the opposite. He has placed the blame on the government, from the very start, and he goes as far as to lobby the international community to cut aid, stop trading activities and stop investing in Cambodia.

This includes his latest effort to lobby the European Union to adopt a number of sanctions on Cambodia (posted on a Facebook page called MJ Cnrp France on July 14).


Sothea Nim,
President of WEBCONSOL
Montreal, Canada.

The opinions expressed are the writer’s alone and letters are edited for clarity and length.