"UNITY behind CNRP" or "UNITY behind Kem Sokha"? The Faustian Pact with Hun Sen: How Sokha Betrayed Democracy

UNITY behind Party

or

UNITY behind Person?

UNITY behind Democracy

or

UNITY behind Treachery?

UNITY behind CNRP

or

UNITY behind Kem Sokha, Betrayer of Democracy?

Kem Sokha is a Betrayer of Democracy.

How has Kem Sokha betrayed democracy?

Kem Sokha knowingly betrayed democracy when he entered into the Faustian Pact with Hun Sen in creating the vote-splitting Human Rights Party, waged a cold war within the CNRP to undermine Sam Rainsy at every turn, and finally staged the internal coup that propelled him to CNRP "president".

He sold his soul to the devil for money and power, with a reckless disregard for the well-being of the nation.

His betrayal has set back democracy by at least 25 years to the time of UNTAC, a sweat and blood struggle to gain inch by incremental inch of a budding democracy yet very fragile.

In this betrayal is also the betrayal of countless lives sacrificed along the way, genuine heroes known and unknown, before the age of the internet, Unicode and Facebook, when democracy was fought for in the dark.  Many of these lives were friends and colleagues.

Kem Sokha's betrayal of democracy is well-known among Cambodians upon the release and wide dissemination by the CPP via its mouth-piece Fresh News of (i) secret recording of a 21-minute conversation between Hun Sen and Kem Sokha and (2) lengthy text exchanges between Hun Sen's cabinet and Kem Sokha / Mao Monyvann. 

1. Secretly taped recording between Hun Sen and Kem Sokha, released by Fresh News on 4 March 2017:

 

2. សារឆ្លេីយឆ្លង តាម Whatapps រវាង មន្ត្រី ខុទ្ទកាល័យលោក ហ៊ុន សែន ជាមួយ តំណាងរាស្ត្រ បក្សសង្គ្រោះជាតិ ម៉ៅ មុន្នីវណ្ណ និងលោក កឹម សុខា ជំវីញ ការរៀបចំ គំរោង ផែនការ របស់លោក ហ៊ុន សែន ឲ្យ​លោក កឹម សុខា ឡេីងជាប្រធាន បក្ស | Communications between Hun Sen's cabinet and Mao Monyvann and Kem Sokha re replacing Sam Rainsy as CNRP president in an internal coup

សី ហា (Seiha)'s Facebook, 3 March 2017

3.  My reaction to the released secret tape recording, 5 March 2017, here:

"This secret recording

is really a blessing in disguise

for the CNRP

because now the destructive deadweights

are publicly revealed"

Theary Seng, 5 March 2017

Yes, I woke up this Sunday morning to the taped conversation between Hun Sen and Kem Sokha lasting 21:32 minutes.

Yes, I believe it is their real conversation: a servile Sokha sounding like a trapped, wounded animal and a very dominant Sen sounding completely in control of the conversation, steering Sokha to confess or agree to damning information, that Hun Sen helped establish the Human Rights Party and that Sokha and his daughter Mona have been scheming the internal coup, "Give it [Sam Rainsy] a hard slap... Can you do that? ... Just simply go on Facebook."

One of the many manifestations was Mona's public assault mocking Sam Rainsy as Peter Pan which drew such a public outrage against her that she and the father had to slither back; once again for the sake of a united CNRP, Sam Rainsy bailed them out.

Unlike the foreign press that lives in a parallel universe, the Cambodian democrats have always had strong suspicions of Sokha and his Human Rights Party, that it was established with Hun Sen's help to split the democrats' votes and sow confusion. And knew that he and Mona were at every turn undermining Sam Rainsy. Unfortunately, we are proven right on both counts.

If Kem Sokha doesn't want to be the most hated man and has ANY decency left, he should (1) dismiss his daughter Mona from all CNRP leadership positions, (2) resign and allow for the CNRP to hold a genuine extraordinary congress and nominate Kong Korm as presidential candidate to be voted on. I put forward again my formula of Kong Korm, Mu Sochua, Yim Sovann and Yem Ponhearith (where I had Sokha here before).

Sokha and Mona have been not only deadweights but destructive forces. If they want to salvage any of their ill-gained wealth and respectability, they should resign.

This secret recording--only to Sokha and not to Sen-- obvious from how Sen steered the conversation and his use of language in setting the trap--is really a blessing in disguise for the CNRP (minus Sokha and his unreformed minions within) because now the destructive deadweights are publicly revealed.

People will continue to vote CNRP IN SPITE OF Sokha as I had said earlier, now made easier because he's been outed.

I will vote CNRP and encourage everyone to do so as well--whatever Sokha's decision--because once CNRP wins, the voters will put Sam Rainsy in leadership once again,
The release of these exchanges were also widely covered by both the more neutral English and Khmer press.  Hun Sen has confirmed their authenticity.

I have listened and read the text exchanges and believe they are the genuine correspondences, particularly because they confirmed my long-held suspicions of the Human Rights Party since its formation and the cold war waged within the CNRP straining the unity, the HRP side/KS loyalists bulldozing their agenda through during the creation and existence of the CNRP, knowing Sam Rainsy and his loyalists would protect the CNRP unity at all costs in a lesser evil decision, a license for them to be treacherous, reckless in their pursuit of taking over CNRP.

Sam Rainsy and his loyalists, caught between Scylla and Charybdis, chose adamantine unity. (Think the resistance movement's dilemma of the 1980s: the Khmer Rouge and the PRK/Vietnamese Occupiers.)

One only needs to review the statements reported in the media of the KS camp and the SR camp: one is for division, the other constantly smoothing over this division. 

Ex. Yim Sovann's silence or deflection when asked about Mona's using his name stamp to kick out Thy Sovantha. Or, Sam Rainsy on Twitter asking Ou Virak, the "independent" analyst, to stop his personal abuse of him.

Here's another example, a petty one, but it reflects this mentality of the KS camp attempting to break unity throughout CNRP until now but less strident after the internal coup: the insertion of the HRP colors of yellow and green into the CNRP logo and associated banners, flags and stickers. 

The effort to insert the HRP colors into CNRP occurred at the very beginning and continues to this day with the new CNRP-sans-SR logo, led by Mao Monyvann.  The SR camp tried to maintain unity for the public by having some of its loyalists also don the T-shirts or caps soaked in yellow and green to blend in with the KS camp.  

At one time, some members of the SR camp had to be creative and print CNRP logo on all PINK caps and T-shirts and wear them to intersperse with the yellow/green to neutralize the dissension for the public.

Mao Monyvann's Facebook cover, August 2017

We agree on UNITY. 
Unity against Hun Sen.
That is not the issue. 

The issue is: 
Unity behind WHAT?
Unity of WHAT?

If the national elections are to be held at this moment in time, it doesn't matter who is the president, the CNRP would win. Hence, the more we need to protect the institution (the party, the CNRP).  Knowing this, the KS loyalists will try to use the institution as a way to whitewash its betrayal of democracy by making CNRP synonymous with Kem Sokha, which is very dangerous in weakening the CNRP.

- Theary, 22 Sept. 2017

CNRP-sans-SR's exclusive strategy

of "Unite behind Kem Sokha"

rather than inclusive "Unite behind CNRP"

Theary Seng, 19 Sept. 2017

My fears are being confirmed that the senior leaders of the CNRP-sans-SR have as their only strategy in the wake of Sokha's arrest is to call and unite behind his release. This strategy was made almost unilaterally, it appears by the timing of it, as his daughter Mona, immediately made public statements to this strategy, as no mention was made of an executive committee or any kind of meetings of an emergency nature to discuss strategy. So effectively, Mona issues unilaterally the strategy, and her seniors (only in title?) fall into step. The tail wags the dog?

At the time, Yim Sovann kept and remained silent (now overseas), Eng Chhay Eang was overseas, leaving Mu Sochua to deal with the KS camp of internal coup victors and appeasers and they run roughshod over her; not even senior whip Son Chhay could help by attempting to offer a different perspective. 

All of CNRP-sans-SR now will be made to make KS a hero, white-wash his treachery of deep betrayal of democracy. 

No other inclusive strategy of "Unite behind CNRP" is possible; only "Unite behind Kem Sokha" (with the byline: Kem Sokha is a hero). 

The difference is a fine but significant one as it allows supporters like me to "Unite behind CNRP" with my added "in spite of Kem Sokha". 

Whereas the latter, an extremely exclusive one, has to re-write history to redeem Kem Sokha by going further in making him a hero, pushes me to want to puke -- sorry, that was a 4-letter word -- Let me try again: makes me want to throw up in light of his treachery in betraying 25+ years of fragile democracy of minute-to-minute sweat and blood struggle and sacrifice, consuming the lives of countless genuine heroes. 

All for what? The vaulting ambition of Sokha and his Lady Macbeths?

 More at thearyseng.com