KHAT CHHEANG

Khmer Rouge veterans ‘ready to fight Thailand’

Anlong Veng, Cambodia (dpa) – Former Khmer Rouge fighters don’t care too much about the upcoming trials of their former leaders – but they do care about alleged Thai incursions into Cambodian territory, they said Sunday.

Once fiercely loyal to former Khmer Rouge military commander Ta Mok, who died in 2006 after seven years in jail awaiting trial for genocide, now they say they have embraced democracy.

They are not, however, afraid of war – especially when it comes to Cambodian territory they believe has been violated by hundreds of Thai troops in nearby Preah Vihear, and these northern mountains of Cambodia are almost completely populated by former Khmer Rouge.

Cambodia went to the polls Sunday in five-yearly national elections, but amongst these former fighters, the talk was all about coming out of retirement to serve the government if talks over the disputed Preah Vihear temple, just an hour’s drive away, fail.

Cambodia and Thailand are scheduled to hold talks over the temple Monday, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site earlier this month and since the focus of troop buildup on both sides.

Former fighters say they would be at war already if Prime Minister Hun Sen had just said the word, but instead he and the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), expected to be handsomely returned to office after the elections, have urged restraint. Some are frustrated.

“I only have one leg, and I am old, but my former troops are still in Preah Vihear, and I am willing to give military advice or any other assistance I can to protect Cambodian sovereignty,” said former Khmer Rouge fighter Try Nin, 56.

“We are former Khmer Rouge. We are not scared of foreign aggressors. We respect the government’s decision to meet the Thais with diplomacy, but if that fails, everyone here is ready to fight.”

Former photographer at the Khmer Rouge’s infamous Toul Sleng torture centre turned CPP commune leader, Nhem En, 47, who claims Anlong Veng’s several thousand voters are 99 percent CPP, agreed.

“I am ready to fight the Thais. All we wait for is an order from Prime Minister Hun Sen,” he said. “We don’t want war – we want peace and development. But we need tourists, and while the Thais do this, the tourists do not come.

“Thais already have their own problems in their south,” he said, referring to Muslim insurgency. “Why do they want an extra problem?”

En’s son, Meas Bunlo, aged 20, said that like almost three quarters of the Cambodian population today, he was too young to remember the Khmer Rouge and it’s 1975-79 regime and has only ever known the 23-year reign of Hun Sen.

“I went to Ta Mok’s funeral, but I don’t feel close to the history because I am too young,” he said. “However I am Cambodian, so I care about our border and foreign invaders.”

Hun Sen, himself a former Khmer Rouge fighter who defected before returning to overthrow the regime, has stressed Cambodia will strive to solve the border dispute by diplomatic, not military, means.

All the same, Anlong Veng’s former fighters said, they are now his loyal servants and are ready if called upon to fight again.

Phnom Penh (Agencies) – Hun Sen is the only prime minister Cambodia has had since the Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge. Sunday, he will extend his 23-year grip on power in general elections unfolding with the kingdom locked in a military standoff with Thailand.

Thousands of Cambodian and Thai forces have squared off for nearly two weeks around a small patch of land near the ruins of an ancient Khmer temple, sparking a nationalist fervour just as the nation geared up for the vote. Hun Sen has taken a strong line in the conflict, accusing Thailand of ignoring international law and threatening regional peace by sending troops into the disputed zone around the Preah Vihear temple. Campaigning has been largely overshadowed by national concerns over the temple, said Hang Puthea, who heads the election monitoring group Nicfec.

“People are more focused on the border issue at Preah Vihear temple than on the election,” he said.But the conflict hasn’t dented Hun Sen’s popularity going into the polls, and may have enhanced the stature of a man who has styled his Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) as the nation’s liberator from the genocidal Khmer Rouge.

Once a Khmer Rouge guerrilla fighter, Hun Sen abandoned the movement to stake his political future with the CPP, which was installed as the ruling party after Vietnamese troops toppled the Khmer Rouge in 1979 and created a client state to stop border incursions.

Hun Sen became prime minister in 1985, and has steadily and ruthlessly cemented his grip on power.

About 8.1 million people are registered to vote at 15,000 polling stations, under the eyes of more than 13,000 domestic and international observers. So far, most observers expect the polls to be largely free and fair.

In the current campaign, Hun Sen has been aided by his rivals’ missteps. His current coalition partner, the royalist Funcinpec party, has imploded under internal corruption scandals.

The leading opposition Sam Rainsy Party is expected to maintain its strength in the capital, but has made few inroads into rural Cambodia, where most voters live.

“There is no doubt that CPP will win the election,” said independent political analyst Chea Vannath. “The voters already made up their minds who they will vote for.”

Hun Sen is often accused of trampling human rights in his drive to hang on to power. He staged a bloody coup in 1997 to oust his partners in government, and scores were killed in campaigning for elections the following year.

Human Rights Watch said on Saturday that the legacy of violence continues to intimidate opposition supporters, although the campaign has run more peacefully than past elections.

“Cambodian politicians and party activists know the CPP will use violence if necessary — which means the ruling party doesn’t need to do so,” said Brad Adams, the group’s Asia director.

The government also controls almost all of Cambodia’s broadcast media, and the National Election Commission said policies meant to ensure equal airtime for all parties had not succeeded.

“Broadcast media did not respect our policy. The broadcast media produced unbalanced reports,” the commission’s chief Tep Nytha told reporters on Saturday.

But analysts say many voters are now drawn to CPP because of booming economic growth averaging about 11 percent over the last three years.

The government is welcoming foreign investment, especially in tourism, real estate and oil exploration, which could slowly reduce Cambodia’s dependence on foreign aid — which still finances half of the national budget.

Corruption remains a heavy burden on the country, but graft hasn’t emerged as a major campaign issue.

Analysts say the main question going into the polls is whether CPP will be able to increase the 73 seats it already holds in the 123-member parliament.