By Kavi Chongkittavorn
The Island (Sri Lanka)
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| Armored personnel carriers of Cambodian Army drive through a road at Kampong Thom town, about 168 kilometers (104 mikes) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Saturday, Feb. 12, 2011. Kampong Thom is the neighboring province to Preah Vihear of the disputed 11th century Hindu Preah Vihear temple near the border between Cambodia and Thailand. The battle over a hilly patch of land in this remote countryside is rooted in a decades-old border dispute that has fueled nationalist passions and been driven by domestic politics on both sides. (AP) |
Indeed, modern Cambodia is the product of longstanding UN peace efforts and dividends—the most cited UN success—during the 1990s followed the signing of Paris Peace Agreement in 1991. UN sponsored election in 1993 saw the unstoppable rise of Hun Sen and his Cambodian People’s Party as well as other opposition leaders. As of today, however, these opposition leaders are all living in exile including Sam Rainsy. The only credible voice to monitor the government and its ruling party these days is the burgeoning civil society organizations, which are currently under threats by a new NGO law.
Asean often claimed political utopia that its members have never fought an open war was shattered to smithereens during the three-day (February 4-6) fighting along Thai-Cambodian border. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen even went as far as declaring it a real war, which has unwittingly placed the Asean leaders and their organization under the world’s microscope. He has opened a Pandora box in Asean. Now, they altogether have to find ways to smooth out these troubled relations. Otherwise, the grouping’s creditability in the global arena will be severely undermined.
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