In an apparent reference to Cambodia’s political parties, Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday described various groups during a speech yesterday, saying some do nothing but blame while others are the achievers of the nation.
The premier, speaking in Kompong Thom province for the groundbreaking ceremony for a section of National Road 62, said there is a lonely group in Cambodia that does not join together with other groups.
He said the leader of this lonely group was a foreigner who, he claimed, did not love Cambodia but preferred another nation.
“The lonely group has never gotten along with some one and their leader is a foreigner. It is not called nationalism but is unpatriotic,” he said. “Whatever the foreigner says is right and the group is always seeking comment from the foreigner.”
“Another group is small but lonely and is not able to get along,” he continued.
Although Mr Hun Sen never mentioned the party by name, the reference appeared to be focusing on the Sam Rainsy Party, which counts several overseas chapters and members with dual citizenship. Party President Sam Rainsy has both French and Cambodian citizenship.
In his speech, the premier also described various types of people, saying some spend their time criticizing while others are more active.
“The speaker is in the speaking business. The doer is in the doing business,” he said. “We are the doers and try to do.”
SRP spokesman and lawmaker Yim Sovann said the opposition party is also different from other groups in that it does not do harm to the country.
“Sam Rainsy Party has never sold the land to the other country as some party has cut the land and sold it to Vietnam,” he said.
Mr Hun Sen also mentioned the Cambodian soldiers sent on a UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan where they were tasked with de-mining and clearing explosive remnants of war in the African nation. The premier also rejected the possibility of Cambodia sending its forces to Afghanistan or Iraq, saying the assignment would be too dangerous.
“There is a proposal for sending about a 1,000-man force to Afghanistan,” he said. “It is many times this proposal for Afghanistan. I will not let them go. If they go there will be a problem since some days there are explosions here and some days here, some are seized as hostages. I do not allow them to go.”
