For a Fighting Chance

[Alternatives Watch]

Alternatives Watch – 30ix09


FOR A FIGHTING CHANCE


She has been slotted into the league of Corazon Aquino and Aung San
Sui Kyi. Her supporters within her party hail her as a model leader.
Could Mu Sochua be the candle light that brings the SRP from darkness?

While the SRP has been slipping into a deeper political wilderness,
the government has been collecting some brownie points. The Cambodian
Centre for Human Rights welcomes the decision by Judge Sin Visal to
dismiss the defamation charge against parliamentarian Ho Vann,
acknowledging the action as a progress. Ho Vann, who fled Cambodia to
escape the court jurisdiction, can now return and is less likely to
remain hostile to the government – if not feeling grateful for the
court’s gesture. Free Trade Union president Chea Mony says he is
thankful for prime minister Hun Sen’s decision not to sue him for his
public statements that implicate the government in his brother Chea
Vichea’s murder. He says the decision reflects a long term perspective
for national development and unity. Another government act that should
win the heart, if not the mind, of editor Hang Chakra is when
spokesman of the council of ministers Phay Siphan visits him in jail
for “humanitarian” reason. Hang Chakra, who is well-known for his pro-
SRP stance, is jailed for, and admits to, defaming deputy prime
minister Sok An and spreading false information. It seems Hun Sen has
been pulling the rug out from under the SRP’s feet by turning himself
into Mr Reasonable. The icing on the cake for the government is that
it has played its cards rather well in the border dispute with
Thailand.

Thus, the SRP ought to secure a leader who can give Hun Sen a good run
for his money. President Sam Rainsy could no longer sustain his past
stamina; he has been singing the same old song, giving Hun Sen a
comfortable feeling that he could easily rule the country as long as
Sam Rainsy remains the opposition leader.

Alternatively, Mu Sochua may just do the trick. She makes Hun Sen stop
and take notice of her activities. He treats her like a formidable
challenger when the government swiftly reacts at full blast even
before Mu Sochua is due to appear in the US Tom Lantos Human Rights
Commission hearing. It later pounces on her testimonies; it summons US
ambassador Carole Rodley to question about the meeting between
secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Mu Sochua.

She is not perfect by any means; no one is. But SRP members should
have a choice between Mu Sochua, who is an unknown quantity, and the
current president who is most unlikely to offer anything different. It
all depends on what the members’ main objective is: if they wish to
remain in opposition, the current incumbent will be well qualified for
preserving the status quo; if the objective were to one day govern the
country, Mu Sochua could be the one who may give the party a fighting
chance. And Cambodia desperately needs a strong opposition.


Ung Bun Ang



Quotable Quote:

“A slave does not choose his master.”
Anonymous.
African (Ashanti) proverb.