Opinion: The failure of the opposition in instigating 18 August event

Opinion: The failure of the opposition in instigating 18 August event

The attempt of the opposition group overseas to incite mass protests on August 18 to provoke unrest in the country, using the issue of cooperation on the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam development triangle area (CLV-DTA) to light nationalist sentiment among citizens, failed.

The instigators of the demonstration made it clear that their ultimate goal was to overthrow the government by undermining the economy, stoking class anger, hatred against the rich, government officials and the armed forces, ultranationalism, racial discrimination, all of which are extremist ideologies, which do not differ from the ideology of Pol Pot.

They also did not hide their intention to provoke violence and they have no will to restrict their protesters from violence. They wanted to exacerbate the situation to the like of Bangladesh’s case, which for them amounted to rekindling the hopes of a Colour Revolution that they had always desired.

However, the vicious attempts to destroy the peace of the entire nation for their reckless political ambitions were thwarted as the Royal Government and the armed forces had prevented in a timely manner their ill-will through peaceful means and restrained efforts to explain with the utmost patience, but at the same time they were also well prepared with absolute determination should the situation turns into the worst-case scenario.

Drawing from this event, we can draw some of the following implications:

First, the 17 million Cambodians still resort to peace and tranquility.

Although some people still have questions about the cooperation framework of the CLV-DTA because they love their motherland, they do not agree to the provocation of social unrest that destroys the well-being of the whole nation, that eventually would lead to the loss of tourists and investors whom are much needed for their livelihood as well as the country’s economic development.

They have clearly seen that after the demonstrations that toppled the Bangladeshi government, many investors fled the country because everyone knows that no one is going to invest millions of dollars in a country without security and safety. And no tourist wants to go on an adventure with the sound of bullets and at the risk of their own lives.

Second, the strong unity of the armed forces in defending the national territory, peace and the constitutional government that had emerged from the elections.

In fact, the accusation regarding the loss of four provinces (Ratanakkiri, Mondulkiri, Kratie and Stung Treng) is an insult to the Royal Government, to the people living in those four provinces, but what is most serious is a direct insult to the armed forces who are the border guards. These troops find such accusation unacceptable when they have to patrol the border, day and night, rain and shine, even if they have to be away from their families for the task of defending the motherland.

They are true patriots who dare to sacrifice their lives to protect the territory of Cambodia. For them, it is really painful when they try to explain the truth on the ground, but some people still do not believe them and instead pin their belief on imaginative people who have never stepped foot on the border area.

Third, do not underestimate the supporting force for the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).

Civil servants, business people and the general public who love and support CPP believe in the leadership capability and unwavering patriotic conscience of the CPP leaders, who always stand in solidarity with the people and dare to sacrifice their lives to protect the national territory. CPP’s supporters are also true patriots and none of the CPP members are willing to lose Cambodian territory.

Members of the CPP are the true patriots who are willing to die for their own motherland. CPP members are always mature and possess great level of patience, even if they are sometimes insulted as “unthinking followers”. This is because they have clearly understood the great conscience of the leaders of the Royal Government and the CPP who are extremely loyal to the motherland, always stay and is willing to die in the motherland and are always willing to stay with the people through good and bad times. They do not respond with anger to the point of destroying Cambodia’s peace, destroying the reputation of the Cambodian people, which foreigners can despise for that the Khmer people is always quarrelling with each other from domestic to overseas.

But the opposition must not underestimate the strength and willpower of the CPP supporters, as the Khmer saying that goes, “kheugn klar krap thar klar sampeah” or literally means “don’t ever look at the lying tiger as a bowing tiger.”

Fourth, never expect that the 2013 events will happen again.

Internal national unity is the strongest deterrent to the Colour Revolution, especially the unity of the armed forces. The armed forces have a duty to protect the legitimate government born out of elections and have a duty to protect the security of the people throughout the entire country.

The Royal Government and the armed forces cannot stand idle when a handful of individuals are willing to divide the nation, cause insecurity, the loss of peace and stability. If a nation is at war, the government and the armed forces are responsible for the lives of the whole 17 million people, so enforcing the law against those who act against the law is a customary practice in strengthening the rule of law for the sake of nationwide peace. No question asked.

The armed forces had already had bitter experiences in 2013, when the concept of Colour Revolution was still unknown in Cambodia. But for now, don’t expect an event like 2013 to happen again.

Fifth, fake news is a poison and a virus that kills society.

When the explanation has been given by those who have been involved in the real works for decades, but people still don’t believe it and place their trust in those influencers who have never worked or never put their foot in the border zone, this means that fake news is actually devastating for society. The vicious influencers have absolutely no professional experience and their accusations were purely imaginative.

This is a great danger for the society.

Fake news can divide a country and cause insecurity. Such danger is also a threat to other countries, such as the United Kingdom, where fake news had provoked racist movement and vandalism. Indeed, the British government has every right to use iron fists to disperse anti-social groups. This is an extremely complex challenge that governments around the world are struggling to tackle.

Therefore, based on the arguments above, the messages that the author considers most important are twofold. First, the events of August 18 show that the Cambodian people chose peace and tranquility and were not deceived by the opposition, which is ready to destroy the entire nation for its political ambitions. Second, don’t expect an attempted Color Revolution to happen again like it did in 2013.

Sim Vireak expressed his own voice as a civil servant and a Cambodian citizen living in Cambodia

Source: khmertimeskh