Selected Comments of Samdech Techo HUN SEN. at the opening ceremony of the 12th ICAPP General Assembly and related meetings [Unofficial Translations]
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(1) The second host of the 12th ICAPP General Assembly
When ICAPP was established, I was like the sun that had not yet above the head. But now, after 24 years its birth, I am like the afternoon but not yet set. Hopefully, there will be at least three more 10 years so that we can see the wider world. Some 14 years ago, we already held a General Assembly. At that time, we used the government building to host it. This year, Cambodia has the opportunity to host it again at the headquarters of the Cambodian People’s Party. I thank the leaders of the political parties who are the ICAPP (International Conference of Asian Political Parties) family, as well as ICAPP partners, who support the Cambodian People’s Party to host the 12th General Assembly. I am proud of hosting the General Assembly, which Cambodia has had the opportunity to host twice out of the 12 Geneal Assemblies. In particular, for ASEAN, I myself had chaired the ASEAN Summits three times. So, it is not strange to participate in the ICAPP framework for two times. Hopefully, there will be a third and fourth.
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(2) “I am willing to let the court fail but not let the country go back to war”
Let me say a little bit on this point. If Cambodia failed to control its sovereignty and internal affairs, we could have been doomed under the political agenda of the Khmer Rouge trial that did not take national reconciliation into consideration. They are biased towards the Khmer Rouge trial but not to peace. The sad point is that they created war in our country, they supported the Khmer Rouge at the United Nations, but when it came to the time for prosecution, they hastened us to prosecute (the Khmer Rouge), regardless of the consequences that could arise.
I told the former Secretary-General of the United Nations very clearly – “I am willing to let the court fail but I will not let my country go back to war.” We all may remember that for any foreign contribution, whether in the framework of a regional organization or even the United Nations, one must not forgo the ownership of one’s own country. Of course, we must meet the standards. But what are the standards? In this world, standards exist only in sports. There are no standards in politics, and there are none in other aspects. Only sports have real standards. Politics have no standards. From country to country, there are different ways of governing. This is a point I should emphasize.
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(3) Guaranteeing life, career, occupation, and ownership of property – core of win-win politics
Let me emphasize the core elements of the win-win politics that enabled the (rank and file of) the Khmer Rouge to trust and come together with the Royal Government. Firstly, we must guarantee their life. This means that they would surrender, only when they would not be killed, and would not be imprisoned. If we did not guarantee this, who would be willing to come and join us […] the second point is to guarantee their career and occupation. We had no fear to have done so. Those who were in the army would continue to do so. They just took off their Khmer Rouge uniform, put on the ones of the Royal Government, and apply the laws of the Royal Government.
Those forces become the forces of the Royal Government. Doctors would continue to be doctors. We dare to let the Khmer Rouge division-level units, both ranks and files, to take the responsibility to continue leading their forces. However, they must not implement the Khmer Rouge policies. They implement the policies of the Royal Government. This guarantees clearly that they would be able to come together with us. And thereafter, (3) guaranteeing ownership of their property, both real estate and movable property. These three guarantees were important components that drew all brothers and sisters to separate themselves from the Khmer Rouge and come back to live in national society […]
(4) Implement the DIFID strategy for the goal of peace and national unification
It is not an exaggeration that we used the 5-letter strategy – DIFID […] meaning – divide, isolate, finish, integrate, and develop (in the course of rooting out the Khmer Rouge). If we did not divide, would the Khmer Rouge be willing to be isolated? If the Khmer Rouge leaders were not isolated, they would still use their soldiers to fight us. I think it is not an exaggeration that we should do this for the goal of peace and national unification. In the world, no country has yet ended a war the way Cambodia did. After we completed the unification with the lower level, the upper-level leadership came to the Prime Minister’s house (to surrender) […]
These five letters laid the strategy that we implemented. To achieve the goal, we must have a method for solving problems. However, Cambodia’s experience is not enough to respond to the experience of other countries. It can be combined according to the actual situation. We do not have a theory that comes from anyone, but is a theory that was created by Cambodia itself and sincerely participated in by the Cambodian people themselves, all of whom we call operators. It’s not just Hun Sen. There’s Tea Banh, there’s Sar Kheng, there is everyone else, including the brothers and sisters – former Khmer Rouge rank and file, and supporters of the win-win policy – all of whom are operators of win-win politics.
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(5) Use every measure to prevent color revolutions from breaking up the country
Last night, in the Standing Committee meeting, I mentioned the experience of color revolutions, which can be carried out. Recently, they did it in Bangladesh, and they wanted to destroy Cambodia. However, it must be recognized that here we have been aware of the methods of color revolution groups. They do not carry out coups to overthrow the state anymore – but instead use color revolutions through the masses to overthrow (the state). Initially, they neutralize the armed forces and the civil administration. For us here, in order to prevent color revolutions, neutrality is allowed only between political parties, but not between the armed forces and the civil administration. They are instruments of the state. It cannot be neutral. That they cannot do anything. We must be wise in managing the situation, because it is the most critical point. Otherwise, blood would be shed and the country would be divided again. Therefore, we will not hesitate to use every measure to prevent color revolutions.
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(6) “Don’t make the third mistake in Cambodia, let us enjoy peace and build our country.”
This is regrettable. The democrats claim to respect human rights and democracy but instead support the coup of March 18, 1970. What does this mean? Countries that claim to respect human rights but instead support the Khmer Rouge’s to occupy the Cambodian seat at the United Nations. That is the reason why we always remind them – “Don’t make the third mistake in Cambodia, let us enjoy peace and build our country.” Whether they respect it or not, we must take responsibility for managing the situation to ensure our country’s further development./.
