CAMBODIAN-AMERICANS FOR DEMOCRACY - 2013

AN AGENDA TO IMPROVE CAMBODIA’S CHANCE FOR

SURVIVAL BY SETTING PRIORITY ON INTERNAL OVER EXTERNAL ISSUES

B Y N A R A N H K I R I T I T H , P H . D .

CAMBODIAN-AMERICANS FOR DEMOCRACY

Which of the two Roadmaps Cambodians should take for Cambodia to survive, as a civilization

Cambodians are now in this situation.

“Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder.”

This is the road that Cambodians must take in order to survive.

“As human beings, we are endowed with freedom of choice, and we cannot shuffle off

our responsibility upon the shoulders of God or nature. We must shoulder it ourselves. It is our

responsibility.” Arnold J. Toynbee; British Historian – (1886-1975)

 

  

CAMBODIAN-AMERICANS FOR DEMOCRACY

How, What and Why Should Cambodian-Americans

do to help Cambodia and its People survive?An Agenda

1- Are we helping Cambodia as;

a. Cambodian-American, or

b. Cambodian National? 

Which of the two identities would have the strongest impact from the future actions to help Cambodia, being Cambodian-Americans or Cambodian national?

What are the legal and political implications in each case? 

  

2- DO WE KNOW OUR OWN HISTORY AND OURSELVES WELL? TAKING A LOOK AT HISTORY TO DISCOVER WHAT CAMBODIA REALLY WAS AND IS, AND WHY WE ARE WHAT AND WHERE WE ARE TODAY.

(READ BACKGROUND PAPERS PROVIDED AT: HTTP://CAMBODIANADESA.SHAREPOINT.COM/PAGES/NEWSANALYSIS2013I.ASPX)

3- IS IT IMPORTANT AND NECESSARY TO KNOW AND GRASP OUR ENEMY’ S MINDSET? WHAT DOES VIETNAMESE NATIONALISM MEAN AND ITS CONSEQUENCES ON WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH?

(PLEASE, READ BACKGROUND PAPERS PROVIDED AT: HTTP://CAMBODIANADESA.SHAREPOINT.COM/PAGES/NEWSANALYSIS2013I.ASPX)

4 - HOW DO WE GO FROM WHERE WE ARE NOW?   A- ROAD MAP TO FREEDOM BY DR. NARANHKIRI TITH, A PROPOSED DIAGNOSTICS OF THE CAMBODIAN PROBLEMS IN SEARCHING FOR ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS TO SAVE CAMBODIA ONCE AND FOREVER.

(PLEASE, READ BACKGROUNDS PAPERS AT:  HTTP://CAMBODIANADESA.SHAREPOINT.COM/PAGES/AROADMAPTOFREEDOMFORCAMBODIANS.ASPX

  B- WHEN, HOW AND HOW MUCH SHOULD WE TALK ABOUT THE VIETNAMESE ISSUES?

(CONTINUED)

4 -  HOW DO WE GO FROM WHERE WE ARE NOW?

C- HOW TO FACE AND DEAL WITH HUN SEN

D- HOW ARE WE GOING TO ASSESS ITS IMPACT ON THE SEARCH FOR A SOLUTION FOR CAMBODIA, REGARDING THE ROLE OF:

1. SIHAMONI

  2. SAM RAINSY

3. KEM SOKHA

4. MU SCHUA E- WHAT IS THE LEGACY OF POL POT ON PRESENT DAY CAMBODIA? ( END)

'CAMBODIA SPRING' UNLIKELY, POLITICAL OBSERVERS SAY(MANY ARGUE THAT REVOLUTION IS NOT ON THE COUNTRY'S HORIZON, IN SPITE OF SOCIOPOLITICAL CONDITIONS THAT MIGHT SUGGEST OTHERWISE.);

NASH JENKINS, VOA KHMER 01 AUGUST 2012

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“GREENWOOD CONCURS WITH MILLER ON THE WEAKNESS OF THE SAM RAINSY PARTY AS A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE TO HUN SEN ’S REGIME, CITING THE OPPOSITION’S STRUGGLE TO MAINTAIN POPULARITY IN RECENT ELECTIONS. SAM RAINSY HAS SEEN A CONSIDERABLE DECREASE OF SUPPORT IN THE COUNTRY’S LARGER CITIES, ONCE A BASTION FOR SUPPORT OF THE PARTY’S CONTRARIAN VIEWS” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Faine Greenwood, Author, "Is a Cambodian Spring Approaching? Not Any Time Soon."

'CAMBODIA SPRING' UNLIKELY, POLITICAL OBSERVERS SAY(MANY ARGUE THAT REVOLUTION IS NOT ON THE COUNTRY'S HORIZON, IN SPITE OF SOCIOPOLITICAL CONDITIONS THAT MIGHT SUGGEST OTHERWISE.) NASH JENKINS, VOA KHMER 01 AUGUST 2012

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“BEYOND THE VARIABLE FACTORS, HOWEVER, SHE POINTS OUT ONE CRUCIAL DEFICIENCY AMONG THE CAMBODIAN PEOPLE: THE LACK OF ANY SORT OF REVOLUTIONARY SPIRIT. THE MINDSET OF MANY CAMBODIANS, SHE SAYS, IS LARGELY A PASSIVE ONE, A RESPONSE TO YEARS UNDER A LEADERSHIP FOR WHOM FREE EXPRESSION WAS A CAPITAL OFFENSE.

“SOME OF THE YOUNG CAMBODIANS I’VE SPOKEN WITH HAVE SAID THAT THEIR PARENTS HAVE TOLD THEM ALL THEIR LIVES THAT THEY SHOULDN’T FIGHT OR SPEAK OUT – THEY NEED TO BE QUIET AND KEEP THINGS AS THEY ARE,” SHE SAID. “SO MANY OF THESE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE THINKING THAT THINGS ARE OK RIGHT NOW. THAT MIGHT CHANGE.” (END)

HOW CAN WE ASSESS SIHANOUK’S ROLE IN CAMBODIA’S TRAGEDY? POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE? DAVID CHANDLER HAD ASSESSED SIHANOUK’S ROLE IN CAMBODIA , AS FOLLOWS: (Cambodia’s Historical Legacy By David

Chandler)

5- WHAT KIND OF LEADERSHIP SHOULD CAMBODIANS HAVE TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS TASK OF NATIONAL SALVATION FOR CAMBODIA? CAN CAMBODIA BE SAVED WITHOUT A REQUIRED LEADER OF EXCEPTIONAL MORAL AND INTELLECTUAL QUALITIES AS AUNG SAN SUU KYI OR MANDELA, WHO ARE BOTH NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATES?

ARE KEM SOKHA AND SAM RAINSY AT THE SAME LEVEL OF NECESSARY EXCELLENCE OF STATESMANSHIP OF AUNG SAN SUU KYI OR MANDELA IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO SAVE CAMBODIA? HOW SHOULD WE ASSESS THE RECENT UNION BETWEEN SAM RAINSY AND KEM SOKHA?

Clash of Civilizations Comparison of Administrative, Political , Social Organizations between Sinic and Indic civilizations and its impact of national security and survival Sinic/Vietnamese civilizationAdministration:

conceptually can be compared to a pyramid with the ruler at the apex with clearly defined links established between the apex and the lowest officials in the provinces who formed the base of this administration.Law: the law was written code, detailed in form and complete with learned commentaries. Source: Milton Osborne; Southeast Asia: An Introductory History; (George Allen & Unwin, Boston, 1983)

(Continued)

 

CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS

COMPARISON OF ADMINISTRATIVE , POLITICAL, AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS BETWEEN SINIC AND INDIC CIVILIZATIONS AND ITS IMPACT OF NATIONAL SECURITY AND SURVIVAL

SINIC/VIETNAMESE CIVILIZATION

QUALIFICATION:

BASED ON SCHOLARSHIP (EXAM BASED ON CONFUCIUS TEACHING ) AND MERITOCRACY:

STRICT RULES COVERED THE AMOUNT OF AUTHORITY POSSESSED BY EACH OF OFFICIAL AND QUALIFICATIONS FOR EACH GRADE.

SOURCE: MILTON OSBORNE; SOUTHEAST ASIA: AN INTRODUCTORY HISTORY; (GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN, BOSTON, 1983)

BORDER:

AND A FURTHER REFLECTION OF THE CHARACTER OF THE STATE THE VIETNAMESE BELIEVED IN THE NECESSITY OF CLEARLY DEFINED BORDERS WITH ITS NEIGHBORS, WITH THE USE OF A MAP AND BORDER MARKERS. ;SOURCE LES FRONTIERES DU VIETNAM, P B LAFONT; EDITOR; EDITION L’HARMATTAN, PARIS, FRANCE, 1989; P. 17-22

CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS

Comparative Administrative, Political, and Social Organizations between Sinic and Indic civilizations, and its impact on national security and survival

Indic/Khmer civilization

Administration:

conceptually can be compared to a series of concentric circles with the ruler with absolute power at the center circle, and the largest circle represents the state. There is a lack of close linkage between the center of the kingdom and outer regions, as well as the existence of numerous petty centers of power largely independent on their greater neighbors.Source: Milton Osborne; Southeast Asia: An Introductory History; (George Allen & Unwin, Boston,1983)

(Continued)

CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS

Comparative Administrative, Political, and Social Organizations between Sinic and Indic civilizations, and its impact on national security and survival

Indic/Khmer civilization

Law:

no clearly defined authority in written legal form. Control over the more distant regions of the kingdom was readily delegated to provincial governors who were able to exercise almost complete power, providing that they did not challenge the king’s position as the ultimate arbiter of affairs within the state. Source: Milton Osborne; Southeast Asia: An Introductory History; (George Allen & Unwin, Boston,1983)

(Continued)

CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS

Comparative Administrative, Political, and Social Organizations between Sinic and Indic civilizations, and its impact on national security and survival

Indic/Khmer civilization

Qualification:

appointments were not based on scholarship or meritocracy. Birth into quasi-hereditary family, ability and an opportunity to gain the ruler’s notice all played their part in determining advancement.

Source: Milton Osborne; Southeast Asia: An Introductory History; (George Allen & Unwin, Boston, 1983) (Continued)

CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS

Comparative Administrative, Political, and Social Organizations between Sinic and Indic civilizations, and its impact on national security and survival

Indic/Khmer civilization

Source: Milton Osborne; Southeast Asia: An Introductory History; (George Allen & Unwin, Boston, 1983)

Border:

no precision on physical limitation, but rather on the porous concept of hinterland or buffer zone. No use of map nor border markersSOURCE LES FRONTIERES DU VIETNAM, P B LAFONT; EDITOR; EDITION L’HARMATTAN, PARIS, FRANCE, 1989; PP. 17-22

(end)

Asymmetry and China’s Tributary System:(How the Vietnamese were able to defend themselves against

mighty China by probing into the Chinese mindset to find its weak points, and by motivating their people under a capable, and

compassionate leader) By Brandly Womack

(The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com Downloaded from http://cjip.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of Virginia on February 20, 2012)------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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“This text shows a sober realization of the limits of China’s capacity to dominate. The realization of limits is the intellectual precondition for the institutionalization of the tributary system. The key to a peaceful frontier did not lie in dominating neighbors, but rather in managing a mutually acceptable relationship. Zhou’s descriptions of the equilibrium reached with Burma19 and Silla20 also fit this pattern.”

(continued)

Asymmetry and China’s Tributary System:(How the Vietnamese were able to defend themselves against mighty China by probing into the Chinese mindset to learn its weak and strength, and by motivating its people under a capable and compassionate leader)

By Brandly Womack

(The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com Downloaded from http://cjip.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of Virginia on February 20, 2012)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 ”Ming Taizu’s successor, Yongle, did not obey his father’s injunction. In 1407, he occupied Vietnam and attempted to re-attach it to China. To be sure, he had his reasons. In Vietnam, Ho Quy Ly had overthrown the Tran Dynasty recognized by China and massacred the Chinese guard accompanying the Tran claimant on his return from Nanjing. Of course, from Ho’s perspective, there was little reason to be deferential to China. The Yuan had been defeated and Champa had again become Vietnam’s proximate rival and threat.21 But Ho Quy Ly’s affront to China prompted Yongle to attempt to re-annex Vietnam to the empire.”

(Continued)

Asymmetry and China’s Tributary System:(How the Vietnamese were able to defend themselves against mighty China by probing into the Chinese mind to learn its strength and weakness and by motivating its people, under a capable and compassionate leader )

By Brandly Womack

(The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com Downloaded from http://cjip.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of Virginia on February 20, 2012)----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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‘The re-conquest of Vietnam in 1407 was rather easily accomplished, but by 1427, it became clear that the re-annexation was a failure. The presence of a foreign administration prompted the Vietnamese to unite behind Le Loi in a protracted patriotic struggle. What was, for the Ming, a frustrating task of pacifying a new and not very desirable part of the empire was, from the Vietnamese perspective, a mortal struggle that helped define its political community. “ (continued)

Asymmetry and China’s Tributary System:(How the Vietnamese were able to defend themselves against mighty China by probing into the Chinese mind to learn its strength and weakness and by motivating its people, under a capable and compassionate leader)

By Brandly Womack

(The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com Downloaded from http://cjip.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of Virginia on February 20, 2012)----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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“In his ‘Binh Ngo Dai Cao’ [Ping Wu dagao —Proclamation of victory over Wu (China)], the scholar–patriot, Nguyen Trai, flourishes the claim of historical equality with China as articulated by 14th century historians.22 Fresh from defeating an occupation by means of guerilla warfare, Nguyen Trai also lays an emphasis on the people—their sufferings and their support for resistance.”

(continued)

Asymmetry and China’s Tributary System:(How the Vietnamese defended themselves against mighty China by probing into the Chinese mind, set to learn about its strength and weakness, and by motivating its people under a capable and compassionate leader)

By Brandly Womack

(The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com Downloaded from http://cjip.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of Virginia on February 20, 2012)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“The strength and greatness Nguyen Trai said of Le Loi was grounded in his concern for the people and, thus, he prevailed over the forces of the Ming. says, in the voice of Le Loi:

 ‘Around our standard on a fragile bamboo pole I mustered forces from a scattered populace.As they drank my wine so I drank their water

And we became like son and father,Soldiers of one heart.23’”

(end)

Cambodia’s Historical Legacy By David Chandler

Cambodia’s Historical Legacy The Burden of the Legacy of the Khmer Rouge on Modern

Cambodia

Cambodia: Return to year Zero

(John Pilger: Distance Voices; VINTAGE; London; 1994, pp. 402-403)

 “’Here lies the modern age’ a headstone might have read, ‘abandoned April 17, 1975, Year zero.” From that date, anybody who had owned such ’luxuries,’ anybody who had lived in a city or town, anybody with more than a basic education or who had acquired a modern, anybody who knew or worked for foreigners was in danger. Many would die.

Year zero was the dawn of an age in which, in extremis, there would be no families, no sentiment, no expression of love or grief, no medicine, no hospitals, no schools, no books, no learning, no holidays, no music, only work and death.

(Continued)

Cambodia’s Historical Legacy The Burden of the Legacy of Khmer Rouge on Modern Cambodia

Cambodia: Return to year Zero

(John Pilger: Distance Voices; VINTAGE; London; 1994, p. 402)

‘If our people can build Angkor Wat,’ said Pol Pot in 1977, ‘they can do anything.’ In that year he killed probably more of his people than all of his reign. Xenophobic and racist, he might have modeled himself on one of the despotic kings who ruled Angkor, the Khmer Empire, between the tenth and thirteenth centuries. He was an admirer of Mao Tse Tung and the Gang of Four; and it is not improbable that much as Mao had seen himself as the greatest emperor of China, so Pol Pot saw himself as another Mao, directing his own red guard to purify all elites, subversives, and revisionists. In the end he created little more than a slave state.”

(End)

The First Vietnamization and Liberation of Cambodia ; 1834 -1840

(Cambodia had disappeared from the map of the world)

THE FIRST VIETMAMIZATION OF CAMBODIA

(Please click on this link to read the whole book)

THE VIETMAMIZATION OF CAMBODIA, 1835-1840 

By David Chandler

A History of Cambodia; (Westview Books,

Boulder, Colorado, 2000)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------- “Whereas previously the Vietnamese fort at Phnom Penh had been called Annam, or pacified south, the city itself and the surrounding coun tryside were now renamed Tran Tay, or western commandery, and Sino-Vietnamese names were given to all of Cambodia's sruk. Day-to-day ad ministrative decisions, including personnel postings, salaries, military affairs, and the control of rice surpluses, were placed in Vietnamese hands, and some sixteen officials, seventy clerks, and ten schoolmasters were sent to Phnom Penh to form the core of an infrastructure for the ad ministration. “

(continued)

THE FIRST VIETMAMIZATION OF CAMBODIA

(Please click on this link to read the whole book)

THE VIETMAMIZATION OF CAMBODIA, 1835-1840 

By David Chandler

A History of Cambodia; (Westview Books,

Boulder, Colorado, 2000) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------“Until 1839-1840, however, the administration of the sruk

— including the all- important matter of labor mobilization—

was left to the okya, who operated with royal seals even though their appointments were cleared through the

Vietnamese.

Minh Mang's policy of Vietnamizing Cambodia had several facets. He sought to mobilize and arm the Khmer, to

colonize the region with Viet namese, and to reform the habits of

people. He also tried to stan dardize patterns of measurement, mobilization, and food supply for mil itary reasons. “ (Continued)

THE FIRST VIETMAMIZATION OF CAMBODIA

(Please click on this link to read the whole book)

THE VIETMAMIZATION OF CAMBODIA, 1835-1840 

By David Chandler

A History of Cambodia; (Westview Books,

Boulder, Colorado, 2000)------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------

“Control—that is, control of the adult male population and the formation of a standing army, if possible, to resist the Thai

—was the essential ingredient of all the Vietnamese programs.

Problems of recruit ment arose because many of the were unwilling to relinquish control over their followers. The Vietnamese soon found, in fact, that Cham mer

cenaries were the only troops they could recruit. Because ethnic Khmer caused so many problems, Minh

Mang sought to colonize the region with Vietnamese. “ (Continued)

w

THE FRIST VIETMAMIZATION OF CAMBODIA(Please click on this link to read the whole book)

THE VIETMAMIZATION OF CAMBODIA, 1835-1840

 By David Chandler

A History of Cambodia; (Westview Books, Boulder,

Colorado, 2000)

“He justified this policy on the grounds that "military convicts and ordinary prisoners, if kept in jail, would prove useless.

Therefore, it would be better for them to be sent to Cambodia and live among the people there, who would benefit from their teaching."21

(continued)

THE FIRST VIETMAMIZATION OF CAMBODIA(Please click on this link to read the whole book)

THE VIETMAMIZATION OF CAMBODIA, 1835-1840

 By David Chandler ; A History of Cambodia; (Westview Books,

Boulder, Colorado, 2000)

“The Vietnamese soon found, in fact, that Cham mer cenaries were the only troops they could recruit. Because ethnic Khmer caused so many problems, Minh

Mang sought to colonize the region with Vietnamese.

He justified this policy on the grounds that "military convicts and ordinary prisoners, if kept in jail, would prove

useless.

Therefore, it would be better for them to be sent to Cambodia and live among the people there, who would benefit from their teaching."21

(End)

The FIRST LIBERATION of CAMBODIA by CAMBODIANS; 1840-50

(Cambodia reappeared on the map of the world)

THE FIRST HERO AND SUCCESSFUL LIBERATION OF CAMBODIA BY CAMBODIANS FROM VIETNAMESE YOKE; 1840

  Duty of Memory

Mekong-Post | décembre 17, 2011 | 0 Comments  After reading some of books related to Cambodia, I wish to come back with few tragic pages of its history not to forget our painful past.

On behalf of the Duty of Memory, I would like to shed light on the struggle and sacrifice of our ancestors and elders for the defense of the Khmer nation survival. In this respect, let’s remind the following painful events:

1 - The cruel atrocity inflected during 1813-1815 to our Khmer Krom ancestors known under the name “Prayat Kampup Te Ong”.

Here what was written in Khy Phanra’s Ph.D thesis (« La Communauté Vietnamienne au Cambodge A l’Epoque du Protectorat Français (1863 – 1953 »), Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris III, 1974, about the history of  Kampup Te Ong : (Continued)

THE FIRST HERO AND SUCCESSFUL LIBERATION OF CAMBODIA: FROM VIETNAMESE’S YOKE; 1840

  Duty of Memory

Mekong-Post | December 17, 2011 |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---- ---

  “In the province of Kompong Svay, for instance, where the Vietnamese settlers in the fortress at srok Kandal Staung, Baray and Choeung Prey, were killed by the insurgents. The revenge of the Vietnamese army of occupation hit more than one thousand of Cambodians of the region. According to (the document of ) Wat Krauch, these latter, the flesh of whom flesh was first cut and mixed with spicy salt, were burned alive.

(Continued)

THE FIRST HERO AND SUCCESSFUL LIBERATION OF CAMBODIA: FROM VIETNAMESE’S YOKE; 1840

  Duty of Memory

Mekong-Post | December 17, 2011 |

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  ”The children were buried alive up to their necks by group of three so that their heads become a triangular stand for a wood stove, on which the winners (of that time) have cooked the rice and their tea.

This last torture is called by Cambodians «Kampup Te Ong ». The Cambodian victims, burned by the flames, screamed loudly and with their convulsive agony shook their heads. “

(Continued)

THE FIRST HERO AND SUCCESSFUL LIBERATION OF CAMBODIA FROM THE VIETNAMESE ‘ S YOKE; 1840

  Duty of Memory

Mekong-Post | December 17, 2011 |  

. The Vietnamese torturers laughed coldly and spoke with the victims language: Chhop sen! Sngiem vei! Kampup tê ong! (Stop ! you spill the tea of the master !)

2 - The killing of Khmers Krom by harsh labor and by drowning per hundreds after the completion of the canal Vinh Te.

3 - The acceptance of Oknha Son Kuy (An ancestor of Lok Son Sann) to be beheaded in exchange for Khmer Krom’s rights to preserve their religion, customs, traditions and Khmer language. (End)

Suggested Minimum Background Reading;A Short History of Southeast Asia: Vietnam

Welcome to AFG Venture GroupAFG Venture Group: A Short History of Southeast Asia: Vietnam(Please, click on this picture to read the highly recommended

book)

Suggested Minimum background Reading:A Short History of Cambodia:

From Empire to SurvivalBy John Tully

(Please, click on this picture to read this well-written and balanced book)