|
Unofficial Translation
Selected Comments at the Handing Out of Diplomas for Human Resource Uni. Graduates
26 May 08
Graduates Welcoming I come here again today to witness the graduation of the Human Resources University - 2,259 graduates. I would like to express my appreciation for the graduates who have now become human resources of the country. Without personal effort, support from the families and teaching endeavors provided by the University, we would not be able to have reached this day. First, however, we have to help ourselves. UNTAC (the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia), for instance, spent two billion US dollars while they were in Cambodia. But when they left, Cambodia was still at war. This has indeed taught us that only the Cambodians could reconcile and end the war. So it is important that each of us has to make own effort.
Learning - a Non-Stop Process I also have to make effort to study too. I learnt about the world situation, factors involved in inflicting economic inflation, oil and food hiking prices, so that we can predict what is going to happen or it will go in which direction. The prices of oil has been stated to go high never recorded in history when it reached 98 US dollars a barrel, again to 100, to 130 US dollars per barrel. I conclude that it will never come back down. It is still lucky that the price of oil has gone high but the world still has oil in reserve. There had been a time when money could not buy oil or could not buy rice. In Lon Nol time, people in Phnom Penh had money but could not purchase rice.
Multi-Option Scenarios Leaders have to be ahead. They must be prepared for hidden factors and must not depend on only one scenario. According to my experience we should not depend only on one option. It is very dangerous. Agricultural produces, according to the royal oxen this year have been predicted to be good because of the availability of rain, the moderate level of flooding and the fact that there might be, according to the department of meteorology, no dry season in between July and August. But we as the Royal Government and the country's leaders have to be prepared for all options - ranging from seed to water pumps and other measures necessary in preparation for flood.
Twin natural disasters in Sichuan province of China from the quake and the Nargis cyclone in Myanmar have been force majeure. We have devoted some resources to share the hardship of Myanmar. When Cambodia was badly hit by flood in 2000, Myanmar also provided us with 500 tons of rice seeds. In the time of negotiation for political settlement of the Cambodian problem, I was always prepared in advance and guessed what other negotiators might want to raise. That is why in the course of negotiating I never lost my direction. I would urge that you as the younger generation should think of multi-option scenarios as one-option scenario is tantamount to defeat.
Food Crises and Possible Causes We have to continue to study the causes of food crisis in addition to what we already know such as price hiking, but we also have to look into other factors such as natural calamity in China and India, wars in some countries which not only put a stop to rice or food production but also add on the demand for food in refugee camps. Also noted as cause is the fact that some land has been transformed from traditional food crops to cultivation of crops for biofuel production. It alters both agricultural but also world economic structures.
Normally in India the harvest starts in July and August. As the harvest approaches India once again announces its readiness to re-export rice. If Bangladesh and Sri Lanka also have a good harvest, the pressure from rice shortage could be reduced. But what happens in Myanmar and China has inflicted heavy losses and damages on the potentiality of rice cultivation and that will still endanger the viability of supply.
Re-Export 1.6 Million Tons of Rice Cambodia has come to its moratorium on rice export that I pronounced on March 26, 2008 in Pailin that all rice export should be prohibited for two months. The moratorium has now come to the close. The country as of now produced 6.7 million tons of rice. Deducting the amount for food, seed and loss in the harvest process, we can export a sum of 2.3 million tons of rice. We still have the surplus of over one million tons of rice for export...
Exports of rice have been enacted as of today but they have to channel through the state systems and should not exceed the amount of 1.6 million tons of rice. The Ministry of Commerce has been delegated with power to examine and issue export licenses of 100 tons and over. So both state and private companies to export 100 tons and over of rice will have to request for permission from the Ministry of Commerce. Small scale exports along the border exits are deemed to be registered by custom officers and other control mechanism but they do not need to request for export license from the Ministry of Commerce.
Oppositions Change Sides I would like to take this opportunity to make an appeal to all political parties to carry out their activities according to the law. They should pay attention in making their party signs strong not to be too easily knocked down by wind. We have a bad example from Kenya's post elections situation which leads the country into civil unrest and massacre. Last week six parliamentary candidates of the Sam Rain Sy Party (SRP) for the constituency of Kandal decided to leave the Party. Also yesterday HE Nou Sovat, the incumbent parliamentarian and candidate for the constituency of Phnom Penh in the next elections, and more, left the Party. I would declare that I will continue to welcome those who would like to join the Royal Government of Cambodia. HE Nu Sovat requested to talk to me on phone and asked if I accepted him or not. I instructed to HE Say Chhum of the Permanent Committee of the Cambodian People's Party to allow HE Nu Sovat to join the electoral preparing team in the constituency of Phnom Penh. We also have one case of HE Phuok Sovanarit who left Funcinpec to join CPP and I accept his wish.
A Message for Elections Contestants We all are Cambodians and I wish to talk to you all as a Cambodian. Whatever you say, if I may, you should not talk of "regime change" because this regime is not Hun Sen's but the Constitutional Monarchy regime. You should talk about changing leaders of the Royal Government. You talk of changing Hun Sen's regime, but Hun Sen is only the Prime Minister whereas the regime is constitutional monarchy. Any changes though will have to be conducted through the elections and we will have the general elections on July 27, 2008. I will satisfy your wish of "yes to me, no to you."
They may be in the parliament but not in the Royal Government which is to be formed by 50% + 1 formula. If they win they also need not to give anything to me. CPP will take all parliamentary committees - as of now we have five out of nine already. Four more need to be fielded... As of now we have five candidates for the post of Prime Minister and some said that if s/he were to be elected, s/he would get the Americans to build factories that produce nuts and bolts for the airplanes. Some days later s/he said to give out pigs and cows … Some even said whatever Parties that get established they have to use influence of the United States, Europe and Western powers to put pressure on CPP. Has the CPP ever been intimidated?
The US and the Elections in Cambodia In the Cambodian history, what happened to those who aligned with the US? We still owe the US some hundreds of millions of US dollars because of Lon Nol. The US has returned some thirty million US dollars back to Cambodia from what Lon Nol had taken along on his escape… The main interest of the United States of America is the fight against terrorism, human and drug trafficking, and improvement of economic relations. Nothing else will be a challenge for the US to make substantial change on its policy...
The Democratically Elected King In our country has been elected democratically because HM is being voted by the electoral body that is voted in by the people. The people voted for communal councils, who in return voted for the members of the senate. The Senate members voted to elect the President and the Vice Presidents of the Senate, who then become them members of the Throne Council. Three more - President and (two) Vice Presidents of the National Assembly will make six members in the Council.
The seventh member is the Prime Minister. According to the Cambodian Constitution, the Prime Minister is himself the Member of the National Assembly. Two other members of the Throne Council will be the two Supreme Patriarchs of the Buddhist sects in Cambodia. No one alone could take HM the King out of the throne. There is a clause in the Constitution that stipulates that HM the King will be Head of State for life. They should not be confused.
Win-win Policy Unites Cambodia What I did in the course of implementing a win-win policy for the reunification of the country has taken the Khmer Rouge soldiers back into our fold. Stripping off their uniform, putting on the Royal Government's armed forces uniforms and living by the law of the country, then we are compatriots. Japan, who hosted the meeting of the Heads of States and Governments of Africa, would very much to have me talk at the meeting on the Cambodian successes in the course of reunifying and developing the country. It was impossible to accept the invitation as I have to be present in Cambodia at this time.
People’s Congress One thing that is yet to fulfill is the formation of the people's congress. It was possible to organize the congress of people in the field next to the Royal Palace like in the past as Cambodia was at that time the one-party state. The constitution stipulates that the congress should be convened by the Prime Minister and under the auspices of HM the King. Who are going to be invited to the congress? The Prime Minister would choose those who support him. So how do we go about formulating a law on congress participants? Are we to decide those participants according to quota as in the National Assembly? Between the congress and the National Assembly, which one has the superiority? You see, it is not a question of Hun Sen dare not convene that congress...■ EndItem |