Errors of Sihanouk (Part 6 - End)

News From Cambodia N° 0712

THE ERRORS OF KING-FATHER NORODOM SIHANOUK BEFORE 1970 (Part 6 and end)

Khemara Jati
Montréal, Québec
March 8th, 2007

(Continued from the previous part)

So, the only one, solid and durable guaranty of our national independence is the Union of our People. Thus, it is necessary to build, develop, expand and strengthen all factors which contribute to the gathering of the People which are follow :

A/. The history
Not the history written by foreign historians, but written by a collective of Cambodian historians well formed in historian's profession. A total history of Cambodia: political, military with the military organization and the armaments, economic, cultural and social, a history cleared of the legend's gravity; a history of Cambodia placing in the context of the history of the world, especially after the arrival of the Europeans in our region. A history which « transcends the reality, which produces in what is not any more a sort of reality by giving her a continuation and a goal. » (Raymond Aron). A history which underlines our key points which allows Cambodia to exist so far.

B/. The Culture
A writing culture bequeathed by our ancestors, supported by a national language capable of expressing all the nuances of thought and modern knowledge. A language is a support of the culture. In Montreal, the biggest city of Quebec and of Canada as well, we attend every day the strong efforts of the french speakers to oppose to the english speakers. The french language is the support of the french culture. Similarly the English is the support of the Anglo-Saxon culture. It is similar for the Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Thais. Losing our language, is losing one of the main factors of our national identity, the principle base of our national cohesion.

Example « Aksar Roluth, Cheat Roleay ». At first this stanza is the truth bequeathed by our ancestors since the ancient time. This spoken and written language is the most precious inheritance bequeathed by our ancestors. The Greeks were able to get back their country after three centuries of foreign occupation.

Indeed we have to meditate on this question. In Kampuchea Krom, there are the Frenchmen, then the Vietnamese who impose their laws by force. But nowadays in Cambodia and abroad, the Cambodians give up voluntarily and willingly their mother tongue! Is not it a last straw ? Unique fact in the world, of people who gives up her mother tongue? « Aksar Roluth, Cheat Roleay » is “Bandam” of our parents. “Bandam” is another untranslatable word in another language. In “Bandam” there is a root Dam of Phdam = to ask somebody to report or to hold an information or a will. Also says the last wills and recommendations of a person in his deathbed to his children or to his close relatives. With the prefix Ban, is a sort of accentuation of these comments. So « Aksar Roluth, Cheat Roleay » is a kind of rule bequeathed by our ancestors to our future generations. « Aksar Roluth, Cheat Roleay » also has the accent of a rocking sung by a mother to her child. To us to meditate and to transmit in our turn to our children. Our written and spoken language, is transmitted from generations to generations, since about two millenniums until nowadays without interruption. To us now to protect it and to enrich it so that the nation Cambodia always remaining alive and always more unite and stronger.

Then there is a harmony of sounds, untranslatable in another language. This harmony is revealed by reading aloud this stanza (sloka). Finally there is opposition of meaning in the words Roluth and Roleay. Roluth is to switch off, the end of an energy. On the other hand, Roleay is the liquefaction of the ice or the metal under the effect of the heat. So it is easy to remove our language, but this extinction engenders a turn by the liquefaction of the nation. We challenge all the translators of the world to translate the whole meaning of this short stanza bequeathed by our ancestors in another language. In France there is a special magazine for the translations. Do not we say that to translate it is to betray? The translations are acceptable only in exact sciences as the mathematics, because every word has the same meaning in all languages.

So to oblige our people to abandon her language for the other one is to betray our soul bequeathed since more than three millenniums by our ancestors. It is to generate the incomprehension between the generations. It is what already takes place abroad when parents are not enough degree in language of the country. It is the end of our national cultural identity, thus the end of our existence as independent nation.

Our fellow countrymen in Cambodia fight hardly with their very weak means against the domination of english, french, chinese, vietnamese, thai, japanese, korean languages, just to quote only the main ones. Our fellow countrymen in Cambodia need urgent helps of our intellectuals abroad in the financial point of view as well as the moral and intellectual one. Abroad, our fellow countrymen who understand this urgent need are regrettably still so little.

To protect and develop quickly our language, it is necessary to have as urgent objective the education into cambodian language, in all universities, with the second and maybe the third foreign language.

c/. The ground communications
Improve our roads of ground communications to make them practically useful in all seasons. It is urgent that our cities and villages on our borders are easily accessible with important urban areas in order to improve the relations between cities and villages, so that none of our fellow countrymen, wherever they are do not feel abandoned. To harmonize the life in big cities and in most far off villages. It is to concretize the national solidarity all over the country. It is also necessary to transform the RN 4, Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville to a real highway with at least two ways in each direction. It is necessary to renovate all our railways.

The development and the modernization of our ground communications also answer to the necessities to defense our borders and so to strengthen our internal and outside security.

d/. One People, One Nation
Now, with the petroleum’s aroma, many foreign companies come to install in Cambodia. It is imperative to require further on from those foreign companies, to engage Cambodian managers in a definite percentage : administrators, engineers and technicians, with the necessity to train them particularly in the field of research and exploitation of the petroleum and the gas. This with the aim to build a Cambodian oil company. It is necessary to base this matter on the experiences of the construction and the management of Hospitals Kantha Bopha of the Dr Beat Richner.

In brief, Cambodia needs to be united by the satisfaction of her fundamental interests. People united by her culture which is the fundamental and unavoidable support by which the written language is capable of expressing all the nuances and the knowledge of the world culture, by the opportunities of the ground communications linking all the corners of the country, even the remote places of the country, and by the community and the interdependence of the economic interests, which can assure the national independence of Cambodia in the integrity of her ground and maritime borders.

That are the lessons learned from our far and recent history. [End]

Note : Cet article est aussi disponible en cambodgien et en français sur demande.


Études Cambodgiennes
(Unofficial translation by Khemara Jati)
___________________________

The "Weaknesses" and the Fatal Errors
of S.R.N., especially of Its President,
by N. Sihanouk

Beijing, le 17 janvier 2007

I/- Under S.R.N., as the time passes, I am more « possessed » by a Socialism, certainly [I Am] always Buddhist, but also, regrettably! More and more « maxiste » - So much that certain journalists and the other U.S. and Westerners managed to call me « le Prince Rouge » (the Red Prince).

The Import-Export is nationalized. The banking sector is nationalized. Other nationalizations pro-people, but handicaping more and more "oknhas" - capitalist and big owners, including the OKNHAS which were very royalist, very Sihanoukists, very devoted (sincerely) to the S.R.N. who helped powerfully to mechanize the popular agriculture, to develop greatly the infrastructure (provincial airports, industries-factories, school, university buildings). To fight the Capitalism by fighting the Corruption (for example, the “Songsakd Kitchpanick Affair, a very closed Friend and Sirik Matak money supplier » it removes from me, from the SRN and even from our Monarchy an increasing number of the Personalities of the financial, economic sectors, excluding members of the Royal Family (Sisowath Sirik Matak, Sisowath Monissara, etc.).

II/- In my anti-colonialism I added, in my acts, my words and my politics, an anti-neocolonialism and especially a very strong anti-imperialists U.S..

As Khmer, I am « the exception which confirms the rule ».

The quasi-totality of the Khmers - Men and Women -, including fellow countrymen very Sihanoukistes and royalist, in past, present and, doubtless the future conceives towards U.S.A ., only pasionnated love, an unlimited admiration, a dedication, so spontaneous as indestructible, except Sihanoukistes who had to fight for their Samdech Euv.

On March 18th, 1969, that is one year, day by day, before the Putch of Lon Nol - Sirik Matak - Chéng Héng, the PENTAGON of Washington DC ordered its U.S. Air Forces to bombard, to fire, to destroy « my Cambodia » and to kill the Sihanoukist People S.R.N ., and this, day and night, until my fall (in March 18th, 1970) and the " total defeat " of "my" FUNC-GRUNC-FAPLNC, the "defeat" which, on April 17th, 1975, will be transformed into total Defeat of the USA, its lackays Khmers lonnoliens and blue SVN in front of … KHMERS ROUGES.

In April, 1975, that is 20 years before "this", in the name of the Kingdom of Cambodia, I had signed, in BANDOENG (Indonesia), in the joint Statement of the Leaders of State and Heads of government of the African and Asian Countries, historic statement according to which the already independent States (and it was the case of "my" Cambodia, since November 9th, 1953) owed to help at most of their respective means and possibilities Countries and Brother People still not independent, still not reunited (and it was the case of Vietnam brother and of Laos brother, in spite of the International Conference of Geneva 1954) to release itself completely, to reunite in the total independence and the full sovereign power.

And it was that I decided to help the Vietnamese Patriots, of multiple manners, to free the South-Vietnam and to realize the national reunification (the North, Centre and the South-Vietnam).

My refusal of the U.S. in 1963 and the breaking of diplomatic relations between "my" Cambodia and the U.S.A. was " the droplet " which extend beyond the "mud" of the Lon Nol - Sirik Matak - Chéng Héng - Sim Var - In Tam - Trinh Hoanh and cie, on one hand, and the "mud" of the Uncle Sam ( Nixon), on the other hand.

It seemed that the legal recognition, in 1969, of the " current borders ", ground and maritime, of the 1st Kingdom of Cambodia by the USA was only a Stratagem aiming, thanks to the "legal" return of the Americans in Cambodia (restoration of their Embassy in Phnom Penh and Consulates), to reintroducing the C.I.A. in all the Khmer Country that must help future Putchistes of March 18th, 1970) to take up against me and the Khmer Kingdom the (tragic and ultra-catastrophic) Putch of March 18th, 1970.

My “fatal Errors” : the refusal of the multiform assistants from U.S.A. (especially for the FARK); the breaking of diplomatic relations with Washington D.C. and my total solidarity with (and my multiform helps to) “Vietcong” and the North-Vietnamese to fulfill their Sacred Duty: the liberation of the South-Vietnam.

As I was not a Child, I should have known that the multiform assistants from the USA to FARK (Royal Arm Forces of Kampuchea alias Cambodia), was it (this “conditional and humiliating” aids), was in fact for our army as the OXYGEN for the life of the Man.

After the Putch, S.E. Marechalissism KIM IL SUNG President of the RDP of Korea was anxious to confirm me that a National Leader could not stay for a long time without any national army which was faithful and devoted to him body and soul. I would also have had to know that the OXYGEN for so many Khmers, (Men and Women) was the USA, their GOD with whom they could « gain a lot » and to enjoy the life.

As for Vietcongs and the North-Vietnamese, they had a lot of money (provided by the RP of China) to buy our rice, fishes, etc. with full price sold out by Lon Nol and Cie and to pay generously these Lon Nol, FARK, Sirik Matak, Trinh Hoanh, and Cie, in charge to transport armaments and other materials-helps from the RPC for these Vietnamese Patriots (red) in their fight of liberation of the South-Vietnam.

In all these consideration, I behaved blind and idiot.

But the History cannot be returned.

(Signed) : N. Sihanouk