Do not associate King Father Norodom Sihanouk with
your political party – unless, of course, you want to bring disgrace to his
name when you lose, Prime Minister Hun Sen told opposition parties yesterday.
Speaking to an audience
of laymen and nuns at a ceremony on Koh Pich yesterday, the premier gave a
strong warning to any political parties attempting to use the retired king’s
name as part of their commune election campaign propaganda.
“Taking the title of the
retired King Norodom Sihanouk means a challenge between Hun Sen and the king,
and when [those political parties] lose in the election, it affects the king’s
reputation,” Hun Sen said.
“On the other hand, being
a ‘royalist’ is a common possession – it does not belong to any party and it is
not the possession of any royal monarchy, and if it belongs to the royal
monarchy exclusively, it will be completely destroyed,” he said.
He went on to criticise
Funcinpec, the Paris Peace Accords-era party once led by the King Father
himself, of being a one-trick pony.
“Since the existence of
Funcinpec, they have considered themselves as royalists and always draw on this
to draw election votes,” Hun Sen said.
The premier further
touted the CPP as the only true party defending the royal family, and pointed
to the King Father’s anointment of the party’s leadership trinity with the
title “Samdech” – meaning king.
“If they want to destroy
royalism, they have to pass Hun Sen’s body and the King Father and the Queen
Mother have clearly known about the commitment of the government and CPP in
protecting the royals,” Hun Sen said in his impassioned speech.
He pointed out that as
Funcinpec and the Norodom Ranarridh Party combined only held four seats in the
National Assembly, they clearly exhibited an inability to even protect
themselves, leaving the CPP as the true defenders of royalism.
“Don’t use the reputation
of the King Father too long; it has been used since Funcinpec was formed, now
it is enough,” he said.
Pen Sanghar, a spokesman
for the Norodom Ranariddh Party, which is headed by the King Father’s son
Norodom Ranariddh, rejected the premier’s allegation that it used the former
king’s name for propaganda purposes.
The party has called
itself a royalist and “Sihanoukist” party because those terms are associated
with social advancements and achievements of Sihanouk’s reign.
“We did not choose the
name of the king for political interests, and we have never suggested voting
for the Norodom Ranariddh Party was a vote for the King Father,” Pen Sanghar
said.
Tum Sombol, a spokesman
for Funcipec, said that while his was a royalist party, it never used
particular individuals’ names to propagandise.
“Everybody knows who the
founder of Funcipec is [Former King Norodom Sihanouk], so there is no need to
talk about that,” he said.
The campaign season for
the upcoming June 3 commune elections officially starts Friday.
May Titthara
The Phnom Penh Post
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