On the Demonstration at the U.N. :
Do the protesters know
that the UN can't get involved?
On Monday August 19, 2013--a beautiful sunny day-- hundreds of people of all ages came from
different parts of New York and many other states mostly the East coast of the
United States. They came by cars, buses,
and train a well as by air.
On a sidewalk nearby the park, as I was walking of 1st Avenue toward the crowd, a couple American bystanders asked me what were the protesters doing [protesting about]? I told them it was about the results of the Cambodian election. They asked me why did they protest at the U.N? I smiled and walked on.
In the crowd, a young lady who was standing beside me in the front line among
the deafening and cheering crowd repeating a slogan aloud, " We need Yuon, We need Yuon,
We need Yuon"....
When I teased her why did she say she needed Yuon? She said with a smile,
“We need Yuon." And of course she meant "U.N." But, when she said it
so fast, U.N sounded like "Yuon." :-)
As I looked at the enthusiastic crowd I wondered if they all knew that
their voice would fall on a deaf ear. Not that the United Nations is heartless,
but it just cannot not get involved in Cambodia's internal affairs without
Cambodia's request. And for now, Cambodia is under Hun Sen's leadership. Many
local and regional leaders including the leader of China, Vietnam and Thailand seem
to favor the results projected by the Cambodian National Election Committee.
The protest was supposed to be held to request the United Nations and internal
community to find ways and means to help investigate the alleged fraudulent electoral
processes of July 28th, but unfortunately, many protesters also strongly expressed their
anger directly toward Premier Hun Sen and his government.
Many protesters shouted, "Hun Sen Must Go!" or
must step down and others scolded him with strong vocabularies and adjectives.
The demands went beyond the protested theme of "election fraud"
presumably committed by the NEC.
Although it was an exciting moment, the activities went a
bit too far that could stain the image of the event. At one point, the police
had to tell us to remove all sticks and poles from the crowd and to adjust the
sound system that was too noisy and many sound system were not supposed to used.
Whether it was initially indented or not, this incident
could also happen to the so-called widespread protest in Cambodia if such a
protest is not carefully planned and controlled properly.
Nevertheless, the small NYC Park on the corner of 47th St
and First Avenue is a memorable place where many Cambodians have been using to
vent out our frustrations over various issues for at least 30 years.
What will the protesters in New York and elsewhere expect
from this special event?
Besides coming back to cheer each other up about the instant
serge of democracy in Cambodia and to vent out their frustrations at the same
playground, most of them left New York City with a high hope and anticipation.
The hope that one of these days justice will come to their country--Cambodia.
In reality, because of the restrictions, the U.N. may not be
able to help, but at least the messages will get to Cambodian leaders on both
sides that what ever they do, they are being observed and assessed not just by
Cambodians inside Cambodia but in the world.
Today these people may not be happy with Premier Hun Sen's
regime and about the elections; tomorrow it will be about something else.
Although the current Opposition leaders may enjoy hearing about
the demonstration to support them, they must also realize that such supports
will disappear if they break their promises and their words.
Funcinpec used to experience the same level of supports in
the past, but this party has shrunken or self-destructed from 58 seats to 43, 26, 2, and 0 in this
past election.
Will the fate of CNRP
be the same as FUNCINPEC? Only time can
tell.
