HUN SEN’S GOVERNMENT HAS FAILED TO ACHIEVE GOALS

From the
Cambodia Daily Monday, July 18th, 2005

After reading “PM Sings Own Praises, Critic’s Views Diverge” I feel funny about Prime Minister Hun Sen’s speech.

I really feel funny that he cares only about Cambodian people and the nation. Under his leadership for almost 25 years he performed much worse than what Cambodian people expected that he would.

More than 25 years have passed since the Khmer Rouge regime was overthrown.

Millions of Cambodians survived from starving or overwork. Unfortunately, we still suffer from corruption, bureaucracy and an unfair judiciary system, which is led by an incapable prime minister who does not want to give up power.

Every year, apart from begging money from donor countries, what can Hun Sen’s government do? If he is a capable prime minister, he should restore and develop the country by himself without depending on aid from the international community.
Roughly $500 million per year in international aid has been given for reducing Cambodian people’s poverty by improving the living standards, health and education and to reform the judiciary system.

Where has the money gone?

Under his government, he has brought down the land area of the country. In addition, Hun Sen’s government has set out strategies included in Cambodia’s National Poverty Reduction, Cambodia’s Millennium Development Goals and other planning and policy documents, as well as reform programs. The all sound like great goals. But he and his group just beat around the bush.

Cambodians are living under the poverty line (the povertyline being 60 cents a day income!?!)

They are trying to go out of the country to find jobs in neighboring countries that accuse of illegal entry and often shoot at us. Cambodian people are dying of hunger, there are thousands of cases of their land being grabbed by powerful people. The prime minister used to declare that he wouldn’t let any Cambodians starve to death, as in the Khmer Rouge regime.

Moreover, he would give up power if land grabbing issues continued to go unsolved.

Now it has been revealed that Hun Sen’s government is unlikely to achieve many of it goals. But he never gives up. If the UN arranges free and fair national elections, he will be a shameful loser as we now need a revolution.