Brad
Adams, in his interview with Chi Vita posted on Radio Free Asia website dated
July 28, 2014, has launched a pre-emptive strike to derail a good chance for
the people of Cambodia to have a National Election Committee (NEC) a hundred or
a thousand times better than the existing one.
The
“July 22, 2014 Agreement between the CPP and CNRP” clause 2 spelled out the
establishment of the NEC which is composed of nine members, four nominated by
the party in power (in this case by the Cambodian People’s Party, CPP), four
nominated by the political party (or parties) which is/are not in the
government (in this case by the Cambodian National Rescue Party, CNRP) and the
9th member nominated by a consensus between political parties that
have representatives in the National Assembly.
The
arrangement about the composition of the NEC does not give the advantage to the
CPP or the CNRP. The 9th member if he or she is found, nominated by
all parties, and accepted by the nominee will bring the equilibrium and
neutrality in the functioning of the NEC. For his blind vendetta against
Cambodian leaders and people Brad Adams has shown a kind of despicable chauvinism
for his failure to accept the truth and the soundness of something that is not
his thought and advice.
On
28 July, news reports in Cambodia provided information that the CPP and the
CNPR have agreed to nominated the 9th member of the NEC, the first
big test of their ability to strike a compromise. If this nominee accepted to
be the 9th member of the NEC this would have reinforced even more
the equilibrium and neutrality in the functioning of the NEC. By 07:00 PM of
the same day a number of media outlets in Cambodia, have reported that after a quick
exchange of letters between the nominee and the CPP and CNRP, Ms. Pong Chiv Kek , head of LICADHO,
Cambodia was revealed to be that nominee and she had agreed to become the 9th
member of the NEC after securing a fundamental
agreement from both political parties to allow her to exercise her duties with
total independence and patriotic conscience, and without political pressure.
Brad
Adams hastiness in jumping the gun to discredit the “July 22, 2014 Agreement
between CPP and CNRP” and especially the potential new NEC and to express his
wild skepticism in the process of picking up of the 9th member is
enough evidence telling the whole wide world that he serves his own agenda
whatever it is and not the causes of the Cambodian people as he had many times
so pretended.
The
Cambodian people will be watching how the National Assembly will vote under the
simple majority of 50% plus 1 to seat all the 9 members at the NEC. This is
another big test about the new political character of the full-house National
Assembly. The burden will be heavier on the shoulders of the CPP MPs than the
CNRP MPs.
Brad
Adams will have the last laugh if the result of this big test proves his point.
July
29, 2014
Professor
Pen Ngoeun, Advisor
University
of Puthisastra, Phnom Pehn, Cambodia
Pngoeun@puthisastra.edu.kh