lets Talk Cambodian politics and look at some photos of Phnom Penh

A Cambodian kid intent on taking a chicken, over looks a low hanging tree branch .  The story goes, engrossed in snatching the chicken an overhead tree branch poked out one of his eyes and the kid was young Hun Sen, just re elected to his fourth them as Cambodia's Prime Minister.  I liked that version of how Hen Sen came to have one glass eye, told to  

me by a Cambodian/American so I stuck it in. Have no idea how true the story was as his official bio has him losing the eye while participating in the Khmer Rouge offensive against Phnom Penh in April 1975.

Battalion commander - Eastern region of Democratic Cambodia  with the Khmer Rouge and during the purge in 1977 fled to Vietnam with his battalion..   To return as a rebel leader backed by the Vietnamese government as they beat back Pol Pot and took over Cambodia, as the Vietnamese withdrew he was appointed deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister to the Peoples Republic of Kampuchea (the Vietnamese's given name for Cambodia) in 1979.   Giving the bases to Cambodia's Prince Norodom Sihanouk's referring to Hun Sen as  "the one eyed lackey of the Vietnamese".

As of yesterday it was confirmed  by the NEC (Nation Election Committee) and the government that Hun Sen's  party, the CCP (Cambodian Peoples Party) won the majority of the parliament's seats and once again he is Prime Minister.  

Meanwhile there's a strong movement by the CNRP ( Cambodian National Rescue Party) lead by Sam Rainsy protesting the legality of the election results.  However, it appears all will be going on the same as usual in Cambodia, the rich get richer, the poor struggle on in the countryside and for foreigners it's still cheap, interesting and a fun place to visit. 
   

Doug