CAN CAMBODIA'S DEMOCRATIC FORCES UNITE FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PHNOM PENH 001396 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/02/2016 TAGS: PGOV KDEM CB SUBJECT: CAN CAMBODIA'S DEMOCRATIC FORCES UNITE FOR UPCOMING ELECTIONS? Classified By: ADCM Margaret McKean; Reason 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (SBU) Summary. On July 30, FUNCINPEC President Prince Norodom Ranariddh called on all parties to unite in 2008 and form an Alliance of Nationalists. In practice, the weakened FUNCINPEC leader seeks to realign his party with the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) and other pro-democracy forces in the country to compete effectively in the 2008 national elections. CPP officials have dismissed the proposal; the SRP leadership will consider Ranariddh's proposal as long as the Prince steps down as FUNCINPEC President and agrees that Sam Rainsy lead the alliance. FUNCINPEC loyalists to the Prince have welcomed the initiative as a means to salvage the royalist party's following, as have other small political parties with little hope of capturing any seats in upcoming elections. Civil society agrees that an alliance offers an opportunity for pro-democracy forces in 2008 -- given the 50 percent plus one formula, but note that Cambodia's democratic leaders have been unable to maintain a united front against the CPP in the past. End Summary. Ranariddh Offers Proposal for Alliance -------------- ¶2. (U) On July 30, FUNCINPEC leader Prince Norodom Ranariddh met with senior FUNCINPEC officials in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and announced a proposal Alliance of Nationalists to compete in national elections in 2008. While theoretically open to all parties, the proposal is a means to rekindle an alliance of pro-democracy forces along the lines of the Alliance of Democrats (AD) that formed after the 2003 elections. The AD consisted of FUNCINPEC and the SRP, as both parties had won seats in the national elections. The CPP had won the most seats but still lacked the necessary two-thirds majority in order to form a government, and needed one of the parties to join with it as a governing partner. In order to leverage their respective parties' seats into a better power-sharing agreement for both FUNCINPEC and SRP, the two parties (at Rainsy's initiative) formed the AD in order to win greater concessions from the CPP. In the end, however, Ranariddh made a deal with Hun Sen and joined the government, leaving the SRP in opposition on its own. A similar alliance took place following 1998 parliamentary elections, after which FUNCINPEC deserted the SRP. This time, Ranariddh is proposing that the parties join forces ahead of the elections, rather than afterwards. ¶3. (SBU) Senior FUNCINPEC officials have welcomed the initiative, which offers a ray of hope that FUNCINPEC can maintain some of its party loyalists and compete in upcoming elections in a stronger position than they could in their current, divided and politically marginalized state. With FUNCINPEC rank and file growing increasingly frustrated over the party's internal power struggles, the removal of FUNCINPEC officials from government positions, and lack of leadership and focus from Ranariddh, FUNCINPEC members have been defecting to the CPP as well as the SRP. In order to halt the ongoing outflow of voters and reinvigorate confidence in the party, Ranariddh's proposal provides FUNCINPEC with hope that their party -- while unable to win a clear majority of seats outright in 2008 -- could get back into the political game with the SRP as a partner. Serei Kosal, a Senior Minister in the government, claims that the Alliance of Nationalists is a strategy for winning the 2008 elections if all pro-democracy forces unite. ¶4. (U) Ranariddh's proposed alliance was greeted enthusiastically by several small political parties, including the newly formed Community of Nationalists Alliance, headed by Prince Sisowath Thomico, former personal secretary to ex-King Sihanouk. Thomico, who several months SIPDIS earlier had told the Embassy that he planned to announce a new political party, opted instead to form an alliance for the time being with plans to transition to a political party in November 2006. The nationalist Khmer Front Party, headed by Suth Dina, has joined Thomico's alliance, as has Khieu Rada, President of the Khmer Unity Party. Thomico has told the media that in order to join the Alliance of Nationalists, FUNCINPEC should break with its current governing partnership with the CPP. Sam Rainsy Considering Ranariddh's Proposal -------------- ¶5. (C) Senior SRP officials have indicated that they would be willing to rejoin an alliance with FUNCINPEC but only if Prince Ranariddh stepped down as leader of FUNCINPEC and Sam Rainsy became the leader of the alliance. Some officials PHNOM PENH 00001396 002 OF 002 expressed skepticism over the FUNCINPEC leader's intention, noting that the SRP had been deceived by Ranariddh in the past. In a July 31 meeting with A/DCM, Rainsy said that he would consider Ranariddh's proposal but would proceed cautiously before entering into any partnership. He and his wife, Tioulong Saumura, agreed that Ranariddh's initiative was a last grasp at keeping the ailing royalist party afloat with any hopes of retaining a future political role. Noting that FUNCINPEC's ability to win National Assembly seats has consistently declined since 1993 as the SRP has continued to grow in strength in the last two elections, Rainsy claimed that the SRP is already gathering FUNCINPEC supporters at the grassroots level, and may not need to enter into an alliance. According to Ok Socheat, spokesperson for Prince Ranariddh, Sam Rainsy and Ranariddh may meet in August, as talks between the two parties continue. Civil Society Response -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Representatives of civil society generally believe that an alliance of pro-democracy forces could strengthen the voice of the democratic opposition in upcoming elections, but they too remain skeptical of Ranariddh's intentions. Hang Puthear, Director of the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections (NIFEC) views Ranariddh's proposal as FUNCINPEC's last chance for political life. Puthear believes that Ranariddh should reform FUNCINPEC first and rebuild the party before entering into an alliance with the SRP and others. Kek Galabru, Director of LICADHO, added that the question of who will lead the alliance is key. The two parties have had difficulties in maintaining their alliance in the past and it remains an open question if the two men can put behind their personal differences in the interest of democracy. Kul Panha of COMFREL (Committee for Free and Fair Elections) believes that the 50 percent plus one formula gives FUNCINPEC and SRP a new opportunity to provide real competition to the CPP in 2008. Human rights leader Kem Sokha told the Ambassador and A/DCM that he has no position on the alliance and does not support the agenda of any single party. Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) In theory, a merging of pro-democracy forces to take advantage of the 50 percent plus one formula offers the best opportunity for democratic change in Cambodia; at the very least, it would give the CPP a challenge in the 2008 elections. The CPP's party structure remains stronger than either FUNCINPEC or the SRP with greater control down to the grassroots levels. Both FUNCINPEC and the SRP would have to significantly ramp up their organizational capacity to mount a challenge, even if they did agree to unite. In practice, however, Cambodia's democratic-minded politicians have been unable to keep their lingering personal animosities and egos in check and make the sacrifices necessary to hold an alliance together. The CPP has proven adept at splintering the opposition, making a unified democratic front a difficult challenge. We had heard proposals from FUNCINPEC and SRP officials for a joining of forces earlier in the year, but there was agreement that the formation of any alliance would likely be just before the 2008 elections so that the CPP would not have time to undermine the partnership. FUNCINPEC officials will be returning shortly to Malaysia to discuss the SRP reaction with Ranariddh, and then come back to Cambodia early next week for further deliberations. End Comment. MUSSOMELI