‘In their hearts’, army favours CNRP: Rainsy

School of Vice: The army as 'guarantor' of "stability"? What kind of stability are we talking about and since when has the army been performing this role? We have seen how decades of single party rule and dictatorship came to an end when the military decided to swap sides and aligned itself with the people instead in Egypt, Libya, Ukraine etc. The armed forces cannot and will not assume its proper role of providing true national security and social stability until a country is governed by the democratic rule of law and a separation of powers principle put into practice.

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Former CNRP president Sam Rainsy is seen speaking to supporters at an event on Sunday. FACEBOOK

25 Apr, 2017 Meas Sokchea

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Former opposition leader Sam Rainsy told supporters in France on Sunday that members of the military secretly supported the CNRP, comments one analyst suggested were inappropriate in an environment that has seen the role of security services dangerously politicised ahead of coming elections.

Senior commanders of the Kingdom’s security forces many of whom hold high-ranking positions within the ruling party have repeatedly inveighed against instability and so-called colour revolutions in recent months, rhetoric often viewed by observers as being aimed at the opposition.

Opposition leader Kem Sokha greets supporters at a rally on Sunday in Takeo province. FACEBOOK

But in his remarks on Sunday, Rainsy said that many members of the military, including some of Hun Sen’s bodyguards, would vote for the CNRP in commune elections in June.

“They are quiet, but in their heart they voted for the [CNRP] already. When [the CNRP] wins and leads the country we will invite them to serve the nation all together,” Rainsy said.

Defence Ministry spokesman Chhum Socheat yesterday accused Rainsy of intending to sow division in the armed forces, calling the remarks the product of “his crazy imagination”.

But political analyst Ou Virak said that while a significant chunk of the military may indeed support the CNRP, this type of rhetoric should be avoided. “This is dangerous politics from both sides. They shouldn’t play up the military. It should be the guarantor of stability, not a political tool.”