People support us with open arms, says coup general's son in poll bid
The Cambodian royalist party's faithful followers can be forgiven for not relishing the idea of tomorrow's national election, with analysts predicting the party, Funcinpec, will be lucky to win more than 5 per cent of the vote.
Rubbing salt into their political wounds is Lon Rith, whose father, General Lon Nol, is a historic figure in Cambodia's tragic past. In March 1970, the general ousted prince Norodom Sihanouk in a US-backed palace coup. Almost three decades of civil war followed, bringing the Khmer Rouge, the 'killing fields' and devastation.
Now, as head of the Khmer Republican Party, Lon Rith believes he can outpoll the royalist Funcinpec. 'Five per cent [for Funcinpec]? I think that is a real possibility,' he said.
'What we stand for is vastly different from what they have done. We stand for all the people as opposed to siding with any one group or people, while Funcinpec, well, they just stand for different factions.' Lon Rith, 46, left Cambodia in 1973 to study in the United States. He then lived in France and ran a trading company.
He said personal circumstances had prevented him from standing at previous elections. 'But it's time I came and helped,' he said. 'I think the people are supporting us with open arms. You can see it in the villages.'
He said his father's role in the early 1970s was misunderstood. Lon Nol governed until 1975, when the Khmer Rouge overran the country and imposed a vicious, autocratic rule that left 1.7 million people dead from starvation, illness and genocide.
'I think history tells itself ... There was no coup. The house and the senate voted to remove the prince, not my father - and what he did he had to do to fight the communists.'
