Democracy is upon us

I feel this is appropriate...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KTsXHXMkJA

I really wish you all the best. Democracy is such a vitally important thing that so many prosperous countries take for granted. While I don't know what it's like to have my freedom truly stifled, I can appreciate that it is a place nobody deserves to be in. It's part of why the complacency of cultural/religious/etc. apologists and just-world believers gets to me so much. It's real lives and livelihoods affected by this. Such a shame that much of the world needs to be dragged kicking and screaming into a civilised state of living. Take hope that there is such a thing as progress even if it is an uphill battle and leaves so many broken lives and communities in its wake when it comes up against entrenched regressive systems. Everybody has a right to voice themselves and every government should be in place to represent and serve the people it governs, not the other way around. Stay safe.

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OverUsedChewToy wrote:

I really wish you all the best. Democracy is such a vitally important thing that so many prosperous countries take for granted. While I don't know what it's like to have my freedom truly stifled, I can appreciate that it is a place nobody deserves to be in. It's part of why the complacency of cultural/religious/etc. apologists and just-world believers gets to me so much. It's real lives and livelihoods affected by this. Such a shame that much of the world needs to be dragged kicking and screaming into a civilised state of living. Take hope that there is such a thing as progress even if it is an uphill battle and leaves so many broken lives and communities in its wake when it comes up against entrenched regressive systems. Everybody has a right to voice themselves and every government should be in place to represent and serve the people it governs, not the other way around. Stay safe.

Thanks. I should probably make it clear that I'm British. I do have a Cambodian citizenship now, but its from having lived here a long time and investing money here, not from being a natural born citizen.

I have some strong political views personally, but I don't preach them in Cambodia as I don't think it's my place. They've had enough outside interference already, its time for them to work it out for themselves.

I think this is really inappropriate since it's so outdated and cliched but I just cannot pass on the opportunity. Here you go :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KTsXHXMkJA

edit: oh boy, just saw the post of TheKleen. please see this one as a reconfirmation.

Update for anyone who's interested:

Things took a pretty sickening turn last night. A bunch of peaceful hunger strikers who were camped out by a pagoda in the center of town were brutally beaten last night by a crowd of roughly a couple of hundred military police and plainclothes people carrying military tasers and batons. Local English language newspapers reported today that their journalists were also badly beaten and some of their equipment smashed. The Phnom Penh Post remarkably managed to get video of military police tasing one of their British journalists.

As usual, not a word about it from any local news sources, and the relevant military commander has said he doesn't know what happened, but that he's sure his people were justified and that they helped thwart a threat to national security.

Today was the first day of the new parliament which was boycotted by the opposition, but not the King, who is now losing any respect from his people that he ever had (which wasn't a huge amount to begin with). He claims it would be unconstitutional not to keep swearing in the same prime minister for as long as he's told to regardless of electoral fraud and mass violence.

Also, sorry for venting here. I realize it's not really the right forum for it, but it's not stuff I can talk to people here about and I needed to vent a bit as its frustrating to watch.