Violence threatens Cambodia

Replacing bullets with ballots was one of the main goals of the UN peacekeeping mission when it organized Cambodia's historic general election in 1993.

But two years on, that hope does not look close to being realized and the use of violence remains a dark and prominent feature of the struggle for political power.

The most recent incident occurred on Saturday when hand grenades were thrown at supporters of the Son Sann-led faction of the Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party, the smallest party in Cambodia's coalition government.

One grenade was detonated at the party's offices injuring 24 people, including women, children and National Assembly Vice President Son Soubert.

Another grenade was lobbed into the grounds of a Buddhist pagoda where more supporters were camping out, injuring seven people.

The party's members were quick to point the finger at government rivals who had banned the meeting and sent security forces around to break it up.

Earlier in the week, Co-Premier Hun Sen ominously expressed his opposition to the congress, saying he was afraid of security problems, like grenade attacks.

As gloomy as the political landscape is in Cambodia, there is also reason to be optimistic.

The basic framework for democracy remains in place, and despite everything ordinary Cambodians have been through they maintain a yearning for democracy.

In spite of the attacks, more than 1,000 people turned out amid the heavy security presence to attend the Son Sann meeting and, in doing so, exercised their right to assemble and express a political opinion.

Whether this support hardens into radical, violent politics, as has happened so often in Cambodia's history, or whether it can be channeled into a constructive part of the political process, remains to be seen.

But first of all Cambodian rulers will have to get used to the idea that, while the presence of opposition figures may be irritating, they are what distinguishes a democracy from a dictatorship.

-- The Nation, Bangkok