Cambodian leader and opposition rival, both call on their supporters to share traditional noodles as political ploy to undermine each other.
Cambodian garment workers eat noodle as their breakfast at a Buddhist pagoda at outside Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, June 9, 2019. The bitter decadeslong rivalry between Hun Sen, Cambodia's strongman leader, and Sam Rainsy, the self-exiled chief political rival and critic, has sometimes played out in deadly violence. But on Sunday, soup rather than blood was likely to be spilled.
From his prime minister’s perch of unchallenged authority, Hun Sen promoted eating “the Khmer noodles of unity and solidarity.” Sam Rainsy, co-founder of the country’s only credible but now disbanded political party, called for “eating Khmer noodles for the sake of friendship in the framework of the entire, giant Cambodian family.”It sounds like a utopian scenario, but its roots are in hard-nosed politics.
Sin Rozeth had been an admired young CNRP commune chief in the northwestern province of Battambang. Forced out of politics, she opened a shop selling Cambodian noodles. Her old colleagues would drop by for a meal and chat about politics, and she and others would post their thoughts on Facebook. Hun Sen, known for his prowess in chess, quickly countered, sending word down to his party members that they should also gather on Sunday to eat noodle soup: “Please don’t forget to eat Khmer noodles together. These are the Khmer noodles of unity and solidarity, not destructive noodles.” Hun Sen also suggested that the activity could kick off a campaign to promote Cambodian food and culture.
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