This year was election year for Seoung, Kheang and Phy Bopha, among other members of the Congress, of course; Seoung was confident in his ability to win the position of General Secretary once more, after all, why wouldn’t he? He seized power for the communists, even if it was a shadow power for now, after the purge many members of the CPK managed to enter Cambodian politics through the CPP.

Each moment that passed in Cambodia was another moment that Seoung was strengthening his grip and this Congress was not different, people were starting to become afraid of Seoung’s authoritarian policies and whispers of conspiracy have started to take root. Kheang has been keen on keeping attention to every rumor that surfaces and passes the most pressing ones to Phy Bopha, the Santebal has been restless in the espionage of the members of the CPK, each one had a file stored by Santebal which held countless amounts of dirt and secrets.

Seoung was wearing a red armband this time, inside the room were flags of the Khmer Rouge and the soldiers were properly uniformed, with black clothing, red scarf with white stripes and a red armband in their left arm. By now there was no need to hide themselves from Hun Sen’s government, he was long dead and the only threat to power was his children, since the monarch was far too powerless.

The seats were all tidily arranged and proper, the members of the CPK entered quietly and respectfully as Seoung stared at each one of them; fear and tension were present and Seoung knew it, but he was content that they were kept in line, he fought so hard to have what he possesses at the moment, he won’t let anybody take it from him.

Kheang was slightly late, but as soon as he appeared, at the corner of Seoung’s mouth was a smile, it was barely present as the leader of the party had to keep composure, but it was there, Kheang sat right beside Seoung and shook hands with him.

“What’s the news, chief? What are we doing today?” The young man asked, happy as ever. “Today is our re-election Kheang, after that I’ll present the points and a new resolution will be presented, I hope you’ll support it.” Seoung said quietly.

And then the leader gave a signal with his hand to start the Congress, Kheang stepped on the podium and thus announced; “It’s time for brother Toch Utta to begin the 4th Congress of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, please everyone, a round of applause for our general secretary!”

Thunderous applause was given by the members there present, a few out of fear, many by sheer support of Sophal, after all, why not support him? The man has been leading Cambodia to an actual, prosperous future instead of Hun Sen, and not only that but he chooses to not compromise with corruption, he is thought by many to be the guiding light for Red Cambodia.

Seoung looked around the room and he saw the many faces of his followers, this was only a small portion of followers, these were the ones that were guaranteed to vote for him, but his true admirers were outside, the Khmer population that wants even more change and progress, they were thirsty for progress as Seoung was thirsty for power. The two desires were working together well for now, but what will he do when he manages to get his ultimate power? That is the true question that needs to be answered and probably never will.

Brothers, the great time has come, Cambodia is finally awaken; we have won power in Cambodia but we still need to gain power with the Cambodian population, I know that it was difficult to risk yourselves for change, for wanting bread for your family, money for your pockets and a safe education for your children and you couldn’t do so, where you felt that you had to obey, you must give in, you must submit to the immense pressure of oppression that Hun Sen brought forward.

He said as he gestured himself with fuming anger, gesticulating and appealing for the members of Congress.

The struggle against reactionarism has for the second time in Cambodia turned into a unified struggle. And this is the time I will take the torch of Pol Pot and start a war and not rest until this plague is removed from the Khmer way of life!”

Applause was heard from the room as the demagogue continued his anger-filled rant, adjusting his glasses and crossing his arms, he proceeded once more.

A new state cannot just fall out of the sky, but grow from you, the members that can make the change come, and when I need loyalty, commitment and fanaticism then I must turn to where I still find these values, on the people themselves, in you! Which is why today, I propose a resolution to each and every single one of you:

Draft Resolution of the Proscription of Factions in the Communist Party of Kampuchea.

1. The General Secretary calls the attention of all members of the Party of the fact that the unity and cohesion of the ranks of the Party; mutual confidence and team-work that embodies the will of the vanguard party of the proletariat, are essential at the current time, when we are the closest at attaining the path to socialism.
2. Certain signs of factionalism have been apparent inside the Party - the formation of groups with separate platforms, striving to a certain degree to segregate and create their own group discipline. All class-counscious must clearly realise that factionalism of any kind is harmful and impermissible, for no matter how members of individual groups may desire to safeguard Party unity, factionalism in practice inevitability leads to the weakening of team-work and to intensified and repeated attempts by the enemies of the governing Party, who have wormed their way into it, to widen the cleavage and to use it for counter-revolutionary purposes.
3. The enemies of the state use propaganda solely for the purpose of weakening and destroying the bulwark of the proletarian revolution in Cambodia.
4. In this question, propaganda should consist, on the one hand, in a comprehensive explanation of the harmfulness and danger of factionalism from the standpoint of Party unity and of achieving unanimity of will among the vanguard of the proletariat as the fundamental condition for the success of the dictatorship of the proletariat; and, on the other hand, in an explanation of the peculiar features of the latest tactical devices of the enemies of the Khmer power. These enemies, having realised the hopelessness of counter-revolution under an openly anti-communist flag, are now doing their utmost to utilise the disagreements within the Communist Party of Kampuchea and to further the counter-revolution in one way or another by transferring power to a political group which is outwardly closest to recognition of the Cambodian power. Propaganda must also teach the lessons of preceding revolutions, in which the counter-revolution made a point of supporting the opposition to the extreme revolutionary party which stood closest to the latter, in order to undermine and overthrow the revolutionary dictatorship and thus pave the way for the subsequent complete victory of the counter-revolution, of the capitalists and landowners.
5. In the practical struggle against factionalism, every organisation of the Party must take strict measures to prevent all factional actions. Criticism of the Party’s shortcomings, which is absolutely necessary, must be conducted in such a way that every practical proposal shall be submitted immediately, without any delay, in the most precise form possible, for consideration and decision to the leading local and central bodies of the Party. Moreover, every critic must see to it that the form of his criticism takes account of the position of the Party, surrounded as it is by a ring of enemies, and that the content of his criticism is such that, by directly participating in Cambodian and Party work, he can test the rectification of the errors of the Party or of individual Party members in practice. Analyses of the Party’s general line, estimates of its practical experience, check-ups of the fulfilment of its decisions, studies of methods of rectifying errors, etc., must under no circumstances be submitted for preliminary discussion to groups formed on the basis of “platforms”, etc., but must in all cases be submitted for discussion directly to all the members of the Party.
6. The General Secretary, therefore, hereby declares dissolved and orders the immediate dissolution of all groups without exception formed on the basis of one platform or another (such as the Workers’ Opposition group, the Democratic Centralism group, etc.). Non-observance of this decision of the Congress shall entail unconditional and instant expulsion from the Party.
7. In order to ensure strict discipline within the Party and in all Cambodian work and to secure the maximum unanimity in eliminating all factionalism, the General Secretary authorises the Central Committee, in cases of breach of discipline or of a revival or toleration of factionalism, to apply all Party penalties, including expulsion, and in regard to members of the Central Committee, reduction to the status of alternate members and, as an extreme measure, expulsion from the Party. A necessary condition for the application of such an extreme measure to members of the Central Committee, alternate members of the Central Committee and members of thc Control Commission is the convocation of a Plenary Meeting of the Central Committee, to which all alternate members of the Central Committee and all members of the Control Commission shall be invited. If such a general assembly of the most responsible leaders of the Party deems it necessary by a two-thirds majority to reduce a member of the Central Committee to the status of alternate member, or to expel him from the Party, this measure shall be put into effect immediately.

There was a strained air of conflict in the air, would the party truly do it? Censor themselves? That was a very tough decision to do, but of course, it had to be done after the elections of the General Secretary and the Secretariat. The members were similar to last time, the increasingly authoritarian Seoung Sophal, also known as Toch Utta, his right-hand man Kheang Chheang, Phy Bopha, the leader of Santebal and two new faces, Mao Rotha and Hu Rathana, Mao was a trotskyist and was very vocal in his lack of support for the resolution, Hu Rathana was a loyalist of the CPK and supported it, giving his applause and support to brother Toch Utta.

Before that even happened, from the Congress of 384 men, there was an election of delegates which would decide the fate of the Party, there were 45 members of the 384 that were elected as delegates of the CPK. And then, elections for their leaders:

Toch Utta: 77.7\% of votes - 35 members.

Kheang Chheang: 15.5\% of votes - 7 members.

Hu Rathana: 6.8\% of votes - 3 members.

Mao Rotha: 0\% of votes - 0 members.

Phy Bopha: 0\% of votes - 0 members.

Although Bopha already expected it, it was still crushing to receive 0 votes from all the members here, not even from his loyal Santebal; but it was expected, Seoung was the star of the show and he was the one leading the group in the right direction, or was he?

After Toch was elected General Secretary of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, elections were held for the Secretariat of the CPK.

Kheang Chheang: 61\% of votes - 27 members.

Hu Rathana: 29\% of votes - 13 members.

Mao Rotha: 6\% of votes - 4 members.

Phy Bopha: 4\% of votes - 1 member.

Kheang was elected once more as member of the CPK, which was a warm victory him but also quite expected, the two were doing quite a number in destabilizing the regime of Hun Sen, in fact, the regime was almost theirs.

Celebrations were immediate, and many congratulated both Toch and Kheang for their victory, and after that came the voting for the factionalism resolution, it was thoroughly read again by each member of the Central Committee and then put to a vote.

• 84\% in favor of the passing of the resolution.
• 16\% in favor of vetoing the resolution.

With more than 75% of the Central Committee voting in favor, the resolution had passed, once again Seoung had been moving forward on the food chain, each time stronger; his increasingly confident smile was present the rest of the session as they dialogued their strategies for the year:

Increase of propaganda and censorship of reactionary thought present in the Media, the propaganda will be distributed via the “Voice of the Khmers” for the entire nation.

1. Recruitment campaign for Santebal and closer integration with the government by the presence of Santebal in police stations. Drafting of the inclusion of a new article in the Penal Code will commence.
2. Drafting of the new constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia.
3. Espionage of King Norodom and Hun Sen’s children.
4. Secure the loyalty of low-level officers in Cambodia; do the same for the farmers in the rural countryside.
5. Deeper research on Hun Sen’s involvement with Vietnam and his installation as a Vietnamese puppet.