I found former ambassador Tony Kevin's piece in the issue dated August 17-30 (PPP

V 10/No 17) disturbing on a number of counts, not the least of which was his unveiled

attack on Sam Rainsy and Madame Kek Galabru. However, the most troubling point in

Ambassador Kevin's very long commentary was contained in his closing paragraph in

which he referred to the "discredited and virtually irrelevant opposition"

as the "tail...wagging the international assistance dog". In a nation whose

democracy and whose understanding of democratic principles is as fragile as those

of Cambodia, surely the "opposition" no matter what views it holds can

never be truly "irrelevant". Rather, it is highly relevant, indeed essential,

for without an opposition even the current Cambodian administrat-ion's most generous

apologists would be hard pressed to defend the sham democracy which currently exists

in this beleaguered land.