Cambodia's Ranariddh to accept ASEAN peace proposal
Hun Sen warns against international interference
July 18, 1997
Web posted at: 11:17 a.m. EDT (1517 GMT)Latest developments:
- Ranariddh's party would have role in compromise
- What will Hun Sen say?
- Plan would nullify Ung Huot as co-premier
- Related stories and sites
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (CNN) -- Coup leader Hun Sen warned against outside interference in Cambodia's affairs Friday as the co-prime minister he toppled appeared to accept defeat.
, whose loyalists are running low on food, ammunition and room to retreat, has agreed to seek a political solution to the crisis created two weeks ago when Hun Sen, who held the title of second prime minister, ousted Ranariddh, whose was first prime minister.
During a strategy session with exiled members of his royalist party in Bangkok, Thailand, participants said, the prince agreed to peace proposals endorsed by his father, King Norodom Sihanouk, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Under the plan, fighting would cease and a caretaker government comprising the parties of the prince and Hun Sen would be formed until new elections can be held, said Lu Laysreng, a steering committee member of Ranariddh's party.
Ranariddh was to meet an ASEAN delegation later in the day to accept the proposal.
The team, consisting of the foreign ministers of Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia, will travel to Phnom Penh on Saturday to present the proposals to Hun Sen.
What will Hun Sen say?
There is no guarantee Hun Sen will accept the plan, especially if it dilutes the absolute authority he is establishing over the country.
"No foreigner can dictate to Hun Sen," he told 2,000 people Friday at a Buddhist temple in Takeo, just outside Phnom Penh. "Leave us to solve our own problems."
Hun Sen threatened to withdraw Cambodia's $1.4 million (U.S.) membership application fee to ASEAN, which is a vital trade link for the country.
The postponement of Cambodia's membership could cost the desperately poor country badly needed international investment.
Thailand Foreign Minister Prachaub Chaiyasarn told reporters in Bangkok that ASEAN's attempt to end the political dispute did not constitute interference in Cambodia's internal affairs.
Plan would nullify Ung Huot as co-premier
Under the plan, Ranariddh, whom Hun Sen has threatened with arrest if he returns to Phnom Penh, would be authorized to nominate a member of his party to replace him as co-premier in the caretaker government.
This would nullify Hun Sen's bid to replace Ranariddh with Ung Huot, the foreign minister and a member of the prince's party.
The appointment of Ung Huot has been called illegal by Ranariddh loyalists fleeing Hun Sen's bloody post-coup purges.
Bangkok Bureau Chief Tom Mintier contributed to this report.
- Message Board: Cambodian conflict
- Newsmaker Profile: Norodom Sihanouk - Cambodian King
- Newsmaker Profile: Pol Pot - Cambodian Communist Leader
Related stories:
- Cambodia's Hun Sen dismisses international criticism - July 17, 1997
- Cambodian strongman lashes out at Asian trade group - July 14, 1997
- Deposed Cambodian asks U.N. to shun 'illegal' government - July 10, 1997
- Hun Sen claims no coup in Cambodia - July 10, 1997
- Cambodian coup regime hunts down opponents - July 9, 1997
- Battle for Cambodia shifts northward - July 8, 1997
- Hun Sen in control of Cambodian capital - July 7, 1997
- Second premier's troops tighten grip on Cambodian capital - July 6, 1997
- Fighting intensifies between Cambodian rivals - July 5, 1997
Related sites:
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- ASEAN - the official website of Association of the Association of South East Asian Nations
- ASEAN InfoSite - summary of pertinent information to ASEAN, as well as informative links of interest
- Human Rights Watch - nonprofit, nongovernmental organization monitoring human rights in some seventy countries worldwide
- Royal Embassy of Cambodia to the United States
- Press Release - Statement of H.E Samdech Hun Sen
- State Department Travel Warning: Cambodia - April 21, 1997
- Digital Archive of Cambodian Holocaust Survivors - an ad hoc group of Cambodians and non-Cambodians interested in documenting Cambodian survivor stories on the Internet.
- The Cambodian Genocide Program - an archive of bibliographic, biographic, photographic and geographic data.
- The Documentation Center of Cambodia
- Cambodia Profile - from CARE
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