PRESS CONFERENCE BY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF CAMBODIA

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF CAMBODIA

At a Headquarters press conference this morning, the Permanent Representative of Cambodia, Prince Sisowath Sirirath, thanked the media for its coverage of the situation in his country. He had been closely following the events in Cambodia through the international media; the news issued officially from Cambodia since the coup had been very biased, as it had been distributed by the Ministry of Information.

The events of last Saturday were of grave concern, he said. On Monday, he had asked the Secretary-General to do what he could to restore democracy to the country. The elections organized and supervised by the United Nations had enabled Cambodia to experience independence, liberty and full democracy. Now, the country was no longer independent because of the illegal actions taken by the coup leader. The Royal Government of Cambodia consisted of two prime ministers: First Prime Minister Prince Samdech Krom Preah Norodom Ranariddh and Second Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen. That political arrangement was enshrined in the legality, sovereignty and entity of Cambodia.

The Ambassador called on all peace-loving nations of the world not to recognize the coup leaders. After the briefing, he would distribute an appeal received this morning from the First Prime Minister. That appeal had already been conveyed to the Secretary-General. The Prince would be in the United Nations tomorrow to give a full report to the Secretary-General, the President of the General Assembly, Razali Ismail (Malaysia), and the President of the Security Council, Peter Osvald (Sweden). Ambassador Sisowath had already met with those officials and had urged them to use their good offices to help bring about a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Cambodia. After meeting with the Secretary-General tomorrow, the First Prime Minister would brief with correspondents.

On behalf of the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA), a correspondent offered condolences for Cambodia's plight. Yesterday, the Council's President had said he thought that body had no role to play at this time in the Cambodian situation, the correspondent continued. What was the Ambassador's view? he asked. "The Council has always a role to play", the Ambassador said. When Vietnamese forces had intervened in Cambodia in January 1979, the "so-called legal government" had been the Khmer Rouge regime, led by Pol Pot, which had been seated legally in the United Nations. At that time, Prince Norodom Sihanouk had come to the United Nations and fought very hard in the Council for a seat not of the Khmer Rouge's "so-called Democratic Kampuchea" but for a legal representative of Cambodia.

Similarly, during the Persian Gulf War, Kuwait had been recognized as an independent nation and a Member of the United Nations, he continued. The Council had a role to play, the Ambassador said. How that role should be defined would be decided by its members. Cambodia's independent democracy had

been born through elections supervised and organized by the United Nations. The Ambassador had called on the five permanent members of the Council to take whatever they considered the best action, the best venue or approach concerning the matter.

A correspondent asked what the regional response had been. The Ambassador said he had considered different views of what would be the best action; further discussion on the matter was needed. The First Prime Minister would have to fully introduce his report of events to the Secretary-General, the President of the Security Council and the President of the Assembly. The Foreign Minister of Indonesia, Ali Alatas, had called for a special session of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to be held in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow, 10 July. Cambodia's Foreign Minister was now en route from Paris to Kuala Lumpur in order to report on the situation to ASEAN. The ASEAN wanted a dialogue between Mr. Hun Sen and Prince Ranariddh. The Secretary-General, too, had mentioned the two leaders by name yesterday.

A correspondent asked about Prince Ranariddh's itinerary. The Ambassador said the Prince would arrive in New York tonight, and had a full schedule of meetings tomorrow at the United Nations. The Prince would then head to Washington, D.C., to meet with public officials and lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Those meetings were still being arranged because the Prince's visit to Washington would fall on the weekend, when most Senators and Congressmen had to report to their constituencies, he said.

What were the prospects that Pol Pot could be turned over to justice? a correspondent asked. Right now, the prospect of Pol Pot being turned over to the Royal Government of Cambodia seemed slim, the Ambassador said. The Khmer Rouge had politically gained an upper hand again. The United National Front for an Independent Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC), together with the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), had put the Khmer Rouge's forces on decline. In his efforts at national reconciliation, King Norodom Sihanouk had called on Khmer Rouge forces to put down their arms and respect Cambodia's new Constitution. Many former Khmer Rouge had already rallied, including the famous former Foreign Minister of the Khmer Rouge, Ieng Sary.

The case of Ieng Sary was interesting, the Ambassador continued. The coup leader had announced that Prince Ranariddh had illegally engaged in discussions with the Khmer Rouge. That accusation was not true. In fact, when Ieng Sary and Hun Sen had been in contact, FUNCINPEC had not been informed until Hun Sen had requested a joint letter to the King asking for amnesty for Ieng Sary. The First Prime Minister could not be called a traitor, Ambassador Sisowath said. He was a legally and democratically elected public official.

A correspondent asked him to describe the situation at his Mission. It seemed that the Ambassador was in open conflict with his deputy, she said. That was what he had heard, the Ambassador replied. Over the years, he had

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never discussed internal problems because he abided by principle that civil servants were representatives of one government and one people. He had seen the letter issued by his Deputy. Though appearing on official stationary, that letter was not an official document. It bore no reference number and had not been archived according to the Mission's system. The coup leader had not relieved him of his position as Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Deputy Permanent Representatives could not sign letters to Ambassadors, except when acting as chargé d'affaires ad interim. The Deputy's signing of the letter showed how poor the Mission's administrative procedure was. "I am teaching them every day."

Regarding ASEAN, a correspondent asked whether the membership application from Cambodia should be withheld until the situation was settled. Also, what had the King and the Chinese Government said about the recent events? she asked. The First Prime Minister had said that ASEAN should review Cambodia's admission into the organization, the Ambassador replied. The coup leader must not perceive that he had achieved his goal. Hun Sen was not the leader of Cambodia and not a freely elected public official. The coup was led by military leaders who were put in power by foreign force. The CPP had lost the elections. The FUNCINPEC had offered the Party a chance to share power.

King Sihanouk's only statement had been a letter to the First and Second Prime Ministers, and the President of the National Assembly, requesting a meeting in Beijing in which those officials would engage in open discussions to resolve the situation, he said. Through the media, Hun Sen had said it was too late for negotiations. The Ambassador would have thought a more appropriate response would have been to have replied to the King with a written letter and not inform the media until the letter had been received.

What course of action should the international community take? a correspondent asked. The situation in Cambodia was not an internal affair, the Ambassador said. The Cambodian people were being denied their rights to freedom and democracy. The media in Cambodia was controlled by the coup leader. Cambodia's independence had been born through negotiations, and open debate from 1979 through 1991 in the General Assembly.

The international community had devoted tremendous financial assistance, as well as human resources and peace-keeping operations, to Cambodia's freedom, he continued. The international community had even lost 66 lives during the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) in order to bring peace, independence and democracy to Cambodia. How could Hun Sen say that the international community should stay out of the country's situation? he asked.

Would the Prince rely on the goodwill of the international community or would he organize a military response? a correspondent asked. The Prince advocated negotiation and discussion, the Ambassador replied. Yesterday, in a press conference in Paris, the Prince had said his door would always be open

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for negotiation with Hun Sen. If all efforts at negotiation failed, however, the Prince had said the international community should impose economic sanctions on Cambodia. Further, the international community should not recognize the new leaders of Cambodia.

The International Conference on the Reconstruction of Cambodia and the Consultative Group Meeting) should freeze all financial contributions to the country, he continued. More than 60 per cent of Cambodia's national budget depended on donor country assistance. On 2 July, Cambodia's Finance Minister had read a statement signed by both Prime Ministers guaranteeing the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank and other financial institutions that there was political stability in Cambodia. Two days later there had been a coup.

If the two above-mentioned options failed, other alternatives must be considered, the Ambassador continued. FUNCINPEC leaders had fled to the jungle. They were regrouping, and would take the second city Battambang. They had disarmed more than 2,000 CPP soldiers in two provinces, which were now FUNCINPEC strongholds. However, discussion was still possible. Cambodia must not revert to its history of bloodshed, genocide and foreign occupation.

If other actions failed, the Prince would ask the Assembly President to hold a special session of the Assembly to debate the question of Cambodia, the Ambassador continued. That had been done successfully with the help of ASEAN during Viet Nam's occupation of Cambodia.

Was there anything that the Security Council or the international community at large could have done to prevent the current crisis? a correspondent asked. Numerous envoys had met with the two Prime Ministers, Ambassador Sisowath said. Most recently, French and Japanese envoys to Cambodia had reported to the "Group of Seven" industrialized countries and the Russian Federation that Hun Sen had said he was cooperating closely with Prince Ranariddh. Those envoys had reported that despite existing difficulties, Cambodia's two Prime Ministers were working together. Yet, that had not been the case. The Australian Government now wanted to send a special envoy to Phnom Penh.

A correspondent asked whether Hun Sen expected support from Viet Nam. "We as Cambodians do not raise the issue of Viet Nam", the Ambassador said. Viet Nam had left the country in 1989, two years before the Paris Conference. That country was now a friend of Cambodia, one of the country's economic partners. Viet Nam was "busy doing her thing", and it would be unjust for Cambodia to refer to Vietnamese involvement. Perhaps, partisan media in Cambodia might make some such reference, but such accusation "did not fly at the international level". The Ambassador said he had told all Cambodian leaders "Viet Nam has left Cambodia; Viet Nam is our friend, Viet Nam is our economic partner".

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A correspondent asked what economic sanctions the Prince had in mind. The Ambassador said such sanctions would include technical and development assistance from the international community and from the Organization and its agencies. In addition, non-governmental organizations should not continue their assistance. Lives were in danger. Many foreign non-governmental organizations wanted to stay in Cambodia to help the people, he said, but sadly they had to leave.

A correspondent inquired about the whereabouts of the royal family. The Ambassador said the First Prime Minister's sister and her husband had been allowed by the coup leader to leave Phnom Penh. They were now safely in Bangkok, Thailand. Prince Ranariddh's first son had also been allowed to leave the country.

How dangerous was the situation for those in the FUNCINPEC Party who remained in the country? a correspondent asked. The Ambassador replied that the Secretary-General had issued a statement about the co-Secretary of State for the Interior Ministry Hor Sok who had been captured, detained and shot to death without receiving a fair trial (see Press Release SG/SM/6281 of 8 July). The late Hor Sok had served the Government with great loyalty.

What would happen if Second Prime Minister Hun Sen installed a new First Prime Minister? a correspondent asked. "He would be a puppet prime minister, no doubt about that. The strings would be pulled by the Second Prime Minister", the Ambassador replied. To instal another First Prime Minister, a two-thirds majority vote of confidence in the Parliament was required. Most of the Royalist members of Parliament had fled the country or were in hiding or in captivity. If Hun Sen could muster that two-thirds majority by force, then a puppet First Prime Minister could indeed be installed. However, that Prime Minister must have an official swearing-in ceremony in the Royal Palace before the King, and in the presence of the new cabinet members and members of Parliament.

Further, in order to elect a new leader of FUNCINPEC, the national Congress of FUNCINPEC would have to call a special session, he continued. The Party's Board of Directors, on 21 March of this year, had elected Prince Ranariddh "President for Life" of the FUNCINPEC Party. For that position to be revoked, someone else would have to challenge him openly and officially. The Party could not depose the Prince without first allowing him to go before the FUNCINPEC Congress to reply to any charges of crime or error. Prince Ranariddh must be allowed to reply to any charges before the Party's Congress, or the new prime minister would no doubt be a puppet prime minister.

Had the evacuation of foreigners from the country been necessary? What was the military situation on the ground? a correspondent asked. The Ambassador said it was important to airlift nationals out of Cambodia. He commended the Thai Air Force for sending planes to evacuate Thai nationals and other foreigners who wished to leave the country. Many foreigners had been

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able to flee in the Royal Thai Air Force planes. Yesterday, President Fidel Ramos of the Philippines had instructed an air force plane to go to Thailand on stand-by, to be ready to airlift more than 600 Philippine citizens who were currently stranded in Cambodia. Governments must be concerned, he added.

The United States Government must protect its citizens in Cambodia, he continued. Many of those citizens were newly nationalized, and of Cambodian origin. They had returned to Cambodia to seek the whereabouts of their family, reunite with friends and family, and help the people of Cambodia. The media had mentioned more than 1,600 United States citizens in Cambodia; of that number, a thousand were of Cambodian origin. The Ambassador had conveyed a letter to United States Permanent Representative Bill Richardson requesting that the United States help airlift two high-ranking Cambodian personalities who were now in the country. Both were members of Congress, from Kampong Cham and Battambang Provinces. Both were members of the Cambodian Parliament, as well as United States citizens. The Ambassador said he would be deeply grateful for any efforts by the United States to locate and protect the two men, and return them to their families in the United States.

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