SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES MAJOR STEP TOWARDS NORMALIZATION OF SITUATION IN CAMBODIA

Press Release
SG/SM/6498

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES MAJOR STEP TOWARDS NORMALIZATION OF SITUATION IN CAMBODIA

The following statement was issued today by the Secretary-General's spokesman on Cambodia:

The Secretary-General welcomes the complete amnesty granted by King Norodom Sihanouk to Prince Norodom Ranariddh with the full agreement of their Excellencies Ung Huot and Hun Sen. This is a major step towards the normalization of the situation in Cambodia. It is hoped that it will significantly improve the climate for free and fair elections. As was noted in the recent meeting in Manila of the Friends of Cambodia, the amnesty is an important point in the "Four Pillar Plan" put forward by Japan and endorsed by the Friends.

In this connection, the Secretary-General is instructing his Representative in Cambodia to monitor the safety of, and full resumption of political activities by Prince Ranariddh when he returns to Cambodia, in keeping with the letter of guarantees of 22 October addressed to him by Mr. Ung Huot and Samdech Hun Sen.

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