SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES STATEMENTS ISSUED BY ASEAN TROIKA AND FRIENDS OF CAMBODIA
Press Release
SG/SM/6612
SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES STATEMENTS ISSUED BY ASEAN TROIKA AND FRIENDS OF CAMBODIA
19980624 The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary- General Kofi Annan:The Secretary-General welcomes the communiqués issued on 20 June at the end of their meeting in Bangkok by the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) troika and by the "Friends of Cambodia" which was attended by a United Nations delegation headed by Francesc Vendrell, Director of the Asia and the Pacific Division of the Department of Political Affairs, who had visited Cambodia prior to the meeting. The Secretary-General's Personal Representative for Cambodia, Lakhan Lal Mehrotra, also attended the meeting.
As the ASEAN troika and the Friends of Cambodia noted in their statements, considerable progress has been made in the preparations for the elections scheduled to be held on 26 July, since they last met in April, although a series of concerns remain to be addressed on issues such as voter intimidation and equitable access by all parties to the electronic media.
The Secretary-General is pleased with the significantly large turnout by the Cambodian people to register for the elections and commends the National Election Committee for their efforts. At the same time, the Secretary-General is keenly aware that much still needs to be done in order for the Committee to accomplish the tasks entrusted to it. He notes, in particular, that the Committee still has estimated shortfall of $3 million. He wishes, therefore, to take this opportunity to make an urgent appeal to donor countries to close this funding gap as soon as possible, since elections are only a month away.
The Secretary-General wishes also to reiterate his call to the Cambodian Government to do its utmost to create an environment conducive to the holding of free, fair and credible elections in line with the principles set forth in his memorandum of 2 April. The Secretary-General stands ready to cooperate with the Cambodian authorities and other political actors to move the electoral process forward.
The Secretary-General is giving his personal attention to the developments in Cambodia and will be making a further review in early July of developments regarding the elections and of the United Nations' role in coordinating international observers.
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