Word: huns
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After a week-long diplomatic gavotte over protocol, representatives of the four factions in Cambodia's civil war were all present in Jakarta last weekend. On hand were Prime Minister Hun Sen and leaders of two of the three guerrilla armies fighting to overthrow him: Son Sann and Khieu Samphan of the infamous Khmer Rouge. The third, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, pleaded a last- minute illness and sent a stand...
...prospects for ending the war seem brighter than they have in a long time. Not only were the Cambodian parties due to begin talking again in Jakarta, but Secretary of State James Baker disclosed that the U.S. had agreed to engage in direct diplomatic contact with representatives of the Hun Sen government. Still, many observers remain pessimistic. "An international agreement on Cambodia does not equal an internal agreement," said Shafiq Fit Abdullah of the Institute of Strategic International Affairs in Kuala Lumpur. To get that, at least six steps -- each problematic at best -- must be taken before the U.N. plan...
...Supreme National Council must be created. The body would have only an advisory role, but Hun Sen argues, not unreasonably, that the tripartite rebel coalition should have one vote instead of the three it seeks. It is by no means certain that the current peace offensive will pass even this initial hurdle...
...parties must accept a so-called interim U.N.-run administration, pending elections for a new government. The rebel factions have indicated their support for this, and small wonder. The proposal would achieve their main goal -- removal of Hun Sen's government -- at least until elections were held, and would replace his regime with an outside government that would be virtually powerless to punish cease-fire violations. Moreover, U.N. bureaucrats could serve as yet another foreign enemy against which the xenophobic Khmer Rouge could rally popular opinion. Hun Sen has predictably refused to dismantle his government, which was installed...
...Foreign patrons must pressure their Cambodian clients. This may be the U.N. plan's best hope. Optimists believe Moscow will lean on Hun Sen, and Beijing on the Khmer Rouge -- even to the point of cutting off military aid. Severe economic problems and the end of the cold war suggest that the optimists may be right about Soviet intentions. But despite China's agreement to the basic plan and certain vague "signals," it is by no means clear that Beijing would pressure the Khmer Rouge to capitulate. If it does not, more war is likely; if it does, the Khmer...