Word: sihanouk
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...efforts to retain power when the last Vietnamese soldiers depart by Sept. 30 is the cooperation of Cambodia's former head of state, the wily and mercurial Prince Norodom Sihanouk, 67, who remains a powerful psychological symbol of better times. Last week, after the leaders held two days of talks in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, Sihanouk indicated for the first time that he was prepared to return home as head of state without his partner in opposition, the Khmer Rouge. But the former monarch laid on a host of ifs and buts to his offer that leave his return...
Still, it was a guileful change of tone for Sihanouk, who had spurned previous invitations from the "illegitimate" Hun Sen regime. Only recently Sihanouk had called the Prime Minister "the valet of Vietnamese imperialism." Now the prince boasted, "I am the father of all Cambodians, so Hun Sen is my child...
Whether because of Soviet pressure or its own fatigue, Viet Nam dropped its insistence that a fall pullout could take place only if all aid to the forces opposing its puppet government in Phnom Penh, including those of Prince Norodom Sihanouk and the murderous Khmer Rouge, was simultaneously halted. Kampuchea reserved the right to seek "assistance" once more if such aid continued, but many analysts believe Hanoi is more interested in concentrating on its own sadly deteriorated economy. The Vietnamese hope their withdrawal will ultimately open up economic links to the U.S., which has long made their departure a condition...
Pushing diplomacy along, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, who ruled Kampuchea from 1953 to 1970, may have dropped his demand that the Hanoi-backed regime be dismantled before a new national-unity government could be installed. As leader of the main non-Communist rebel faction, Sihanouk has a strong claim to at least a symbolic leadership post in a new government after the Vietnamese pull...
...eyes of the world." Its political comeback would be acutely embarrassing to Washington. In supporting the non-Communist members of the rebel coalition, the U.S. has at least indirectly backed the Khmer Rouge as well. But Washington hopes to undercut the Khmer Rouge by boosting aid to Sihanouk. Diplomats in Beijing believe that China is ready to accept the "decapitation" of the Khmer Rouge, permitting it to take part in a national-unity government but barring its infamous leaders from holding power...