Cambodia in unceremoniously<\/p>\n
By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat<\/p>\n
HANOI (JP): Leaders and officials of the Association of
\nSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) insisted on Wednesday that
\nCambodia was now a member of the grouping despite the
\nunceremonious nature of its admission.<\/p>\n
Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Man Camh said the leaders
\nmade a \"very clear and definite decision\" during the dinner
\nmeeting here on Monday night to admit Cambodia.<\/p>\n
\"So everybody should consider Cambodia as the 10th member of
\nASEAN,\" he asserted.<\/p>\n
He contended that there was only the \"procedural issue\" of an
\nacceptance ceremony left.<\/p>\n
\"The leaders have instructed their foreign ministers to
\norganize of the admission ceremony which will be held in Hanoi,\"
\nCamh told journalists.<\/p>\n
Cambodia's admission was the most contentious issue in the
\nrun-up to the sixth ASEAN summit which began on Tuesday in Hanoi.<\/p>\n
During presummit meetings, ministers were split on whether to
\nadmit Cambodia during the summit.<\/p>\n
Cambodia was initially due to join in July 1997 along with
\nLaos and Myanmar, but domestic political turmoil, which climaxed
\nwith the ouster of copremier Prince Norodom Ranariddh by Hun Sen,
\nforced ASEAN to delay the Phnom Penh government's entry to the
\nregional grouping.<\/p>\n
With the formation of a coalition government in Phnom Penh
\nlast month, Cambodia was again staking a claim for entry.<\/p>\n
Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines were adamant that
\nentry should be postponed pending further political developments
\nin Cambodia.<\/p>\n
Host Vietnam and Indonesia were strong proponents of
\nCambodia's early admission.<\/p>\n
The apparent compromise to accept but delay the formal
\nadmission ceremony allowed all parties, including Cambodian
\nPremier Hun Sen who is in Hanoi, to save face and maintain their
\nrespective positions.<\/p>\n
The fact, however, remains that during the opening ceremony
\nHun Sen was not seated with the other leaders and given a front
\nrow seat in the audience in his status as special observer.<\/p>\n
Welcome<\/p>\n
Indonesian President B.J. Habibie made no qualms about
\nwelcoming Cambodia into ASEAN in his statement at the opening
\nceremony.<\/p>\n
\"May I seize this opportunity to join my colleagues in warmly
\nwelcoming the Kingdom of Cambodia to the ASEAN family as a full
\nmember,\" said Habibie who late Monday night was given the task to
\ninform Hun Sen of ASEAN's decision.<\/p>\n
Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai, in his address at the
\nopening ceremony, welcomed the decision to admit Cambodia but
\nhinted that full admission was still pending a formal ceremony.<\/p>\n
\"We in Thailand look forward to the special meeting of the
\nASEAN foreign ministers in Hanoi where the long-held aspiration
\nof an ASEAN-10 will finally be fulfilled,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Camh told journalists later that the formal acceptance
\nceremony could be held in two to four weeks.<\/p>\n
Sources here divulged a statement proclaiming the admission of
\nCambodia had been added as the second-point of the Hanoi
\nDeclaration which will be adopted at the end of the summit on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
Officials here would not say whether during the \"preparations\"
\nfor the acceptance ceremony Cambodia would be required to fulfill
\ncertain domestic requirements, such as the establishment of a
\nsenate.<\/p>\n
Camh said Hun Sen \"had reassured ASEAN leaders that all
\nconditions for Cambodia's admission had been met\".<\/p>\n
\"Those assurances have led to the decision that the leaders
\nhave made,\" Camh added.<\/p>\n
Some Cambodians, however, gave different reactions to the
\nunceremonious admission of their country into ASEAN.<\/p>\n
An executive director of the Cambodian Institute for
\nCooperation and Peace, Kao Kim Hourn, was quoted by the
\nAssociated Press as saying on Tuesday that the military
\nconfrontation that shook Phnom Penh 17 months ago when Ranariddh
\nwas deposed might have been too fresh in the memories of some
\nASEAN leaders.<\/p>\n
\"A delay is a delay. Membership has been delayed with an ASEAN
\nway of face-saving, but in the end it shows that there was no
\nconsensus,\" Kim Hourn said.<\/p>\n
Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy, a close ally of
\nRanariddh, said in a statement released on Tuesday that he
\nwelcomed ASEAN's decision to delay Cambodia's membership. Sam
\nRainsy said concerns of stability in the new Cambodian coalition
\naired by Thailand, Singapore and Thailand were legitimate.<\/p>\n
\"The timing of this admission must depend on Cambodia's
\nstability, a satisfactory and equitable resolution of power-
\nsharing issues, the maturation of effective legal institutions,
\nthe rule of law and respect for human rights,\" the statement said
\nin part.<\/p>",
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