Ranariddh plans March 30 return to Cambodia: Aide<\/p>\n
BANGKOK (Agencies): Ousted Cambodian first premier Prince
\nNorodom Ranariddh plans to return to Cambodia on March 30
\nfollowing his pardon by his father, an aide said yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"He will return on Monday the 30th,\" Kong Vibol told Reuters
\nfrom Ranariddh's residence.<\/p>\n
King Norodom Sihanouk last Saturday granted full amnesty to
\nhis son, who earlier this month was convicted in absentia of
\nsecurity crimes following his ouster in July by co-Premier Hun
\nSen.<\/p>\n
Ranariddh left Phnom Penh before the coup and now is in
\nBangkok. The amnesty cleared the way for the prince to go home
\nand contest the July 26 general elections.<\/p>\n
Two military courts had sentenced Ranariddh to a total of 35
\nyears in jail for smuggling weapons and plotting a coup and
\nordered him to pay more than $50 million in damages from the July
\nfighting between his forces and government troops.<\/p>\n
Kong Vibol, a close aide of the prince, said it had not been
\ndecided where Ranariddh would live when he returned to Phnom
\nPenh. The prince's residence was ransacked last July and Kong
\nVibol said all his belongings were taken.<\/p>\n
Ranariddh met several ambassadors yesterday including Japan's
\nenvoy. Japan brokered the peace deal between Hun Sen and
\nRanariddh that paved the way for the amnesty and the prince's
\nreturn.<\/p>\n
Hiroshi Ota, the Japanese ambassador to Thailand, said after
\nmeeting Ranariddh that Japan was concerned about the prince's
\nsafety when he returns to Phnom Penh.<\/p>\n
\"We have concern that the safe return of the prince to
\nCambodia and the safe conduct of political campaigns,\" he told
\nreporters outside Ranariddh's residence.<\/p>\n
Ranariddh narrowly won the last election in 1993 but agreed to
\na power-sharing coalition when Hun Sen contested the results.
\nOta said the Cambodian government needed to ensure Ranariddh's
\nsafe return and allow a political campaign before the elections
\nscheduled for July.<\/p>\n
\"The primary responsibility rests with the Cambodian
\ngovernment and the United Nations will monitor such measures,\" he
\nsaid. \"So that is the framework of securing the safe return and
\nthe (safe) political campaign of the prince.\"<\/p>\n
Ota said he was \"cautiously optimistic\" that free and fair
\nelections could be held.<\/p>\n
In Phnom Penh, the government said yesterday that it did not
\nintend to provide any special treatment or protection for next
\nweek's planned return of Ranariddh.<\/p>\n
\"Prince Ranariddh's return is not the return of a prime
\nminister, it is only the return of the head of one political
\nparty ... so we will not have the red carpet for him,\" said
\ninterior ministry spokesman Khieu Sohpeak.<\/p>\n
\"But of course, the royal government and the ministry of
\ninterior will take every possible measure to safeguard and
\nprotect Ranariddh as well as any other politician.\"<\/p>\n
More than 40 of the prince's supporters were executed
\nfollowing his ouster, but the government has given assurances to
\nthe UN that the safety and security of the prince and other
\nopposition politicians will be protected.<\/p>\n
There was no immediate reaction to the announcement of the
\nreturn from powerful Second Prime Minister Hun Sen, who
\neffectively ousted the prince but cleared the way for his return
\nby appealing to King Norodom Sihanouk to grant a pardon erasing
\nPrince Ranariddh's convictions on two criminal counts.<\/p>\n
\"There is nothing to say,\" said Prak Sokhon, a senior advisor
\nto Hun Sen. \"Hun Sen himself asked the king for the pardon, so of
\ncourse he is welcome.\"<\/p>",
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