Thai's PM Chuan to meet exiled Ranariddh<\/p>\n
BANGKOK (AFP): Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai is due to
\nmeet Cambodia's ousted Premier Prince Norodom Ranariddh for talks
\non the strife-torn country later this week, Foreign Minister
\nSurin Pitsuwan said yesterday.<\/p>\n
The long-mooted meeting will come just ahead of a meeting of
\nthe Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) troika of
\ncountries trying to broker a peace deal between Cambodia's
\nwarring factions, he added.<\/p>\n
"On Feb. 12, the prime minister will meet with Prince
\nRanariddh," Surin said yesterday before leaving for Indonesia,
\none of the three members of the Friends of Cambodia troika.
\nThailand and the Philippines are the other two.<\/p>\n
Chuan has said that Thailand is willing to mediate between
\nCambodia's warring factions, despite difficulties getting both
\nsides to the negotiating table.<\/p>\n
Cambodia was thrown into turmoil last July when powerful
\nSecond Premier Hun Sen ousted the prince after a weekend of
\nviolence in Phnom Penh.<\/p>\n
Since then the forces of the two rivals have been battling it
\nout for control of pockets of the northwest of the country.<\/p>\n
The prince, who was out of Cambodia when the July fighting
\nerupted, is living in exile in Bangkok, while members of the
\ninternational community have appealed for him to be allowed to
\nreturn without fear of conviction.<\/p>\n
Hun Sen, who has accepted an invitation from Chuan to visit
\nBangkok, has said he has no interest in meeting the prince for
\ntalks.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, former Khmer Rouge deputy premier Ieng Sary has
\nreturned to Phnom Penh for only the second time since the
\nguerrillas were ousted from power in 1979.<\/p>\n
Pol Pot's former foreign minister and brother-in-law, who
\nsplit from the hardline central leadership two years ago and now
\ncooperates with Phnom Penh, arrived in the capital on Sunday
\naccompanied by his wife, Khieu Thirith, the sister of Pol Pot's
\nfirst wife, Khieu Ponnary.<\/p>\n
His return also came just one week after two of his top aides
\nofficially joined a new political party,<\/p>\n
Ieng Sary, who had a luncheon meeting with powerful Second
\nPrime Minister Hun Sen yesterday and plans to meet other senior
\nofficials, told reporters that his visit was not politically
\nrelated.<\/p>\n
"I just came to visit the capital and I will stay for a while
\nlonger," he said yesterday, adding: "This is just a family
\nvisit."<\/p>\n
He said he would not stand as a candidate in July's scheduled
\nelection but that members of his Democratic National Union
\nMovement (DNUM) would be running for parliament as members of
\nregistered political parties.<\/p>\n
Surin said yesterday that the fact that several countries in
\nthe world community wanted to take part in helping to resolve
\nCambodia's problems was a positive development.<\/p>\n
He said three major political and economic forces -- Japan,
\nthe European Union and United States -- were interested in
\nseeking a solution to tensions in Cambodia.<\/p>\n
The European Union has offered conditional aid to pay for
\nelections planned for Cambodia in July, while Japan is thought to
\nhave a peace plan in the pipeline.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/thais-pm-chuan-to-meet-exiled-ranariddh-1447893297",
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