Albright's canceled Cambodia visit

Cambodia is a place of mystery, where nothing can be taken at face value. One day, news reports say Khmer Rouge strongman Pol Pot is dead. The next, he is said to be alive and under guard by his former allies.

One thing that can be taken at face value is the fact that security considerations led to United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright postponing her visit there. Of course, there will always be some people who will refuse to take such news items at face value. After all, Mrs. Albright is a feisty lady, who has toured a number of danger spots as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and as secretary of state. If she were to make a habit of canceling overseas visits for security reasons, she would never go anywhere except Canada.

Surely, U.S. security officers are capable of cordoning off a safe area for her. Or, failing that, she would be able to hold meetings in Phnom Penh airport.

But Cambodia's First Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh has already answered that question by suggesting that such a visit would break the rules of protocol. The skeptics may also point out that security considerations did not prevent special envoys from France and Japan from visiting Cambodia. But special envoys are not bound by the same rules of protocol as U.S. secretaries of state.

The French and Japanese diplomats, on a mission endorsed by a weekend summit of industrialized democracies, held separate meetings with the country's squabbling prime ministers in a bid to end the political tension crippling the government.

Meanwhile, Major General Tom Sombol, a top military adviser to Prince Ranariddh has said: "Pol Pot has not been captured yet and he has not surrendered yet."

But we have to remember that Cambodia is a place of mystery, where nothing can be taken at face value.

-- The Hong Kong Standard