ASEAN ministers may go to Phnom Penh

ASEAN ministers may go to Phnom Penh

By Santi WE Soekanto

PETALING JAYA, Malaysia (JP): Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali
Alatas confirmed the possibility for ASEAN to now extend help to
resolve the political crisis in Cambodia now that Phnom Penh has
accepted its mediation role.

Alatas told a press briefing at the end of the first day of
the two-day ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference, that he had spoken
to Cambodia's Foreign Minister Ung Huot over the telephone who
conveyed yesterday afternoon a message that Second Prime Minister
Hun Sen was welcoming ASEAN's role in the crisis.

"I am still waiting for a written confirmation, but that
means that the three foreign ministers will decide whether and
how we will proceed," he said.

"There is a possibility, but we don't know yet," he added when
asked if the ministers would soon depart for Phnom Penh.

Hun Sen ousted First Prime Minister Norodom Ranariddh earlier
this month. The political takeover ended a delicate coalition
balance and months of bickering between the two premiers.

The turmoil prompted the delay of Cambodia's membership into
ASEAN. The grouping then sent a three-minister team headed by
Alatas to speak to the embattled premiers.

Hun Sen had previously rejected ASEAN's offer but reversed his
stance last Tuesday and said he welcome the association's role in
the crisis. A few days later, however, he again ruled out the
mediation offer.

The confusion that followed was the factor why ASEAN ministers
then decided to wait until Hun Sen issues a clear confirmation on
his stance before proceeding. Ung Huot, who represented Cambodia
as an observer in the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting and the ASEAN
Regional Forum meetings, returned on Sunday to convey the
association's message to Hun Sen amidst reports that Ranariddh
expelled him from his royalist party FUNCINPEC.

Ung Huot had been tipped to replace Ranariddh as co-premier.

In yesterday's conferences, during which ASEAN and its dialog
partners spoke of various international issues, discussion on
Cambodia resurfaced.

Among the countries that expressed their stance on the
political turmoil in Cambodia were Japan, Australia and Canada.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda stated his country's
support for ASEAN's effort in the issue.

"... Japan would like to continue to work with Cambodian
leaders for ameliorating the situation and Japan is prepared to
cooperate with the ASEAN member countries toward that end," Ikeda
said.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said ASEAN can
play a particular role in encouraging not only the return to
stability in Cambodia, but also the fulfillment of the
commitments of Phnom Penh that the coalition government remains.