ASEAN wants UN to keep Cambodian truce

ASEAN wants UN to keep Cambodian truce

MANILA (Agencies): The Association of South East Asian Nations
(ASEAN) urged the United Nations yesterday to oversee Cambodia's
fragile cease-fire.

Both the government forces of Hun Sen and fighters loyal to
deposed co-premier Prince Norodom Ranariddh declared a cease-fire
on Feb. 28.

"The cease-fire, which is holding now, should be...through the
facilitation of the United Nations Secretary General's good
office, through his representative office in Phnom Penh," Thai
Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan told reporters.

Surin was speaking after talks with his Indonesian and
Philippine counterparts, who are leading ASEAN efforts to try to
resolve the bitter Cambodian dispute and ensure a planned July 26
general election goes ahead.

The government of strongman Hun Sen said on Thursday that the
opposition had violated the truce eight times over the last week
and that two government soldiers were wounded in clashes.

"We took into account the possibility of the United Nations
also playing a role in ensuring that the two unilateral
declarations of cease-fire may continue," Philippine Foreign
Secretary Domingo Siazon told reporters.

Siazon met with senior diplomats of fellow ASEAN members
Indonesia and Thailand here to review the progress of the
organization's efforts to ensure free, fair and credible
elections in troubled would-be member Phnom Penh.

He praised the unilateral cease-fire declarations of the
forces of Ranariddh and Second Prime Minister Hun Sen, who ousted
Ranariddh in bloody street battles in Phnom Penh last July.

The ASEAN troika had called for the participation of Ranariddh
in the polls.

"The troika believes that it would be useful for the UN to
play a role in that," he said, referring to the cease-fire
monitoring.

"We have asked the Friends of Cambodia to consider requesting
together with us, the Secretary General and authorize him or the
UN office in Cambodia to play a role in the implementation of the
cease-fire," he added.

The Friends of Cambodia groups the United States, Japan and
other Western powers. Senior officials met with their ASEAN
counterparts here yesterday to discuss international aid to the
Cambodian elections.