Cambodian FM says he is resigning

Cambodian FM says he is resigning

PHNOM PENH (Reuter): Cambodian Foreign Minister Prince Norodom
Sirivudh, whose reformist political ally Finance Minister Sam
Rainsy was sacked last week, said yesterday that he is quitting.

"I will present my request (to First Prime Minister Prince
Norodom Ranariddh) to resign," Sirivudh told reporters when he
arrived from Thailand at Phnom Penh's Pochentong airport.

He declined further comment, saying only that he would inform
the prime minister of his decision shortly.

"Even if he says he will resign he can still be persuaded to
stay in his position by Ranariddh," a senior foreign diplomat
told Reuters.

Cambodian lawmakers voted 90-13 in a secret ballot on Thursday
to drop Sam Rainsy, a French-educated intellectual who was
regarded as one of Cambodia's most able and honest
administrators.

The ministers for agriculture and commerce also lost their
jobs in a publicly stated bid to ensure cabinet unity.

There has been speculation for weeks in the Cambodian capital
that Sirivudh would quit as foreign minister if the two co-
premiers Ranariddh and Second Prime Minister Hun Sen dropped the
finance minister.

Both Sirivudh and Sam Rainsy, who campaigned together for the
royalist FUNCINPEC party in the run-up to the May 1993 UN-
sponsored elections, were respected in diplomatic circles for
battling corruption and have often been outspoken on
controversial issues.

Sirivudh is the half-brother of head of state King Norodom
Sihanouk. He has been foreign minister since June 1993 when
FUNCINPEC and the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) agreed to share
power in a coalition government following the elections.