Caution on Cambodia

There is reason to believe that at least two of Cambodia's feuding political parties may sit down together this week, long enough to allow a new parliamentary session to begin. Given Cambodia's recent history of coups and political violence, any evidence of reconciliation should be welcomed. But others should watch carefully before assuming that a genuine political peace is imminent. Hun Sen has engaged in acts of political intimidation in recent days, to the point that any compromise has to be viewed as a product, at least in part, of threats and coercion.

The ugly details are laid out in a recent report from the Untied Nations secretary-general's special representative to Cambodia, Ambassador Thomas Hammarberg. Since a government crackdown against political demonstrators began on Sept. 7, two people have been killed while 16 more bodies have been found floating in rivers and irrigation ditches and in shallow graves around Phnom Penh. Several showed signs of torture, and there is good reason to believe that Cambodian security forces were involved in some cases. The whereabouts of many opposition figures -- students, monks and others -- detained in recent days, is unknown. Mr. Hun Sen has imposed a travel ban on opposition politicians, a grave infringement of freedom given the understandable concerns many of them have for their safety.

The precursor to all of this was a coup that Mr. Hun Sen staged 4 months ago when he overthrew then prime minister, Prince Norodom Ranariddh. The UN, the United States and others worked hard to restore some semblance of democracy and two months ago parliamentary elections took place. Opposition leaders -- Prince Ranariddh and Sam Rainsy -- claimed serious legal violations, but the Hun Sen dominated courts declined to review the allegations. Even by official accounts, though, the two opposition parties together out-polled the ruling machine.

Now Mr. Hun Sen is eager to assemble a coalition government that can win international approval, regaining Cambodia's UN seat and international aid. Prince Ranariddh may go along with this. Many interested governments, weary of Cambodia's problems, are almost as eager to give any coalition the stamp of approval. But they should not embarrass themselves by rushing to embrace a coerced coalition, after they hastened to endorse the election results. The recent killings on the Mekong are reason enough for caution.

-- The Washington Post