Constructive intervention?

Given our traditional respect for convention, it seems almost like blasphemy to be even talking about the possibility of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) intervening in Cambodia. Nonintervention in the domestic affairs of others, after all, is a principle of international politics and diplomacy which is honored not only by the nations of this region, but the world over.

And yet, it is precisely this particular aspect, more than any other, that has attracted the attention of outsiders in the relationship between ASEAN and Cambodia in the wake of what has happened in that country in the past few weeks. Most of us in this region hesitate to call the ousting of Cambodia's First Prime Minister Norodom Ranariddh by Second Prime Minister Hun Sen, a coup d'etat. Here again, our traditional respect for the sensitivities of others is apparent.

But the inescapable point is that, coup or no coup, Hun Sen's move has in one single stroke replunged Cambodia into turmoil by demolishing whatever progress had been achieved through much painstaking effort by the United Nations and individual countries, including Indonesia and other ASEAN members.

It took a good deal of time and tireless diplomatic effort on the part of those countries concerned to persuade Cambodia's warring factions to lay down their arms and sit down at the negotiating table to work out a peace agreement that would end two decades of bloody internal strife and enable the country to mobilize its resources for the more charitable purpose of development.

Little wonder that the latest turn of events has appalled the world, particularly Cambodia's neighbors. Not only does all the time, effort and money that has been spent seem to have been in vain, the renewed turmoil in Cambodia threatens to upset the region's stability and progress and spillover into neighboring countries.

The concern which the world has shown over Cambodia in the past decade was, after all, not merely born of compassion. In today's increasingly interdependent world, no country can afford to assume the role of an unconcerned spectator while war is consuming another. The risks are all the more apparent when the turmoil threatens one of the world's most dynamic regions: Southeast Asia.

In light of all this, ASEAN's grave concern over the situation in Cambodia is wholly understandable. Equally understandable is its decision to defer the country's admission into the grouping while keeping the door open pending a solution of the country's problems. So, too, is its offer to mediate a solution.

But that, of course, is looking at the problem from our own point of view. Others may disagree. Hun Sen, for one, is not too happy with ASEAN's concern over his actions. He has warned ASEAN in no uncertain words not to meddle, and to stay out of what he considers to be Cambodia's internal affairs.

But is this intervention? Opinions may differ. ASEAN, after all, has not actually interceded in the conflict between Hun Sen and Ranariddh. But when one considers the fact that many people in this region regard sanctions, or even vocal criticism of the situation in Myanmar, as intervention, then it would be hard to escape the impression that our own actions toward Cambodia can, indeed, be regarded as a form of intervention.

In any case, the time may have come for this region to take the bull by the horns and consider both the possibilities and the implications of what the Malaysians call "constructive intervention". In some cases a well-intentioned departure from the time-honored principle of strict nonintervention may be warranted.