Defiant Hun Sen rejects ASEAN peace plan

Defiant Hun Sen rejects ASEAN peace plan

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP): A peace mission to Cambodia failed yesterday when defiant Hun Sen flatly rejected outside mediation, and the country's exiled prince warned that a full-blown civil war could break out.

Hun Sen's refusal to accept a peace proposal by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - which would have required him to share power - brought the initiative to a halt.

Hun Sen met for almost two hours with foreign ministers from Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia to discuss Cambodia's turmoil in the wake of bloody conflict.

The ministers, who were representing the seven-nation ASEAN, had hoped to convince Hun Sen to relinquish total control in favor of a caretaker government until elections can be held.

"We think that at present the royal government does not need ASEAN to take part in helping solve the issue," Hun Sen's spokesman Svay Sitha said.

Hun Sen's exiled rival, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, reacted by warning that a new and terrible civil war could engulf his already violence-ravaged country, but he stopped short of calling for an armed resistance.

He said some 20,000 armed troops remained in Cambodia ready to fight Hun Sen, but indicated they lacked ammunition.

"I am really afraid that we are stepping into a new civil war that will be terrible in terms of loss of human life and in terms of destruction," Ranariddh told reporters in Bangkok, Thailand.

The prince said he preferred political pressure to resolve Cambodia's problems. He announced the formation of a Union of Cambodian Democrats, consisting of four former opposition parties, which pledged "a non-violent, diplomatic solution to the current crisis."

Hun Sen has faced growing international scorn after deposing co-premier Ranariddh and leaving dozens in the capital dead early this month.

Ranariddh on Friday agreed to call off his armed resistance as part of the ASEAN deal. His forces have suffered a series of battlefield defeats and it is unlikely they could mount an effective military threat against Hun Sen in the foreseeable future.

At the press conference yesterday, Ranariddh said he was not currently heading an organized resistance. He said that given the "executions, murders, killings committed by Hun Sen, the people of Cambodia ... do not have any choice but to resist and organize as a resistance."

Hun Sen has repeatedly called Ranariddh a criminal who fled the country, rejected claims the prince was deposed in a military coup.

"Hun Sen clearly told the ASEAN delegation that the issue we have in Cambodia is not a political nor a military one," Svay Sitha said. "It is a legal one."

Smiling and relaxed, Hun Sen greeted the visiting dignitaries at the Council of Ministers building in Phnom Penh.

"We were given quite a clear indication that His Excellency Hun Sen believes that ASEAN at this stage should not contribute to finding a solution," Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas told reporters after the meeting. "ASEAN will only assume a contributing role if all sides are willing."

Another diplomatic effort has been launched by Washington, which said Friday it will not accept Hun Sen's takeover and plans to confront him in Phnom Penh.

U.S. envoy

U.S. envoy Stephen Solarz is flying to Asia this weekend to rally support for the U.S. position from several countries and Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk.

Solarz is likely to face the same defiance from Hun Sen. Just days after Hun Sen ousted Ranariddh, ASEAN voted to delay Cambodia's membership in the regional economic bloc. It also includes Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.

Hun Sen asked the organization to reconsider its decision, saying it had been made in haste, his spokesman said.

The ASEAN foreign ministers put forward a four-point proposal aimed at ending the crisis in Cambodia. It called for ending fighting, installing a caretaker government to prepare for new elections and acceptance by both sides of peace accords that led to UN-organized balloting in 1993.

Hun Sen has threatened to arrest Ranariddh if he returns to Phnom Penh, accusing him of negotiating with final remnants of the Khmer Rouge guerrilla group to launch a terror campaign.

Both Hun Sen and Ranariddh have wooed the loyalties of thousands of former Khmer Rouge rebels who defected in the past year.