Hun Sen hopes for full ASEAN admission soon
Hun Sen hopes for full ASEAN admission soon
HANOI (AFP): Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen hopes his country can be admitted into ASEAN soon, comparing the process to a wedding ceremony for a registered marriage, an official army newspaper said here on Thursday.
"We hope that the admission of Cambodia will happen soon and as was decided by ASEAN leaders, the ceremony will take place in Hanoi," Hun Sen said in an interview with the Quan Doi Nhan Dan newspaper.
"When one weds, it is generally necessary to register the marriage. Now we already have the certificate and we are just awaiting the ceremony," he added.
On Wednesday, the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations announced their decision to admit Cambodia in the Hanoi Declaration communique issued after their two-day summit here.
The document, however, did not set a date for the admission, and ASEAN ministers said the timing depended on how quickly Cambodia can set up a senate to bolster political stability after months of turbulence.
Cambodia was to have joined ASEAN in July 1997 along with Laos and Myanmar but its admission was put on hold after Hun Sen ousted then co-premier Prince Norodom Ranariddh amid fierce fighting between their forces in Phnom Penh.
Officials said Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines wanted more time to consider Cambodia's entry pending further political developments in Phnom Penh after the recent installation of a new coalition led by Hun Sen.
They see the formation of a senate as a key element of the power-sharing deal between Hun Sen and his former rival Prince Ranariddh.
Several ASEAN foreign ministers on Wednesday said the timing of the actual ceremony remained an open question, despite the position taken by Hun Sen and Vietnam that it is a done deal. Once foreign ministers agree to formally admit Cambodia, they will meet to organize a ceremony in Hanoi.
Hun Sen said lack of time between an agreement reached among the leaders on the eve of the summit which opened the next day prevented organizers from arranging a ceremony.
"We did not want protocol formalities to interfere with the leaders of ASEAN who needed to concentrate on economic and financial questions," he told the paper.
"What is most important is that we, the Cambodians, are very satisfied with what we obtained in Hanoi.
"The Cambodian government was only formed 16 days ago but Cambodia has become a member of the UN and achieved its entry into ASEAN."
ASEAN groups Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.