Hun Sen meets with Thai PM
Hun Sen meets with Thai PM
BANGKOK (Reuters): Cambodian leader Hun Sen told Thai premier
Chuan Leekpai yesterday he would reintegrate fighters loyal to
deposed co-premier Prince Norodom Ranariddh into the armed forces
quickly in the interests of peace, a Thai official said.
Hun Sen, who arrived in Bangkok earlier yesterday, met Chuan
for two hours of talks which also covered bilateral relations
between the neighbors, the official said.
"Prime Minister Hun Sen assured (Chuan) that he will
reintegrate the forces (of Ranariddh) in a safe and dignified way
to create an atmosphere of safety in Cambodia," Foreign Ministry
spokesman Kobsak Chutikul told reporters.
Forces loyal to Ranariddh began battling government troops
under Second Prime Minister Hun Sen last July when Hun Sen ousted
the prince, his coalition partner and senior co-premier.
Both sides ordered their forces to stop fighting on Feb. 27 as
the first step in a Japanese-brokered peace plan for Cambodia.
The plan also calls for the reintegration of the prince's men
back into the government army.
Kobsak said Hun Sen told Chuan he would try to reintegrate
Ranariddh's men as quickly as possible and their return would
facilitate the safe return to Cambodia of some 87,000 refugees
now in Thailand.
About 17,000 Cambodians have fled to Thailand over recent days
as Cambodian government forces attacked the remnants of the Khmer
Rouge guerrilla group along the country's northern border with
Thailand.
Hun Sen told Chuan that Ranariddh's men would all receive pay
back-dated to when they broke ranks to support the prince, Kobsak
said.
The fate of Ranariddh's forces has been a sticking point in
the Japanese peace plan and the fact the prince still controls an
armed force could scuttle his chances of taking part in a general
election scheduled for July 26.
Under the Japanese plan, Ranariddh's forces must give up the
territory they control in the northwest and reintegrate into the
government army.
Cambodian law forbids political parties from controlling
territory and maintaining military forces, but Ranariddh's men
are still in their strongholds on the Thai border.
The commander of forces loyal to Ranariddh, Gen. Nhiek Bun
Chhay, said yesterday his deputy, Gen. Khan Savoeun, was due to
travel to Phnom Penh today to discuss a permanent truce with the
government and the reintegration of the prince's troops.