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.