Hun Sen warns SE Asian nations over entry deferral

Hun Sen warns SE Asian nations over entry deferral

PHNOM PENH (AFP): Cambodian leader Hun Sen sent a veiled
warning to his Southeast Asian neighbors yesterday saying they
had made a big mistake in rejecting his country's bid to join the
group.

"I told them that the ball is at their feet," Hun Sen said,
referring to the recent visit here of three foreign ministers
from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

"Whether (ASEAN) plays that ball or passes it to others to
play (is your own decision)," he said in a Khmer-language
interview with Radio France International also broadcast on
Cambodian radio.

"We have to know whether ASEAN needs us or whether we need
another," he said hinting that Phnom Penh may be forced to look
beyond its immediate neighbors for support and investment.

ASEAN on Wednesday again rejected Cambodia's last-minute
appeal for full membership amid the political uncertainty caused
by Hun Sen's ouster of First Prime Minister Prince Norodom
Ranariddh earlier this month.

"ASEAN has made a big mistake," Hun Sen said yesterday, adding
the group had not allowed enough time for the new political
realities on the ground to take shape.

He later conceded the group had a role to play in restoring
stability to Cambodia, but he warned against interference in its
affairs.

"My idea is that we accept an ASEAN role for stability and
peace for Cambodia, but (ASEAN) cannot (interfere) in the
internal affairs of Cambodia, " he said after a weekly cabinet
meeting.

"We need the role of ASEAN and now we can wait to join ASEAN.
We are waiting for ASEAN to decide (to admit Cambodia) next
time."

Diplomats and analysts have noted that since ASEAN first took
the decision to freeze Cambodia's membership on July 10, Hun Sen
has made several overtures to China including ordering the
closure of Taiwan's representative office here and canceling a
deal with a Taiwanese airline.

ASEAN is known to be concerned about Beijing's growing
influence in its backyard and the "ASEAN 10" concept was
initiated largely to protect against the possible overpowering of
the region by China.

On Wednesday ASEAN admitted Myanmar and Laos into their group
swelling their ranks to nine.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday after
the opening of the annual ministerial meeting in Kuala Lumpur
that Cambodia could be admitted by the end of the year.

"Well, it is possible," Mahathir told reporters when asked
whether strife-torn Cambodia could join by the end of 1997.

Malaysia, chairperson of ASEAN for 1997, will host the summit
meeting of group leaders in December and was anxious to ensure
its earlier plan of an ASEAN-10 bore fruit by then, officials
said.

Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts continued apace to resolve the
crisis as U.S. special envoy Stephen Solarz held talks yesterday
with Thai Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh in Bangkok.

Prince Ranariddh also met Solarz in Bangkok, after talks in
Jakarta with Indonesian President Soeharto as part of his tour
aimed at drumming up support to restore him to power.

"The U.S. wants to work very closely with Thailand and ASEAN
in seeking a resolution to the Cambodian problem," Solarz told
reporters after the meeting.

Prince Ranariddh has also called on UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan to order a UN investigation into the torture and deaths of
party cadres allegedly on the orders of Hun Sen.

In a letter to the UN chief released in New York, the prince
urged Annan's special representative on human rights in Cambodia,
Thomas Hammerberg, to "investigate the killings and torture in
custody committed by the order of Samdech Hun Sen against
FUNCINPEC cadres".

According to UN officials, up to 40 Cambodians in leadership
positions of the coalition government have been reportedly
killed, since the July 5-July 6 fighting.

The prince is also planning a trip to Beijing to visit his
ailing father King Norodom Sihanouk, the king said in a
statement.