King Sihanouk prays for peace

King Sihanouk prays for peace

SIEM REAP, Cambodia (Agencies): Cambodia's King Norodom Sihanouk took part in Buddhist prayers for peace yesterday as sporadic shelling continued around the contested northwestern border town of O'Smach.

Sihanouk, who offered to mediate between his ousted son, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, and the prince's former co-premier, Hun Sen, said he wished Cambodia could be peaceful and united.

"The ceremony is to wish that our nation and people stop fighting," Sihanouk said as he entered a historic royal temple opposite his villa in the center of Siem Reap.

"It is to let our nation enjoy unity again, as during Angkor rule," he said, referring to the 12th century Cambodian empire that had its capital at the nearby Angkor temple complex.

The king released nine turtles in a Buddhist merit-making ritual and said he hoped the Cambodian people could also find freedom and peace.

Despite the king's repeated pleas for peace, fighting continued in Cambodia's northwest yesterday.

Government forces under Hun Sen attacking O'Smach fired intermittent shells at royalist troops loyal to Ranariddh, and their Khmer Rouge guerrilla allies dug in on high ground up against the Thai border, Thai army officers monitoring the fighting in Cambodia said.

One Thai soldier was wounded by a stray bullet fired from inside Cambodia yesterday and Thai forces were on alert to prevent any spillover of fighting onto Thai soil, they said.

Meanwhile, the Phnom Penh government advisers said yesterday Hun Sen had rejected a call by King Norodom Sihanouk to meet representatives of resistance forces to put a halt to isolated fighting.

The high-level advisers said Hun Sen would try to arrange a meeting with King Sihanouk to discuss the plight of the troubled nation, but resistance figures loyal to deposed Ranariddh will not attend.

"Hun Sen's stance is still remaining firm and strong," one close adviser said. "Hun Sen will not agree to informal talks with Prince Ranariddh or his supporters under a mediation of the king."

Sihanouk returned to Cambodia last Friday after months in Beijing, where he was receiving medical treatment.

The king announced Sunday his desire for an end to armed hostilities after repeated calls from ASEAN leaders for a cease- fire as the first step to restoring peace and democratic rule in Cambodia.

After the prayers for peace, Sihanouk said "it's up to him. If he does not accept mediation from me it's okay."

"If His Excellency Hun Sen rejects my proposal, so I have no other idea, you know, to help," he said. "I'm hoping and making prayers."

Second Prime Minister Hun Sen overthrew Ranariddh, his senior co-premier, in early July. After defeating the royalist forces in Phnom Penh, government troops under Hun Sen moved against Ranariddh loyalists in the northwest.

"I don't see Hun Sen compromising with Ranariddh," Cambodian scholar Raoul Jennar told Reuters. "He's clear, he refuses to meet Ranariddh. I don't see him changing his mind."

Another political analyst said Hun Sen would have to be careful in dealing with the highly respected monarch or risk upsetting members of his own political party.

Khmer Rouge political leader Khieu Samphan said yesterday he and his National Solidarity Party supported Sihanouk's efforts to promote peace in Cambodia.