Present-day Cambodia: Is it a divided house?

By J. Soedjati Djiwandono

PHNOM PENH (JP): I would not call present-day Cambodia a divided nation, certainly not in the sense that the Koreans have been for almost half a century. But it almost bears that classification.

When the Khmer Rouge were determined not to take part in the election administered by the United Nations -- due to the alleged continued presence of Vietnamese troops and because they objected to the rejection of their demand that the Vietnamese-created government of Phnom Penh of Hun Sen be eliminated -- some foreign leaders, particularly the Indonesian and Australian foreign ministers, went so far as to project a possible division of Cambodia.

Predictably, although the country has not become divided, a conflict situation prevails in spite of the election, or perhaps precisely because of the nature of the election -- a forced one. The impression has been that the United Nations, through the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia, was not there to help create and maintain peace, but to have an election held not matter what, at all costs. Apparently it was hoped that the election would result in peace; certainly a case of naive wishful thinking.

One might have wondered whether the United Nations was in Cambodia just to see that an election was held no matter what, or to help settle the conflict peacefully as required by the Paris agreement, thereby creating peace for the nation.

As I told the BBC shortly before the election, with the Khmer Rouge staying out of it, armed conflict, or even war was very likely to flare up again. And this has happened, even though limited and sporadic in nature.

Of course force may win in politics, domestic or international, though that is not necessarily right. But even this cannot be resorted to against the recalcitrant, rebellious Khmer Rouge by the Royal Cambodian government now in power.

The Khmer Rouge is just one bone of contention between the different elements of the Royal Government of Cambodia. But it is an important issue because of its international implications. The issue is unique. It is to some extent a matter of international legality.

In spite of the internationally condemned record of genocide by the Khmer Rouge, they enjoyed support from the international community as a member of the then Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea. This is because, from the point of view of international law, the Khmer Rouge was considered a victim of "Vietnamese aggression".

In my mind, however, the Cambodian people have a lot to be grateful to the Vietnamese for. I remember mentioning this point to Dr. Heng Ngor, when I met him in Gentings Highland, Malaysia, a few years ago. Dr. Ngor said, "Yes indeed, but the Vietnamese should then leave us alone!"

That somewhat ambivalent attitude now seems to be shared by the Cambodian government and the international community. Although Australia has been somewhat consistently against the Khmer Rouge from the beginning, its recent row with the Thai government over what to do about the Khmer Rouge, seems to be a manifestation of that ambivalence. The Australian government is suggesting military aid to the Cambodian government, apparently with the aim of enabling the latter to defeat and eliminate the Khmer Rouge.

In my view, however, the problem of internal stability and national reconciliation and unity should be the primary, if not the sole, responsibility of the Cambodians. The initial intervention of external powers and later the international community, represented by the United Nations, has not done as much toward resolving the Cambodian conflict as hoped.

National reconciliation and unity are the main challenges of the present-day Cambodia. Even barring armed conflict, particularly the use of military force against the Khmer Rouge, the question remains as to whether the Cambodians can forget and forgive the past for the sake of their own future?

A United Nations official told me that one source of Cambodia's present imbroglio is the election itself, in which the strongest faction was too weak to win a clear majority, and the weakest faction too strong to suffer total defeat.

The Khmer Rouge resent the fact that the present coalition government has been divided, 50-50, between FUNCINCPEC (the National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia) and the CPP (Cambodian People's Party), despite the large majority won by the former.

This division may be understandable in view of the fact that while the second Prime Minister Hun Sen has had some experience in government, the First Prime Minister Prince Ranariddh does not. Hence the unique nature of the Royal Cambodian Government: It has two prime ministers without a clear division of labor, resulting in a number of overlappings and duplications. It is indecisive on a number of issues, such as the role of King Norodom Sihanouk. Should he remain a constitutional king or become an executive king?

Despite his advanced age and ill health, as well as long and frequent absence from home, either in Beijing or Pyong Yang, King Sihanouk himself seems ambivalent. This is understandable considering his power, role, and influence in the past, and his well-known mercurial nature.

Just two days before his resignation, I heard from the former foreign minister, Prince Sirivudh, himself that one of the reasons for his resignation was the indecisive attitude of the government regarding the role of the king. He regards the king as the primary uniting factor for the Cambodian people, and feels that the existing government tends to overlook this.

At all events, it is for the Cambodians themselves to decide on this and other issues through whatever mechanisms may be available in their system, democratic or otherwise. The main thing is that the process is peaceful, which is not only in their own interest, but also in the interest of their neighbors.

Perhaps only then will Cambodia be ready to join, or rather to rejoin the region of Southeast Asia, preferably through membership in ASEAN.

The writer is a member of the board of directors at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who visited Cambodia recently.