Ranariddh pardoned, peace plan back on track

Ranariddh pardoned, peace plan back on track

PHNOM PENH (AFP): An international peace plan for Cambodia was back on track yesterday after the king pardoned his son deposed co-premier Prince Norodom Ranariddh, but politicians and diplomats remained cautious about the prospects for fair elections.

The spokesman for the prince's cabinet in exile in Bangkok said yesterday the ousted first prime minister welcomed the pardon as a vital step in the election process.

But the prince himself has made no response and the spokesman said he was still "cautious" about the political climate in Phnom Penh since his violent ouster by powerful Second Prime Minister Hun Sen in July.

"We feel confident that the king's decision can play an important role in bringing peace through national reconciliation in Cambodia," the cabinet spokesman told AFP.

Prince Ranariddh would meet with his top aides here today to decide his FUNCINPEC party's next step, including the date of his possible return to Cambodia, the official said.

A western diplomat said the pardon was "a very positive step forward but there are many more steps to go. I don't want to be overly pessimistic, but there is still a lot that can go wrong."

King Norodom Sihanouk capped a day of confusion and uncertainty late Saturday when he reversed an earlier decision to refuse the pardon -- a key step in the Japanese plan to allow the prince to return home for the July 26 elections -- after a personal appeal from strongman Hun Sen.

First Prime Minister Ung Huot and Hun Sen had left the pardon up to the king after his son was sentenced to 35 years in prison for arms smuggling and colluding with the Khmer Rouge.

The king fearing an uprising against him unless the pardon was specifically approved by the premiers first refused to grant it early Saturday.

But Hun Sen then wrote a second surprise letter to the king. "Today ... I wish to request Your Majesty the King to please pardon completely all punishments ... against Prince Norodom Ranariddh to free him from the court's verdict," Hun Sen said.

"Only this kind of request can show that no one has the intention to block the return and participation in the election of Prince Ranariddh," Hun Sen told the king.

After verifying the request, the king signed the pardon which erased the prince's convictions and overturned an order to pay more than $54 million in compensation for damages incurred during the July street battles fighting that ousted him.

The prince's political ally, dissident Sam Rainsy, hailed the pardon as a victory for Cambodia's opposition and "a major step on the way towards free and fair elections."

"The latest developments clearly show that when democrats around the world stick together, they can force any dictator to back off," Sam Rainsy said in a statement.

But the dissident, echoing the concerns of others, warned the pardon was not a guarantee the polls would be free and fair.

He listed seven points that still needed to be addressed including the investigation into the executions of more than 40 of the prince's supporters over the past eight months, amendments to Cambodia's election and political party laws, and ensuring equal access to the Hun Sen-dominated electronic media.

"We are still not to the point where those are immediate issues to contend with," said a diplomat. "The Japanese plan is just the vehicle to get us to that point and it's incomplete."

Under the plan, the prince's troops must also be re-integrated into the government army and the resistance must cut all its links with the outlawed Khmer Rouge guerrilla faction.