Asean calls for ceasefire

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The Nation July 9th
Asean calls for ceasefire 



Ranariddh's aide killed in custody 

The Nation, Agencies 

ASEAN yesterday called for an immediate ceasefire in Cambodia and urged 
the warring prime ministers to settle their differences peacefully. 

But as the fighting in Phnom Penh died down, the head-hunting for 
opposition leaders began. 

While Ranariddh, who is in exile in Paris, renewed his pledge to share 
power with the victorious Hun Sen by requesting France and Japan to act 
as mediators, his close aide, Ho Sok, the Interior Ministry's secretary 
of state, was killed in Phnom Penh while in the custody of Hun Sen 
royalists. 

His death immediately raised fresh fears of a wave of summary executions 
to wipe out the opposition. 

An Asean statement issued in Kuala Lumpur said that the grouping is 
dismayed by and deeply regrets the unfortunate turn of events in 
Cambodia, resulting in the loss of innocent lives of both Cambodian 
citizens and foreigners. 

Asean foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting tomorrow in Kuala 
Lumpur to discuss the situation in Cambodia and its admission to Asean. 

Cambodia is expected to join Laos and Burma as members of Asean when its 
foreign ministers meet later this month to commemorate the 30th 
anniversary of the grouping. 

The statement urged Cambodia's two warring prime ministers ''to abide by 
the terms of the [1991] Paris Peace Accords" which ended two decades of 
civil war. Senior foreign officials and diplomats based here rushed to 
the Foreign Ministry for consultations. During a meeting with senior 
Foreign Ministry officials yesterday, Roland Eng, Cambodian ambassador 
to Thailand, appealed for humanitarian assistance for the Cambodian 
people and for those along the Thai border. Lakhan Mehrotra, the UN 
secretary-general's representative in Cambodia, met Foreign Minister 
Prachuab Chaiyasan yesterday. He said that he looked forward to the 
results of the emergency Asean meeting and expressed the hope that all 
the concerned parties would commit themselves to peace and 
reconciliation in Cambodia. 

He added that the UN would like to see the international community help 
Cambodia return to the peace process as devised by the Paris peace 
conference in 1991. 

Meanwhile, Cambodians in the northwestern part of the country are 
preparing to flee to Thailand, according to aid workers from Banteay 
Meancheay who arrived in Aranyaprathet yesterday. 

''The situation in Sispohon is very scary and quiet. It looks like 
nobody is living there. People just stay indoors. Most of them are 
packing their bags and are ready to escape to Thailand if the fighting 
reaches the areas," said Suthiphong Yaemsa-nga of the Sisophon based 
non-governmental organisation COERR. 

Sisophon is about 45 kilometres from the border checkpoint in 
Aranyaprathet, near Sra Kaew province. 

Suthiphong said Banteay Meacnheay is now controlled by troops loyal to 
Ranariddh. The troops wearing red scarves, have set up checkpoints along 
Route 5, where they stop and inspect every passing vehicle. 

People in the border town of Poi Pet, opposite Aranyapathet, are also 
ready to flee to Thailand. Cross-border trade continued yesterday but 
the volume of trade was much less. 


"THERE WILL BE NO REAL DEMOCRACY IF WE CAN'T GURANTEE THE RIGHTS OF THE 
MINORITY ETHNIC PEOPLE.  ONLY UNDERSTANDING THEIR SUFFERING AND HELPING 
THEM TO EXERCISE THEIR RIGHTS WILL ASSIST PREVENTING FROM THE 
DISINTEGRATION AND THE SESESSION."  "WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THEIR 
STRENGTH, WE CAN'T TOPPLE THE SLORC AND BURMA WILL NEVER BE IN PEACE."


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