Cambodia: No Asean membership witho

[altsean@xxxxxxxxxx]

The Star Friday, September 26, 1997

No membership without peace, Cambodia told

NEW YORK: Asean wants Cambodia to become its 10th member as soon as
possible, but not before Phnom Penh achieves real peace, Foreign Minister
Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said on Wednesday. 

He said Asean could not accept Cambodia yet because there was still fighting
between the factions there. 

The Asean troika of foreign ministers from Indonesia, Thailand and the
Philippines had a 90-minute meeting with Cambodian Foreign Minister Ung Huot
here on Wednesday. 

They later briefed their counterparts from Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei,
Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos on the meeting and the latest developments in
Cambodia. 

The meeting was to obtain an understanding on several matters that needed to
be done to restore peace and stability in Cambodia, Abdullah told reporters
here. 

He said Asean was still in contact with the Phnom Penh government and the
other factions to make the necessary preparations for the elections
scheduled in May. 

Asean was also willing to offer whatever technical assistance it could, he
added. 

Asked whether Asean would meet ousted first prime minister Prince Norodom
Ranariddh in New York, he said Asean had no problem meeting him because the
Asean mission included meeting all the warring factions. 

Second Prime Minister Hun Sen had ousted Ranariddh in a coup earlier this
year, claiming that Ranariddh was cooperating with the Khmer Rouge, noted
for their atrocities when they were in power in Cambodia. 

Abdullah said Asean also welcomed the United Nations secretary-general's
proposal to revamp the world body. The Asean ministers are here to attend
the 52nd UN General Assembly. 

He said Malaysia was prepared to take an active part in the debate on
restructuring the UN and "if a decision can be made this year, it is a
success for us all." 

He conceded that a revamp of the Security Council was "very difficult"
because of opposing views from the developed and developing nations. 

Abdullah also updated his colleagues on the preparations for December's
Asean Informal Summit in Malaysia. ? Bernama
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