Thai PM vows to assist Cambodia, My

[RANGOONP@xxxxxxx]

TERVIEW-Thai PM vows to assist Cambodia, Myanmar

By Sutin Wannabovorn 

BANGKOK, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Thailand's Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai pledged on
Monday his full support for troubled neighbours Myanmar (Burma) and Cambodia. 

Chuan, 59, appointed last November for a second term, also said his seven-
party coalition was stable enough, despite its slim parliamentary majority, to
stay in office and help the two countries. 

``I am confident that my coalition is stable enough to carry out immediate
tasks ahead,'' Chuan told Reuters in an interview at his office at Government
House. 

The soft-spoken prime minister said his government would help to resolve a
political stalemate in Cambodia, where First Prime Minister Prince Norodom
Ranariddh was ousted after a coup last July by second premier Hun Sen. 

He said Thailand would also play a role in Myanmar, where the ruling military
junta is at political odds with the main opposition led by Nobel laureate Aung
San Suu Kyi, and with the West over the junta's human rights record, he said. 

Thailand, as a member of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN),
had long adhered to the grouping's principle of peaceful co-existence and non-
interference in internal affairs, he said. 

``But within the ASEAN family, there is certain expectation... in the case of
Cambodia, Thailand is a member of the troika (Thailand, Indonesia, and the
Philippines) that has been appointed to look into the issue,'' the premier
said. 

``We are also Cambodia's immediate neighbour, so Thailand will do what it can
to help ensure peace, progress and stability in Cambodia,'' he added. 

Chuan met deposed Prince Norodom Ranariddh last Friday and he pledged his full
support for Ranariddh's planned return to Phnom Penh in early March to
participate in an election. 

Chuan also said he supported Myanmar's roles in any forum attended by ASEAN
members. 

Myanmar was admitted in last July as a full member of the group, joining
Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and
Laos. 

Myanmar is set to participate in the upcoming ASEM-EU summit scheduled to be
held in London in early April but the European Union has expressed its strong
opposition to Myanmar participation. 

A spokesman for the Myanmar ruling military junta, the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC), had urged ASEAN not to bow to EU and western
pressure. 

``We appeal to ASEAN members not to bow to pressure of westerners, otherwise
it will be a bad precedent for the future,'' a government spokesman told
Reuters. 

On Thailand's stance on Myanmar's presence at the summit, Chuan said: ``If the
conference calls for ASEAN's participation as a group, all ASEAN members must
support one another as a group.'' 

``But in the case of bilateral conferences at the summit involving
participation of each individual country, then it would be up to each
individual country to deal with the issue,'' he added. 

On Thai politics, in which multi-party coalitions have rarely survived in
office for more than two years, Chuan voiced confidence that the new Thai
constitution would make politics more stable. 

He said his immediate challenges were to bring the battered Thai economy back
on track and to pass electoral laws as required by the new Thai constitution
to pave the way for future elections. 

``My government did not set a time frame for its tenure or for dissolving
parliament to pave way for elections. But after we are confident that the
economic situation is back on track and that proper preparation is made for
free and fair elections, then we would return power to the people to make
their decision,'' Chuan said. 

Thailand's 16th constitution, drafted to curb ``money politics'' and
government corruption, was promulgated last October. Its organic and electoral
laws are in the process of being drafted. ^REUTERS@ 

08:20 02-16-98

Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.  All rights reserved.  Republication or
redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similiar means, is
expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.  Reuters
shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any
actions taken in reliance thereon.  All active hyperlinks have been inserted
by AOL.