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Cambodia's new challenges in As
- Subject: Cambodia's new challenges in As
- From: suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 08 Jul 1999 20:12:00
Subject: Cambodia's new challenges in Asean
Editorial & Opinion
Regional Perspective:
Cambodia's new challenges
in Asean
PHNOM PENH -- When Prime Minister Hun
Sen met Asean Secretary General Rodolfo
Severino early this week in Phnom Penh, he
reiterated that Cambodia will uphold the
Asean spirit and solidarity.
It is a very reassuring statement from the
man, who earlier had criticised and made
sarcastic remarks about the grouping.
The meeting between Hun Sen and Severino
was symbolic as it capped the long years and
often rough road that Cambodia took to
associate with Asean one way or another.
When former foreign minister Prince Norodom
Sirivudh attended the Asean meeting in
Singapore in 1993 as guest of the host -- the
first official contact with Asean after the
United Nation-sponsored election a year
earlier -- and said that Cambodia wanted to
join Asean there was immediately a sense of
deja vu. Cambodia would have been the first
of the former Indochinese states to be
admitted into Asean. But as it turned out, it
took six years to fulfil that dream.
Although Cambodia's turbulent relations with
Asean has ended, the country is facing a
double dilemma: how to conduct itself inside
the grouping and fulfil its commitments within
the framework of Asean.
One of the biggest changes in Cambodia
today concerns politics and rhetoric. Hun Sen
is no longer taking up a combative position
against his political opponents at home or
feeling unwanted by the region, which used to
frown upon his leadership.
The extent of political transformation that has
taken place inside Cambodia -- from a petty
Marxist-Stalinist state into an emerging
modern nation with all the symptoms of a
young democracy -- is remarkable.
Of late, Hun Sen has begun to talk about
good governance and transparency,
anti-corruption, democracy and respect for
human rights. Doubtless, as western donor
countries and non-governmental organisations
have repeatedly pointed out, he still has a
long way to go to match his words with
deeds. Nonetheless, the international
community and aid donors consider his verbal
gestures as a good start. They are more
ready than ever before to give him the benefit
of the doubt and expedite their assistance
given the long war-ravaged years the country
has gone through.
Cambodia today is one of the freest
members of Asean. The care-free lifestyles
and freedom of its people have been the envy
of their northern and western neighbours. The
country has all the right ingredients, albeit
fragile, to move forward towards a civil
society. Human rights, citizen and grassroot
organisations have proliferated. Despite
official intimidation, the Cambodian press is
relatively free and critical in serving as a
watchdog. Without doubt, Cambodia needs to
improve a great deal on the rule of law.
As a former Indochinese state, being vibrant
and free can pose a serious problem. Indeed,
Cambodia has been very sensitive in the
handling of its relations with former
ideological allies since the Cambodian conflict
ended. The Cambodian leaders have acted
and talked as if their country's radical political
transformation or ''political correctness'' is an
isolated case and will have no impact on their
friends.
They fear that if they over-emphasis the
political aspect, it will weaken -- if it has not
already happened -- their
several-decades-old fraternal ties. Cambodia
is not ready for that eventuality. For one
thing, the former Indochinese countries had
been through the thick and thin with
Cambodia. They are blood brothers. As far
as Cambodia is concerned, other Asean
countries have yet to reach that threshold.
In a similar vein, they also need to capitalise
on the country's newly found democracy to
garner more international support and attract
foreign investment. Indeed, with a compulsory
quarterly-review by donor countries of their
assistance, Cambodia's future development
path is interlocked with the donors' prevailing
desire for an open and free society.
Another dilemma is how Cambodia can catch
up with Asean activities and commitments.
Although Cambodia has taken longer than
other new Asean members in preparation for
admission, it still has a lot of homework to do.
Cambodia does have sufficient bureaucrats
who are familiar with Asean and its
procedures and working habits. Numerous
officials have been trained in the past four
years at the Jakarta-based Asean
Secretariat and at member countries' national
secretariats. But these experienced
personnel normally end up moving around and
assuming other responsibilities unrelated to
Asean and some of them have been assigned
posts overseas.
So far, Laos and Burma have been able to
train officials who can handle Asean-related
affairs, including attending and conducting
meetings. For instance, Burma held a series
of Asean meetings in the past three months.
Cambodia will have ample time to prepare as
it will host the Asean annual meeting only in
2003.
Until recently Cambodia was faced with
factionalism within the Foreign Ministry,
mainly because of the quotas between the
Cambodian People's Party and Funcipec.
Since joining Asean, Hun Sen and Foreign
Minister Hor Namhong have moved to instil a
new spirit of cooperation by not taking party
affiliation into account in reassignments, new
positions and appointment of ambassadors.
In relation to Asean, Hun Sen also pledged to
pay Cambodia's admission fee promptly,
which stands at US$590,000, and an
additional one-time contribution of $1 million
to the Asean Fund. Cambodia still needs
technical assistance to fulfil its obligations as
part of the Asean Free Trade Area by the
target year of 2010.
Cambodia's standing in the 21st Century will
depend on how well it balances its links with
old and new friends in Asean. While its
fledgling democracy can best serve the
national interest in the eyes of the
international community, it can antagonise the
conservative elites of neighbouring countries
who believe in one-party rule. With
Cambodia's flexibility and past diplomatic
finesse, as shown by King Sihanouk over half
a century, it will be a country to reckon with in
continental Southeast Asia.
BY KAVI CHONGKITTAVORN
The Nation