Cambodia Pact Stirs Calls for Cease-Fire

Cambodian rebel and government leaders, following up on their acceptance of a United Nations peace plan, on Wednesday called for a voluntary cease-fire and began winding down radio propaganda.

Premier Hun Sen, who arrived in Bangkok Wednesday, said that agreeing to the plan was a good start but that further steps were needed. In a government broadcast, he repeated his call for a cease-fire and said a Supreme National Council, part of the peace pact, should be convened promptly.

He again urged a cease-fire before leaving for Jakarta, Indonesia, where, on Monday, the four Cambodian groups who have waged a civil war for more than a decade agreed to the U.N. terms.

“We have been able to construct a new boat in which all of us could sail, that is the Supreme National Council,” Hun Sen said at the airport.

“The point is that now we have the boat, the passengers are on, but we have not yet put the engine on. We need to go very fast. That is why I have come here.”

Prince Norodom Ranariddh, commander of one of three resistance factions and the son of former Cambodian leader, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, made similar proposals.

“Even before a formal agreement is reached, all Cambodians, if they really want peace, should create a peaceful, safe environment for implementation of a peace agreement,” he told reporters here. “I am very favorable for a self-restraint cease-fire.”

The peace pact, meanwhile, was endorsed by both China, which has backed the hard-line Communist Khmer Rouge rebels, and Vietnam, which supports the Cambodian government. China also said it was ready for the first time to establish contact with the Cambodian government.

Ranariddh quoted Khieu Samphan, leader of the Khmer Rouge, as saying he would prefer to wait for that conference before agreeing to a cease-fire, but that an interim cease-fire “may be” possible.

The accord is designed to establish a transition administration so that hostilities can end and free elections can be held. It sets up a four-party Supreme National Council and commits the factions to a major U.N. role in the interim government.

In talks late Wednesday with Thai Prime Minister Chatchai Choonhavan, Hun Sen proposed that the first council meeting take place at the former Cambodian embassy in Bangkok on Monday, Thai spokesman Suvit Yodmanee told reporters.

Suvit quoted Hun Sen as saying the meeting should elect a chairman and decide who should represent Cambodia at the U.N. General Assembly meeting later this month.

Although a cease-fire is part of the U.N. plan, the pact is not expected to be effective until it is ratified in an international conference that is not expected to be convened before November.