U.N.’s Big Five OKs Plan to End Cambodia’s 12-Year Civil War

The five permanent members of the U.N Security Council agreed Sunday on the final draft of a peace settlement to end 12 years of war in Cambodia.

Senior officials from Britain, China, France, the Soviet Union and the United States adopted a 12-page document that outlines a U.N-sponsored peace plan for the country, Western diplomatic sources said.

The plan, first proposed in January, calls for U.N. administrators and peacemakers to virtually run Cambodia during a transitional period leading to free elections.

“Our work is over,” a Western official close to the talks said before the 19-hour session ended at 1:15 this morning. In three days of negotiations, officials talked for about 40 hours with little sleep or food.

There was no immediate word about the fate of a final communique they wrestled to write after reaching agreement on the peace draft.

If the U.N. plan is to succeed, Cambodia’s four warring factions must first bury their differences and agree to set up a Supreme National Council, which is a cornerstone of the draft settlement.

Exiled Cambodian leader Prince Norodom Sihanouk, who flew to Paris last week, urged Phnom Penh Premier Hun Sen and his own two allies in a guerrilla coalition fighting the government to join him in the French capital as soon as possible for an agreement.

Full adherence to the plan by the four would allow France and Indonesia to convene the 19-nation Paris peace talks on Cambodia.

The Paris conference, which could be held this year or in early 1991, would be asked to give official approval to the U.N. plan.

Two of the five permanent members backed different factions. China has long supported the notorious Khmer Rouge, the strongest guerrilla group, and the Soviet Union backed Cambodia’s pro-Vietnam government.

China last week announced that it was ending military aid to the Khmer Rouge.

Although the Soviet Union appeared determined to gain a final draft settlement in the seventh peace talks held this year, it raised the stickiest points, diplomats said.

“They apparently had the greatest problems with their allies in bringing them to the peace table,” a Western diplomat said.

Problems surfaced over a cease-fire and dismantling some of Phnom Penh’s powers.

Because of the contrast between Hun Sen’s regular troops and the guerrilla forces, the plan provides for a phased process of disarmament and a return of people in uniform to civilian life.

Regarding the government, the plan allows the United Nations to directly supervise functions of key ministries such as foreign affairs, defense, finance, security and information to ensure “a neutral political environment” before elections.

No figures on the size or cost of the U.N. role were available. Officials in the past have spoken of up to 20,000 people, half civilian, half military, and a budget of $3 billion to $5 billion over two years.

Western diplomatic sources said the document contains:

* A description of a mandate for the U.N. Transitional Authority in Cambodia, including a civilian and military component, organization of elections and verification of human rights.

* Detailed provisions for a cease-fire and withdrawal.

* Election plans.

* Repatriation of Cambodian refugees and displaced people.

* Principles for a new constitution.

The draft is accompanied by an agreement covering neutrality and sovereignty issues and a declaration on rehabilitation and reconstruction.

CHRONOLOGY

Here are some of the key events in the Cambodian conflict:

March 18, 1970--Prince Norodom Sihanouk ousted after nearly 30 years as Cambodian leader by U.S.-backed Lon Nol.

April 17, 1975--Khmer Rouge faction seizes Phnom Penh. Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot’s revolution results, according to Western governments, in more than one million deaths.

Dec. 25, 1978--Vietnam invades Cambodia, occupies Phnom Penh on Jan. 7, 1979, and drives Khmer Rouge to western frontier with Thailand. People’s Republic of Kampuchea formed under former Khmer Rouge officer Heng Samrin.

June 22, 1982--Under pressure from China and other backers, three factions form rebel coalition with Sihanouk as president, recognized by U.N. as Cambodia’s government.

December, 1984, to June, 1985--Vietnamese army offensive drives guerrillas from bases in Cambodia into Thailand.

May 7, 1987--Sihanouk resigns as coalition chief over Khmer Rouge attacks on his forces and pursues own peace initiative. He later returns to coalition under Chinese pressure.

Dec. 2, 1987--Premier Hun Sen and Sihanouk hold talks in France, their first direct contact.

April 5, 1989--Vietnam and the Phnom Penh government say Vietnamese will leave Cambodia by September, 1989, even without an agreed settlement.

July 23, 1989--Cambodia announces neutrality, says treaties with Vietnam will be changed to reflect new status.

July 30-Aug 30, 1989--International peace conference of Cambodian factions and 18 nations collapses in Paris without arranging monitoring of Vietnamese withdrawal. Cambodian factions vow to force a solution by arms.

Jan. 16, 1990--Five permanent members of U.N. Security Council agree to seek a U.N. peace role to end conflict.

Nov. 25--Permanent five members of U.N. Security Council give final approval to a draft peace settlement on Cambodia.