$880 Million Pledged for Cambodia Aid : Relief: But donors say help hinges on compliance with the U.N. peace process--a warning to the Khmer Rouge to stop dragging its feet.

In a massive response to the agony of Cambodia, international donors Monday pledged more than $880 million to rebuild the ravaged nation but made it clear that aid will hinge on strict adherence to the United Nations peace process.

The sum pledged by 26 nations and six organizations at an international conference here dwarfed the $595 million requested by the United Nations in May for Cambodia’s immediate needs, such as refugee repatriation, infrastructure repair and education and training.

But, taking clear aim at the Khmer Rouge for threatening to derail the entire reconstruction effort, several speakers at the 33-nation gathering proposed withholding aid to areas controlled by parties blocking the peace process.

“We do not believe that efforts to halt this (peace) process should be cost-free to those involved, nor do we believe that we should encourage parties bent on sabotaging the accords to entertain the prospect of success,” said U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Lawrence S. Eagleburger.

Eagleburger called for an immediate commitment of aid to areas controlled by cooperative parties--”and only to those parties which are so cooperating.”

Along with Cambodia’s three other factions, the Khmer Rouge signed the landmark peace accords in Paris last year, which set up a process to end nearly two decades of misery and civil strife in the Southeast Asian nation of 8.5 million. Yet the Khmer Rouge alone has refused to cooperate in the U.N. effort to disarm and demobilize the warring factions’ 200,000 troops and pave the way for democratic national elections next year.

No actual political conditions were tied to the aid announced Monday. But William Draper, administrator of the U.N. Development Program, noted that the aid, to be disbursed during 1992 and 1993, was pledged on the assumption that the peace accords would be honored.

Another U.N. aid official added that assistance can be granted only to areas where U.N. authorities have been given access to evaluate local needs--about 80% of the country. The Khmer Rouge has refused to allow access to most areas it controls.

Underscoring the mounting irritation with the Khmer Rouge and a fear that the guerrilla party’s intransigence could throw the beleaguered nation back into turmoil and war, Cambodian leader Norodom Sihanouk made one of his most passionate public attacks on that organization.

“Their final aim is to take power by force--by military means and not democratic and fair elections,” said Sihanouk, president of the Supreme National Council of Cambodia, which represents the four factions. “They understand only totalitarianism, dictatorship and oppression of the people.”

Khmer Rouge leader Khieu Samphan contends that, despite reports to the contrary, between 500,000 and 1 million Vietnamese troops remain in Cambodia and that he will not disarm until all are withdrawn. He also has asserted that most international aid is likely to prop up the Vietnamese-backed Phnom Penh government--his stated reason for an initial decision to boycott the Tokyo conference.

After pressure from China, Thailand, Japan and others, however, Samphan reversed his decision and attended the conference. But on Monday, he said his concerns had still not been addressed.

The four factions have repeatedly met since Saturday in efforts to iron out their differences, but no progress has been reported.

Yasushi Akashi, head of the U.N. Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), told a news conference that despite the Khmer Rouge’s “obsession” with lingering Vietnamese troops, none had been found. But one Asian diplomat said that research by French scholars seemed to suggest that many Vietnamese men were forced to marry Cambodian women after Vietnam’s troop withdrawal in 1989. The men reportedly changed their names and are currently posing as Cambodian peasants.

Akashi said UNTAC had expected that disarming and demobilizing the 200,000 troops, begun June 13, would be completed by the end of September.

The conference was regarded as an economic success--and a diplomatic triumph for Japan, in its first major effort at exerting global political leadership.

Several speakers went out of their way to praise Japan, which has frequently been criticized for ducking its global duty to exert political leadership befitting its status as an economic titan.

According to a list of donors provided by the U.N. Development Program, Japan ranked first with a pledge of $150 million to $200 million in bilateral aid (the difference depends on technical calculations, a Japanese official said).