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DEMOCRATIC
NATIONAL UNITED MOVEMENT
Kingdom
of Cambodia
NATION RELIGION KING
STATEMENT
OF
THE
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, SESSION 2
OF THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL UNITED
MOVEMENT
(Unofficial
translation by Lay Putheara of the Documentation Center of
Cambodia)
A
delegation of 245 people from the capital city Phnom Penh and provinces all over
the Kingdom of Cambodia met January 25, 1999 in the General Assembly, Session 2
of the Democratic National United Movement (DNUM) under the chairmanship of His
Excellency Ieng Sary, Head of the DNUM.
After listening and discussing on various reports from all the sources,
the Summit unanimously worked out a general declaration as follows:
On
December 25, 1998, His Excellency Khieu Samphan, Former Head of State of the
Democratic Kampuchea (DK) Regime, and His Excellency Nuon Chea, Former Chairman
of the People's Representative Assembly of the Democratic Kampuchea (DK) Regime,
jointly sent a letter to Samdech Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Royal Government
of Cambodia, solemnly declaring their recognition of the royal leadership of His
Royal Majesty Norodom Sihanouk, King of Cambodia, the Constitution of the
Kingdom of Cambodia, and the incumbent Royal Government of Cambodia. They also declared their return into the
society as simple citizens in order to help contribute to the national healing
and reconciliation by ending the country's internal division and joining in the
restoration and building of Cambodia.
Prime
Minister Samdech Hun Sen has warmly welcomed into the fold of society His
Excellency Khieu Samphan and His Excellency Nuon Chea, and he formally reported
this favorably significant event of national importance to His Royal Majesty
Norodom Sihanouk, King of Cambodia, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, Acting Head of
State of the Royal Government of Cambodia, and Samdech Heng Samrin, Acting Head
of the National Assembly.
King
Norodom Sihanouk also was very happy with "this good news", and most profoundly
admired Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen for having further succeeded in his new
move toward the implementation of the national reconciliation and pacification
of the Royal Government of Cambodia, which is aimed to provide the people and
the country of Cambodia a thorough peace as well as make progress at a great
pace.
Prince
Norodom Ranariddh, Acting Head of State and Head of the National Assembly, and
Samdech Heng Samrin, Acting Head of the National Assembly, both also applauded
this significant event.
Former
UN General Secretary Boutros Boutros Ghali met with His Excellency Khieu Samphan
December 30, 1998, and welcomed and congratulated the latter for having decided
to come and live within society. In addition, while he was in office, the Paris
Peace Accords had not been thoroughly implemented, and national healing and
reconciliation remained uncompleted, said Boutros Boutros Ghali. He also added
that he is happy that now His Excellency Khieu Samphan is back in society and
Cambodia has anew yielded a peace and harmony. Other problems in the future are
internal ones of Cambodia, and there should be no interference by
foreigners.
"Within
a short time, however, there have been inspirations for a trial of this person,
that person", said His Excellency Ieng Sary adding that, "the wound that has not
been completely healed is being poked with a stick." Given this situation, the
DNUM would like to declare as follows:
1. On January 21, 1999, Samdech Hun Sen,
Prime Minister of the Royal Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia, gave a memo
"with ideas and considerations in regard to a formula finding approach towards a
trial of the Khmer Rouge leaders" to the UN Ambassador Thomas Hammarberg, UN
Secretary General's Special Representative for Human Rights in Cambodia. The
memo addresses in full details and seriously a wide range of related problems.
This Session 2 of the DNUM Summit is totally in favor of the concept and stance
set forth in the memo, especially on points as such:
-Anything
that leads to the national reconciliation breakup again should be avoided.
-We
need both peace and justice. If a civil war breaks out again as a result of a
trial, who will hold the responsibility and how will the problem be
settled?
-The
cause of the fact between 1970-1998 is the whole of "events" which cannot be
separated.
2. The return of His Excellency Khieu
Samphan and His Excellency Nuon Chea into society marks the end of the old
unfortunate epoch and, in turn, opens a new era for the history of Cambodia.
Nonetheless, creating new complex problems in Cambodia is contrary to our common
tendency to ensure that the people of Cambodia remain in peace and in the state
of relief following the prolonged war and tension of nearly 30 years. When Khmer
get in conflict with Khmer, it is said Khmer never get united, but are only good
at fighting. But when Khmer get united, Khmer are instigated to fight each
other.
3. Cambodia had problems since 1970. It was
previously known as "the Island of Peace". In 1970 the Island of Peace was
destroyed, replaced with ruins of destructive wars. In 1973, following the
existence of the peace agreements between the United States and Vietnam,
Cambodia was under heavy bombardments for nearly seven months--two hundred days
and nights--without any reason.
Cambodian society was turned into upheavals; a phenomenon of violent
culture existed and intensified during the war period of 1970-1975. Therefore,
given the situation in Cambodia, judgments or experiments should be all made to
cover all epoches, starting right from the 1970's, not just confined to any
selected option only in favor of or for the sake of any Great Power country's
strategy or ideology.
4. The United Nations was the broker of the
peace talks in Paris and the Paris Peace Accord, the final product of three
years of most tense and repeated negotiations. Every provision and each term in the
Accords was very well weighed, that is the 23 October 1991 Paris Peace Accords
was an approach most appropriate to the actual situation in Cambodia. The spirit
and essence of the Accords was about peace and national reconciliation, not a
trial of anybody. Democratic Kampuchea had been a full-right member of the
United Nations from 1975 to 1991.
As one of the signatories to the Accords, Democratic Kampuchea is equal
to the other three Khmer parties.
The speech, also based on the spirit of the Accords, as excerpted above
of the former UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali in the 30 December 1998
meeting with His Excellency Khieu Samphan is evidence of this. So, now if they [parties] proceed
contrary to the spirit and essence of the Accords, what shall we understand of
the role of the United Nations. Those [parties] opposing to implement the second
phase of the Accord rationalized that some alliances have used the Accord to
deceive [others]. Now, some Great Power countries are burying the Accord and
resorting to a trial of some people.
Does not this act prove that there has been deception?
5. The historical mistakes made in leading
the country should not be forgotten.
Yet, the sufferings from the very painful deaths of [our] siblings,
children, relatives and friends will never die out easily. The house where people used to live with
their grandparents since childhood until the time when they had children of
their own, and which has been lost, is an undying regret, though perhaps it may
be easy for those born after the year 1979 to forget. This is a human sympathy, which we all
should know and respect. But, in
reality, in order for our nation to free itself of all the problems and live in
harmony together as one, what should we do? What [are the problems] we can
solve? What [are the problems] we cannot solve? What [are the problems] we
should settle immediately? What [are the problems] we should leave unsolved for
a while? Given the situation in our country where firm stability has yet to be
found, with some Super Power countries that never take responsiblity [for what
happened] pressuring us to follow them in order to serve their strategy and
ideology; and given the political atmosphere infested with internal irrational
ire in our nation, can justice be possibly found? Can [we] clearly and
objectively learn from our past? These are all the problems we need to think
about with a sense of responsibility.
4. The historical mistakes must not be
allowed repeated. They are,
however, such a huge problem that requires a span of time and most comprehensive
research as well as scholars in fields like History, Sociology, Law, etc. Given the fragile situation and the
current political atmosphere in our country, the Democratic National United
Movement (DNUM) sees that a trial of this person or that person is not the
solution to the problem. It is only
by making judgments and learning lessons from our history in a scientific and
objective way that our later generations of children would be able to learn and
understand so that the recurrence of the historical mistakes are prevented.
From
now on, after the July 26, 1998 election and the nomination [establishment] of a
[new] coalition government presided over by Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen,
Cambodia once again has enjoyed the light of peace. Favorable factors have just existed,
following 30 years of the dragged-out civil war. Anything bringing about a loss of the
results we have acquired from years of perseverance should be averted, as
emphasized in the memo of Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen saying, {dl;kMBg; lg;TUk}, which means "the boat
collapses just as we arrive at the harbor."
Pailin, 25 January 1999
On behalf of the General Assembly,
Session 2 of the DNUM
Signature
Ieng Sary
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