The Mirror, Vol. 11, No. 528
“Phnom Penh: The Cambodian Prime Minister appealed to the Government of Myanmar to be patient by finding a peaceful way to reunite the nation without using force on the demonstrators.
“It is a first public appeal by Samdech Hun Sen – as Cambodia is one of the members of ASEAN – after the violent crackdown on the crowds of demonstrators last week, which resulted in many people being killed or getting injured.
“Samdech Hun Sen said so in a ceremony inaugurating a building and awarding medical doctor’s degrees at the Faculty of Medicine on 3 October. We want Myanmar to be very patient and not to use force to suppress the demonstrators, but Myanmar has instead to try to reunite the nation and settle the problems by focusing on peace, democracy, and the respect of human rights.
“According to foreign sources, many protests had continued for one month in Myanmar, after the price of gasoline was raised rapidly, so that a public movement [related to the gasoline price] turned into a movement against the Burmese government. The sources said that at least five people, including monks and a Japanese photographer, died in Burma, when police and soldiers fired at crowds of people protesting.
“Samdech Hun Sen said on 28 September that he discussed the issue by phone with the Singaporean Prime Minister, after statements by ASEAN ministers of foreign affairs had been made in New York. Samdech Prime Minister said that the Singaporean Prime Minister informed him about writing a letter to Supreme Senior General Than Shwe with an appeal to end the use of force, and for the release of all political prisoners as well as of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi.
“Samdech Hun Sen said that he raised a proposal related to the Myanmar issue, which once had been raised in 2004 in Malaysia. Samdech said that ASEAN has to be used in a way which was once used, at that time when Malaysia held the presidency of ASEAN, ASEAN should carry on an active role, but there is now an additional proposal, in addition to the proposal at that time, that now an ASEAN Troika [composed of three senior ministers of three member countries] should be used immediately, because the present crisis is more serious than the one at that time. Samdech said that what is now more serious, is that monks participated in the event.
“Samdech Hun Sen said that according to the Troika formula of ASEAN, the present, the former, and a future president of ASEAN must play an active role, which is a recommendation to help support and deal with the Myanmar crisis in the framework of the ASEAN partnership.
“Samdech Hun Sen said that he received a letter from the Singaporean Prime Minister on 1 October, a day after the Singaporean Prime Minister had sent it to Supreme Senior General Than Shwe on 30 September, and all ASEAN heads of state and heads of government would also have received this letters. Samdech said that there is the will that Myanmar should handle all problems in a way that moves toward democratization.
“Being asked about the US President’s plan to hold an ASEAN-US Summit in Texas, Samdech Prime Minister said that he gave advice to Mr. Hor Namhong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, that if there is such a proposal, Cambodia will accept it.
“Samdech said that there was an anniversary meetings between ASEAN and Japan, and another between ASEAN and China held in China, so an ASEAN-US Summit in the US is fine.
“Samdech Hun Sen said it is a good time that the US has very good relations with Cambodia… the US market purchases a lots of merchandise from Cambodia that provides labor, jobs, and it results in a huge amount of exports.
“Samdech said that he considers that the last movement of military assistance [from the US to Cambodia], and the re-provision of assistance through the government, lead to an improvement, as it includes action against terrorism, so that Cambodia and the US play a role as good partners, and the US helped the Cambodian military forces to join in military exercise of a UN framework [sic] in Mongolia.
“However, Samdech Prime Minister noticed that the relations are not yet appropriate to the potentiality that both sides have; therefore, we can work hard in order to encourage investors from the US or from other sectors that they may come to Cambodia, in order to help each other in a framework of bilateral relations.” Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.6, #1461, 4.10.2007
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Thursday, 4 October 2007
Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.6, #1461, 4.10.2007
- Samdech Hun Sen Calls on Myanmar to Be Patient and Continue National Reconciliation Peacefully
- Strengthening of Human Resources through the Use of Khmer UNICODE in Computers
- Appeals Court Decides for Samdech Krom Preah [Norodom Ranariddh] to Get 18 Months’ Imprisonment and to Pay $150,000 Compensation [to Funcinpec – over sale of Funcinpec headquarters]
Khmer Machas Srok, Vol.1, #38, 4.10.2007
- Committee for Free and Fair Elections [COMFREL] Says Cambodian People’s Party Has Ability to Use Media up to 85% [and other parties much less]
- Nuon Chea and Duch Live in the Khmer Rouge Tribunal Prison [with comfort]; They Are Much Luckier Than Other Prisoners
Koh Santepheap, Vol.40, #6161, 4.10.2007
- Samdech Prime Minister Supports ASEAN-US Summit; Cambodian-US Relations Start a Good Phase
Moneaksekar Khmer, Vol.14, #3280, 4.10.2007
- The Number of People Registering for Elections Is Small Because Procedures of National Election Committee Are Complicated
- [responding to a statement by the Cambodian Minister of Information] If Radio Free Asia Is Not Independent [and therefore its station is not allowed to be set up in Cambodia], What About the Central Television Station of the Yuon [Vietnamese] Government? [which is allowed in Cambodia]
Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.15, #4406, 4.10.2007
- Cambodia Urges UN to Reform Economic and Social Council [so poor countries can achieve the millennium development goal]
- Oknha Kith Meng Elected as President of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce
- Leaders of Sam Rainsy Party in Five Countries [Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden,] Push for Eng Chhay Ieng to Resign as Party Secretary-General [arguing that he is not qualified and may negatively affect the party’s popularity]
Sralanh Khmer, Vol.3, #521, 4.10.2007
- Military Coup in Burma: Armed Forces Aimed Guns at other Forces Who Suppressed Demonstrations [on 2 October – some reports from Rangoon say that soldiers rebelled against the military government, resulting in a firefight Tuesday night]
- Hun Sen Advises His Friends in Burma to Stop Using Violence [mocking]
There was an error in the line breaks of the Sralanh Khmer headlines translated: we have now TWO headlines, and before we had three; now the former first and second are joined again, and the former third headline is now the second.
Sorry for the confusion.