Proposals to settle Kampuchean problem presented in region.

Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, in exercise of his good offices mission, has circulated specific ideas for a &amework for a comprehensive political settlement of the Kampuchean problem and the restoration of peace and stability in the region.

His Special Representative, Under-Secretary-General Rafeeuddin Ahmed, visited the region twice recently-in late June and early July and again in midSeptember He presented those ideas to representatives of the four Kampuchean parties, Viet Nam, Laos, and the six member countries of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). The four Kampuchean parties are: the National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Co-operative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC), headed by Prince Norodom Sihanouk; the Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF), led by Son Sann; the Party of Democratic Kampuchea (PDK), led by Khieu Samphan; as well as the authorities in Phnom Penh. ASEAN members are: Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

From 25 to 28 July, all parties concerned held the Jakarta Informal Meeting UIM), at Bogor, Indonesia. The Ho Chi Minh City Understanding, concluded between the Foreign Ministers of Indonesia and Viet Nam in July 1987, stipulated that the Kampuchean parties should meet informally on the basis of equal footing without pre-conditions, and with no political labels, and that they would be joined by other countries concerned, including Viet Nam,

Participants in JIM agreed on the need to work towards the establishment of an independent, sovereign, peaceful, neutral and non-aligned Kampuchea on the basis of self-determination and national reconciliation. Key substantive issues to be resolved were specified, and a working group of senior officials to examine those issues in detail was established. Their recommendations were expected by December 1988, with a view towards the convening of a second...