Task of nation-building 'monumental.' (UN Sec Gen Boutros Boutros Ghali's concerns for Cambodia)

The challenge before the international community is to respond speedily and effectively to the needs of Cambodia as it undertakes the monumental task of nation-building. So stated UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali in a message to the second meeting of the international Committee on the Reconstruction of Cambodia (Tokyo, 10 and 11 March).

"Today Cambodia has re-emerged as a sovereign, independent nation, one that is seeking to meet the profound aspirations of its people for peace and a better future", he said. Towards that end, the new Government had taken "a number of significant measures in recent months to lay the foundation for a democratic political system and to rebuild the country on the basis of a market-based economy". But the task of reconstruction had only just begun, the Secretary-General stated.

Since the Ministerial Conference on the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Cambodia in Tokyo on 22 June 1992, the world had witnessed nothing less than the rebirth of a new nation. Following the extraordinarily successful election last May, a new democratic Constitution had been promulgated and a new Government established, with King Norodom Sihanouk as Head of State.

In a 14 February report (S/1994/169) on the activities of the UN Military Liaison Team in Cambodia, the Secretary-General stated that despite ongoing efforts to reach a political settlement, hostilities had continued between the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) and the National Army of Democratic Kampuchea (NADK).

The First Prime Minister, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, had met twice with Khieu Samphan, the head of the Party of Democratic Kampuchea (PDK), to discuss the issue of integrating NADK into the mainstream political establishment, the Secretary-General added.

The Cambodian Government felt strongly that NADK would have to agree to a cease-fire before serious discussions could take place, while NADK had stated it would continue fighting until a suitable framework for political participation was established.

After the formation of a...