From: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu (Rich Winkel)
Subject: CAMBODIA: REFUGEES HEAD HOME TO UNCERTAINTY AND STRIFE
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: PACH
Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1992 09:23:41 GMT

/** reg.seasia: 377.0 **/
** Topic: CAMBODIA: REFUGEES HEAD HOME TO UNC **
** Written  8:47 pm  Apr  3, 1992 by cscheiner in cdp:reg.seasia **
From: Charles Scheiner <cscheiner>
Subject: CAMBODIA: REFUGEES HEAD HOME TO UNC

/* Written 11:11 am  Apr  3, 1992 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "CAMBODIA: REFUGEES HEAD HOME TO UNC" ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Area: Middle East
Reference: Population
Title: CAMBODIA: REFUGEES HEAD HOME TO UNCERTAINTY AND STRIFE

an inter press service feature

by yuli ismartono

sisophon, cambodia, mar 31 (ips) -- mut ven, the first one to climb
the bus taking the first batch of refugees back to cambodia monday,
had tears in her eyes as she clutched her meagre belongings.

''i'm happy, i'm sad, i'm worried,'' said the 53-year-old widow
as she left the security of the united nations-run camps for the
uncertainty of freedom in her homeland.

she had fled her country in 1979 after her husband and two of her
children died from starvation during the four-year rule of the
extremist khmer rouge.

''i don't know what i'm going to do, how i'm going to survive,''
said mut ven, who still has three children, one of whom is crippled.

cambodian refugees are heading home after 13 years of exile. but
they face an uncertain future as rival factions have resumed
fighting, breaking a five-month-old peace pact brokered by the
united nations.

the repatriation of 370,000 refugees from camps along thailand's
border was conditional upon a ceasefire and stability enforced by
multi-national peacekeeping forces under the u.n. transitional
authority in cambodia (untac).

the u.n. high commissioner for refugees (unhcr) began its
repatriation programme as the first group of untac forces arrived in
phnom penh last month.

but phnom penh confirmed monday that its army has launched an
offensive against khmer rouge guerrillas in the central province of
kompong thom. defence minister tea banh said communication lines
between the provincial capital of kompong thom were cut off by the
khmer rouge in early march and need to be re-established.

phnom penh fought guerrillas of the three-faction coalition
headed by cambodia's former ruler prince norodom sihanouk before the
peace agreement was signed in paris in october. the strongest
insurgent group remains the khmer rouge, whose 1975-79 rule caused
the deaths of more than one million cambodians.

the present instability in their homeland is making returnees
apprehensive and a battalion of malaysian troops guarding their bus
convoys does little to ease their anxiety.

''i'm worried about the khmer rouge because they haven't settled
down yet,'' said returnee so koemsan, whose parents and four
siblings died of starvation during the khmer rouge reign. ''if they
fail in their objectives, they might take it out on people like
us.'' (more/ips)



cambodia: refugees (2)

so koemsan is happy at the prospect of getting two hectares of
land to farm in bantey meanchey province but he thinks he might be
arrested. he had escaped from a military draft in 1987.

the unhcr is providing returnees with land, a pre-fabricated
housing kit and an 18-month food supply. other u.n. agencies and the
international red cross are following up with health-monitoring
programmes.

but relief officials are concerned that the aid given to the
returnees may become a source of friction between them and the local
population of the villages they will settle in.

phnom penh has asked the unhcr not to treat the returnees as
privileged minorities. many of the residents where the returnees are
slated to make their new homes have been told of the newcomers'
arrival only a few days ago.

said a sisophon resident: ''we welcome them but we want to see
how they live with us.''

bantey meanchey gov. ith loeur confirmed that conflicts could
arise. ''people here struggled hard to make a living despite the war
and the poverty,''he said. ''it will be difficult not to envy the
returnees who lived a safe life in camps throughout the war and then
come back with land, house and food.''

living in the u.n.-run camps, the refugees enjoyed shelter, food,
medical service, education for the children and skills training for
the adults. these facilities attracted more refugees from cambodia,
who kept coming at the rate of 2,500 to 3,000 a month for the past
four months.

now that they are returning to their homeland, ''the dilemma is
how long and how much we should be helping these people without
perpetuating a kind of dependency among them,'' said unhcr
spokesman ian guest.

a potential source of conflict is the shortage of arable and
mine-free land that have been promised to returnees but have current
landholders without deeds. u.n. officials say only 20,000 of four
million plots of land identified by phnom penh have been registered.

u.n. officials fear the land issue will be used as a political
weapon by rival factions during the period leading to the elections
next year. said a u.n. official: ''the factions will use the land
problem to promote their political causes. this is very worrisome as
it can hurt the vulnerable refugees.'' (end/ips/yi/cb/lm/92)



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