From: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu (Rich Winkel)
Subject: Cambodia Witness
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: PACH
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1992 08:15:09 GMT

/** gn.peacemedia: 177.0 **/
** Topic: Cambodia Witness **
** Written  3:03 pm  Sep 30, 1992 by gn:peacemedia in cdp:gn.peacemedia **
CAMBODIA WITNESS

by Elizabeth Ferris
[Peace Media Service] 

"You really should come to Cambodia," my friend Imalia Komalo,
Director of the World Council of Churches' Office in Phnom Penh,
said. "It's the greatest show in town. Thousands of UN troops,
non-governmental organizations, donors, business people, and
diplomats are coming to Cambodia. I wonder what will happen when
they leave."

So I went to Cambodia, eager to see the UN's peacekeeping
operations in action. The peace plan for Cambodia is often
depicted in the international press as one of the fruits of the
post-Cold War era. The UN Security Council's decision of February
1992 established a three-phase plan for peace and reconstruction
in the war-ravaged country. On the military level, the factions'
armies are to be disarmed and demobilized. As Cambodian expert
Raoul Jennar explains, in ten months the UN must gather 200,0000
men deployed in 650 different places throughout the country into
95 regroupment areas and then lead these troops into 52
cantonments. The forces will then be disarmed and 70 percent of
the troops will be demobilized. In addition, the UN forces will
also disarm 250,000 militia and assure itself that all the forces
-- and all the arms and munitions -- are under its control.

The second phase of the plan, the political phase, is to organize
free and fair elections to be held in May 1993. This means
drafting an electoral law, creating an Electoral Office,
identifying and setting up 8,000 polling stations around the
country, registering Cambodian voters (in the almost complete
absence of records) and providing the civic education necessary to
ensure that the elections are free and fair.

The humanitarian timetable, also working against a May 1993
deadline, envisions the return of 380,000 refugees from Thailand
and the resettlement of approximately 180,000 Cambodians who have
been internally displaced since mid-1989. The refugees must be
back in time for the elections which means reconstruction work --
and especially de-mining operations -- must be accomplished
quickly.

It is an ambitious and expensive plan. The UN's $3 billion program
for Cambodia is widely seen as a test of the UN's revitalized
role. Everyone I talked to in Cambodia felt that the plan was too
rushed, that all of these different timetables can't be
accomplished well in the ten months remaining before May 1993.

Phnom Penh is a bustling city. New construction and reconstruction
of dilapidated houses is proceeding at a dizzying pace. Rents for
reconverted villas are high -- $1000 per month, $2000 and up.
There are 19,000 UNCTAC (UN Transitional Authority for Cambodia)
troops from 30 countries in Cambodia as well as UN civilian
personnel. The UN staff receive $4500 per month for per diem
expenses -- on top of their salaries. The foreigners with their
dollars are driving inflation and the construction boom. Many
Cambodians have become suddenly wealthy as they discover the
riches available through the foreigners. One UN official estimates
that at least US$300,000 a day in cash is being spent by the
foreigners -- in a country where per capita income is less than
$150. The money and the foreigners pour in after 15 years of
Cambodian isolation from the rest of the world.

A year ago, one NGO representative told me, there were less than
100 cars in Phnom Penh. Today UNTAC alone has over 5000 vehicles
and the newly-rich Cambodians have been quick to import their own
cars. The air conditioners and other electrical appliances have
put an unprecedented strain on the city's power plants and
electricity is periodically and frequently shut off.

The economic boom is real and is distorting the country's economy.
The gap between rich and poor is increasing.  Vietnamese migrants,
including construction workers and bargirls, are coming to take
advantage of the sudden prosperity. This economic distortion plays
into the hands of the Khmer Rouge who see the free market as a de-
stabilizing force and who play on historic anti-Vietnamese
feelings in a vicious and racist campaign against their presence.
Armed attacks and murder of Vietnamese is becoming more common. In
an interview with the _Far Eastern Economic Review_ UNTAC Chief
Yasushi Akashi warned of the possibility of race riots in Phnom
Penh if anti-Vietnamese sentiment continues to grow. Everyone
remembers the outburst of violence against the Vietnamese in 1970
in which thousands of Vietnamese were murdered.

Meanwhile, the implementation of all three timetables -- the
military, political and humanitarian -- goes slowly. Although the
UN has begun disarming and demobilizing troops, the Khmer Rouge
have refused to turn in their arms, maintaining that they will not
comply until the government is dissolved and Vietnamese military
agents are expelled from the country. UNTAC argues that there are
no Vietnamese military agents in Cambodia, but has set up 200
mobile investigation teams to look for the elusive Vietnamese. UN
helicopters are shot at on a daily basis and there are reports
that new mines -- in a country which already has some 4 million of
them -- are being laid. The UN seems powerless to enforce Khmer
Rouge compliance and the stakes are very high. A move from
peacekeeping to peace enforcement is a major step for the United
Nations to take, so for now UNTAC is taking a somewhat
conciliatory line toward the Khmer Rouge. 

De-mining operations have been agonizingly slow -- and de-mining
is central t o the whole peace and reconstruction effort.  While
refugees are returning, their return has been much slower than
planned and there is considerable doubt that they will be
resettled in time to register for the elections. Logistical
difficulties -- and above all, the mines -- make return difficult.
The original plan was to give each returning refugee 2 hectares of
agricultural mine-free land upon return. But the shortage of mine-
free land has led the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to offer
an option of a cash grant ($50 per adult, $25 per child) in lieu
of land. 

The refugees are returning to a country which has been devastated
by war and by international isolation. Although the refugee camps
in Thailand were notable for violence and poor living conditions,
the refugees had access to clean water, health services, and
education. Almost all of the communities to which they are
returning have no safe water or health services or schools.
Moreover, there is understandable resentment by some local
populations about perceived preferential treatment for the
refugees. Tes Heanh, vice-governor of the province of Battambang
(where around 190,000 refugees have indicated they want to return)
says, "In 1979 the UN did not recognize this government. All aid
and many dollars went to the border. In the last 10 years we have
been able to feed our people, but not much else. Because of the
war, all of our land, roads and infrastructure in Battambang have
been destroyed or made useless by the landmines. Now I am told
that I must make plans to bring all the people back here and share
everything with them. There is not much left to share. The land
that is not mined is already being farmed. I must take rice
paddies out of production just to make room for the returnees."
(cited by Raoul Jennar)

Approximately 80 percent of Cambodia's 9 million people live in
rural areas; if peace and reconstruction are to mean anything,
efforts must be concentrated in those areas. From 1975-1991,
Cambodia was diplomatically isolated, but a few NGOs continued to
provide limited assistance and development programs. Since 1979,
for example, the WCC has had an office in Phnom Penh -- as have a
number of other NGOs. But with the peace talks and the opening of
the Cambodian administration last year, more NGOs have come to the
country. Now there are over 80 NGOs based in Phnom Penh who are
developing programs throughout the country. But most of the
programs are being targeted for the provinces to which the
refugees are returning, with much less attention paid to other
rural areas. And NGO operations -- like UN programs -- are limited
by logistical and transportation difficulties -- and by the
widespread presence of mines. As Tes Heanh says, "The UN tells me
that water and malaria are the big problems. I will tell you, the
biggest problem is the mines. Let the UN and the NGOs help. Come,
we need development. We need hospitals and schools. Yes, it is
true, but everyone talks about land mine clearance. Yet no one
does anything. De-mining must be done first."

The UN plan for Cambodia is to be completed by May-June 1993.
After the elections are held, the factions are demobilized and the
refugees have returned, UNTAC forces will leave. In spite of the
many problems and delays, most expect the UN operations to be
completed more or less on schedule. Cynics charge that the need to
have a success in Cambodia and to produce a government which can
be recognized by the international community are the driving force
behind the UN operations. Even if reconstruction is incomplete and
peace is very tenuous, elections will be held, UNTAC will withdraw
and the UN will claim its success.

As international interest in Cambodia decreases, it is likely that
some NGOs will also leave the country, moving on to the next
international crisis. What happens when the foreigners -- with all
their money and all their programs -- leave? What will happen as
the economic boom fizzles out and how will the Khmer Rouge take
advantage of the situation? The future for Cambodia is unclear and
it's obvious that things will change dramatically when most of the
foreigners pull out next June. But for now, as my friend Imalia
says, "it's the greatest show in town."

===
Elizabeth Ferris is Research Director of the Life & Peace
Institute, an international ecumenical peace research center based
in Uppsala, Sweden.


** End of text from cdp:gn.peacemedia **