Part II Current Condition and Prospects Chapter 1 Overview of Present State of Cambodia Part II Chapter 1 Section 1. Politics Section 1. Politics Yukio IMAGAWA 1. Good governance about 20 years. Although the peace process had many problems, it constituted the basis for the present politi- This paper deals with the state and problems of cal situation. In the following sections, the peace pro- Cambodia’s politics as a prelude to the discussion of cess, and then developments in Cambodia’s internal af- “good governance,” a key issue in development assis- fairs and its external relations in recent years after peace tance to that war-ravaged country. However, it is first was established are reviewed. necessary to look briefly at what “good governance” is from the viewpoint of politics. 2. The Cambodian peace process Although “good governance” is not necessarily syn- onymous with “good government,” it can be simply de- Cambodia once enjoyed peace under the policy of fined as “good governing by good government.” “Good neutrality promulgated by Prince Norodom Sihanouk, government” is often said to be tantamount to “cheap who was adored by the people as the father of indepen- government” or “small government” in terms of reduc- dence. But after March 1970, when Lieutenant General ing the financial burden on the public. But this is only Lon Nol overthrew Prince Sihanouk in a coup d’état, one aspect of good government. What matters most is Cambodia was turned into a killing field during a civil that good governance is conducted by a democratic gov- war that lasted about 20 years. Cambodia experienced ernment representing the will of the people. Generally successive changes of power that were brought about speaking, good governing may be defined as the appro- with the use of force. The US-backed Lon Nol regime priate act of governing according to law by a democratic was brought down by the China-backed Khmer Rouge government that, while representing the will of the regime led by Pol Pot, which, in turn, was overthrown people, commits itself to maintaining peace and stabil- by the Vietnam-backed Heng Samrin regime. ity in the state, improving the life and welfare of the Ravaged by this civil war, Cambodia started to work people, and respecting human rights. toward peace. In December 1987, Prince Sihanouk, Considering this definition, is the Cambodian politi- who led the anti-Vietnam three-party coalition known as cal situation characterized by good governance, or is the the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea Cambodian government at least committed to it? Unfor- (CGDK), and Prime Minister Hun Sen of the Vietnam- tunately, the answer may be “no,” in light of the state of backed Heng Samrin regime, the Phnom Penh govern- affairs in Cambodia. Many problems in the areas of leg- ment, had peace talks in a room of the Chateau Hotel in islation, administration and the judiciary remain to be Fere-en-Tardenois, about 120 kilometers east-northeast addressed. Above all, human resources development is of Paris, France. The fact that the representatives of the a matter of utmost concern. Human resources develop- warring parties met with each other for the first time ment is not limited to training personnel to improve was a historical first step toward peace. That meeting their quality and efficiency. It also involves training was significant because the peace initiative was begun disciplined government employees who put the interests by Cambodians themselves, although the initiative faced of the public before their personal concerns if they are a rocky road. Since the meeting, confidence has been engaged in governance in one way or another. This is gradually building among Cambodians. important as it helps to eradicate corruption among gov- In 1989, the Cold War ended in Europe, terminating ernment employees. the confrontation between the East and the West. These When reviewing Cambodia’s politics as a prelude to developments in the international arena helped settle the a discussion of good governance, it is insufficient just to Cambodian conflict, a remnant of the Cold War in Asia. understand today’s political situation in Cambodia. It is In July 30 of the same year, France took the initiative also necessary to understand the peace process that was and hosted the Paris International Conference on Cam- designed over more than five years to find a political bodia (PICC). The conference, co-chaired by France solution to the conflict that had ravaged the country for and Indonesia, was attended by participants from eigh- 37 Country Study for Japan’s ODA to the Kingdom of Cambodia teen countries: four Cambodian parties, the five perma- Phnom Penh government, unlike the same number of nent members of the United Nations Security Council representatives from each party in the first session of (the US, the UK, France, China, and the Soviet Union), PICC. This was a major achievement in that it reflected the six ASEAN members (Indonesia, Thailand, Malay- the reality in Cambodia, where the Phnom Penh govern- sia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Brunei), the two ment effectively ruled the country while the CGDK, other countries of Indochina (Laos and Vietnam), Japan, made up of the three other parties, was more like an Australia, India, and Canada, as well as the Chairman of exiled regime. the Conference of the Non-Aligned Countries repre- In early 1991, P5 took the initiative in hastily draft- sented by Zimbabwe (or Yugoslavia in 1991). The four ing a peace agreement in New York and Paris, with the Cambodian parties were the Sihanouk faction support of the United Nations Secretariat. Yet because (FUNCINPEC), the Son San faction (KPNLF), the Cambodians were left out of this process, Cambodians Khieu Samphan faction (the Khmer Rouge), and the felt disregarded and thus frustrated. Heated debates Hun Sen faction (the Phnom Penh government). among the Cambodian parties ensued. The Paris International Conference on Cambodia or- Meanwhile, the sudden turn of events in the world ganized itself into three working committees: the First with the disintegration of the Soviet Union and other Committee on military matters, co-chaired by India and developments in East Europe, together with improve- Canada; the Second Committee on international guaran- ments in China-Vietnam relations, expedited the peace tees and political affairs, co-chaired by Malaysia and process. In June 1991, Prince Sihanouk and Hun Sen Laos; and the Third Committee on the repatriation of reached a basic agreement in informal talks in Jakarta. refugees and displaced persons and the eventual recon- In July, Prince Sihanouk assumed the SNC presidency. struction of Cambodia, co-chaired by Japan and Austra- In September, an agreement was reached among the lia. In addition, an ad hoc committee comprising repre- Cambodian Parties. On October 21, the Paris Interna- sentatives from Cambodia’s four parties only met as tional Conference on Cambodia, the second session, re- necessary. After one month of discussions, the Third sumed, and on October 23, 12 Cambodian representa- Committee succeeded in unanimously adopting two of- tives from the SNC and the 18 countries signed the ficial documents on the repatriation and the reconstruc- Agreements on a Comprehensive Political Settlement of tion issues, with the difficult-to-deal-with Khmer Rouge the Cambodia Conflict, the Paris Agreements, compris- agreeing with the adoption. However, the First and Sec- ing four documents. The Paris Agreements constituted ond Committees failed to reach any agreements or con- a legal basis for the subsequent activities by the UN for clusions. The first session of the PICC adjourned on the Cambodian peace process. August 30. Based on the Paris Agreements, the United Nations After the first session of the PICC ended, the five Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) was permanent members of the UN Security Council (P5) launched. UNTAC, headed by a Special Representative frequently held high-level talks on the Cambodia issue of the UN Secretary-General, carried out the Peace- alternately in New York and Paris. Meanwhile, the Keeping Operation (PKO) during the transitional period Cambodian parties themselves had talks in Bangkok, of 18 months. UNTAC was enormous in scale, made up Jakarta and Tokyo, with the support of Thailand, Japan, of some 22,000 international staff, including about and other Asian countries. In May 1990, Prince 6,000 civilians, of which 3,500 were civilian police of- Sihanouk and Prime Minister Hun Sen of the Phnom ficers, and around 16,000 military personnel. Penh government met in Tokyo. Khieu Samphan of the During the transitional period under the auspices of Khmer Rouge, who accompanied Prince Sihanouk, boy- UNTAC, a body for consultation and coordination, cotted the meeting, but that did not affect the negotia- dubbed “Expanded Perm 5” or the “Core Group,” was tions between Sihanouk and Hun Sen. The two agreed established within the diplomatic corps in Phnom Penh. on the principle that the Supreme National Council The purpose of Expanded Perm 5 was to support (SNC), a core administrative body in the country’s UNTAC and the SNC. This unconventional body was peace process, should consist of six representatives from made up of the ambassadors to Cambodia from nine the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea countries, including the P5, Indonesia, Japan, Australia, (CGDK) and the equivalent six representatives from the and Thailand. The membership increased to ten when 38 Part II Chapter 1 Section 1. Politics Germany joined later. These ambassadors took turns to UNHCR, UNTAC repatriated all Cambodian refugees host meetings at their official residences to discuss what and displaced persons in refugee camps on the Thai- measures to take to support UNTAC and the SNC. Such Cambodian border, totaling about 360,000, during a pe- meetings were usually held once or twice a week.