Cambodia has hope to rebuild in peace
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia The return of exiled Prince Norodom Sihanouk after the signing of a peace accord kindles a desperate desire among Cambodians to rebuild their ruined land.
Sihanouk's emotional return Thursday to lead a national reconciliation council is filling the southeast Asian country with hope that peace may finally come after 21 years of war, genocide and famine.
Yet a halt in the fighting isn't enough, many say. Unless the ruined economy is infused with massive international aid, political stability will be elusive.
"Everyone is happy the war will stop,"said Sarouen Sok, a 24-year-old student. "But we need foreign aid to help us. We need to only spend money now that will rebuild our country."
Many are pinning their hopes for peace on the foreign troops that have started to arrive under the terms of a United Nations-brokered peace accord signed in Paris last month.
The treaty was signed by the Vietnamese-installed Cambodian government and the guerrilla groups that fought it for 13 years: the detested Khmer Rouge and two non-Communist factions.
Under the accord, the peacekeepers will monitor a cease-fire and help administer elections scheduled for 1993. Until then, the Phnom Penh government will rule the country, advised by the Sihanouk-led Supreme National Council made up of the four warring factions.
Since the first contingent of UN troops arrived from Australia this month, thousands of Phnom Penh residents have gathered to stare in wonder at their headquarters in the capital.
Many residents have expressed hope that the troops not only will help prevent renewed fighting but also will prevent a return to power of the Khmer Rouge, whose three-year rule starting in 1975 led to hundreds of thousands of deaths.
Beyond peace, the wants of most Cambodians are simple. They would like to have enough rice to eat, decent medical care and a homeland free of the legacies of war, including the millions of land mines that remain planted throughout the countryside.
By almost every yardstick - per-capita income, child mortality, disease - the country is among the world's most deprived nations.
Analysts and officials say that if the economic conditions aren't addressed, instability will continue.
"If people are hungry, they will be in bad temper," Deputy Foreign Minister Long Visulo said in a recent interview. "If people are full, the situation will be calm. Foreign investment and economic development will help us solve the political problems."
Yet many Cambodians also worry about the new interim council, since its members are a bitter reminder of the failed leadership of the past.