4 Aug 89
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ad to hold an international conference in Paris to resolve the Cambodian issue in the presence of representatives from both opposition forces in Cambodia, the two groups of South-East Asian countries with differing stands on the Cambodian issue, the big countries and other countries concerned with the Cambodian issue, such as the USSR, the USA, China, India, France, Great Britain, Australia, Canada, Poland and Japan; the UN secretary-general and the Non-Aligned Movement chairman.
There has been a broad exchange of views at the conference on the question that if the UN wants a role in resolving the Cambodian issue, it should stop issuing erroneous resolutions on Cambodia and recognise the decisions of the international Paris conference on Cambodia.
Question 2: What were the main problems raised during the few days of the foreign ministerial conference in Paris?
Answer: Following the announcement of the total withdrawal of Vietnamese troops from Cambodia in September 1989, the problem raised at the conference was the elimination of the genocidal Pol Pot regime and the danger of their stirring up a civil war. It can be said that the international Paris conference had developed two key problems as decided by JIM 1 and Jim 2.
Question 3: Does your statement concerning support for the conference to reach global solution to the Cambodian issue contradict the principle that Cambodia's internal affairs must be settled by the Cambodian people?
Answer: Our stance is that Cambodia's internal affairs must be settled by the various Cambodian sides. The international conference may not interfere or impose any solution. We concur with the establishment of three working committees by the conference for international control, international guarantee, refugees and reconstruction. With the scheme of compelling the Cambodian sides to settle their internal affairs as they desire, some countries requested the conference to establish a fourth working committee to discuss Cambodia's internal affairs. The delegations of the State of Cambodia and some other countries did not agree. Finally, the conference unanimously agreed to establish a special committee composed of only the Cambodian sides to discuss Cambodia's internal affairs. So, the conference has accepted the principle that the Cambodian people settle their own internal affairs.
Until now, the various sides have a unified stand on the international aspect and many fundamental points of the internal aspect. So, there have been nearly enough conditions for reaching a global solution. The remaining problem is that the Cambodian sides must agree with one another on the mechanism of national reconciliation for the transitional period from the time of the Vietnamese troop pullout until the time of general elections. This agreement will lead to a global solution to the Cambodian issue. This is what the Cambodian people, the people of the world and all of us desire.
Question 4 Were there any heated debates at the conference?
Answer: Yes, the Pol Pot representative opposed the following three points which had been unanimously agreed upon by the delegates: (1) the question of the UN Secretary-General
SWB
sending a group of experts to Cambodia to collect information for the conference: (2) the establishment of a special committee to deal with the internal affairs of Cambodia; and (3) the nomination of India and Canada as co-chairmen of this committee. The Pol Pot representative was the only one who opposed this and dragged the debate on these questions into the two sessions held on the afternoon and evening of 31st July. On the morning of 1st August, the Pol Pot representative eventually became resigned to accepting the decision on these three points.
Question 5: Why did the State of Cambodia agree to welcome the UN Secretary-General's request for a group of experts coming to collect information?
Answer: With its goodwill, not only did the State of Cambodia agree but it also declared that it would create the most favourable conditions for the group of experts coming to Cambodia to collect the necessary technical information in support of the work of committec 1 on international control. This is essential for the work of this committee. The Khmer Rouge adamantly opposed the sending of this delegation because they did not want the conference to make progress and also because they were afraid that reports made by the delegation would reflect the objective truth on the power of control exercised by the State of Cambodia over the entire territory and on their [Khmer Rouge's] crimes against the Cambodian people. The fact that the conference eventually maintained its decision to send this delegation is another setback for the Pol Pot clique.
Question 6: Could you tell us about the forthcoming task of the conference and its prospects?
Answer: All working committees will work from 3rd-10th August and from 16th-18th August. The co-ordination committee will meet from 21st-24th August to prepare general documents for approval by a foreign ministerial conference to be held from 28th-30th August. Given the general trend of various countries and those parties wishing to reach a solution prior to Vietnamese troop withdrawal from Cambodia, I think that the conference will produce results. However, the results will depend on the goodwill of all participating parties.
QIAN QICHEN: PARIS MEETINGS WITH MINISTERS “WILL PLAY A CERTAIN ROLE” IN IMPROVING RELATIONS
Zhongguo Xinwen She, Peking, in Chinese 0614 gmt 3 Aug 89 Text of report
The Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Qian Qichen, stressed here today [Paris, 2nd August] that an important principle for exchanges between countries was mutual respect, adding that a country should not force anything on others. Qian Qichen made these remarks during an interview by reporters from AP, AFP, Xinhua News Agency, and 'European Times' this morning.
Qian Qichen's frequent activities outside the Paris international conference on the Cambodian issue have drawn the attention of the press media here. When asked by a group