Hun Sen sees co-presidency as solut

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Subject: Hun Sen sees co-presidency as solution to row 

Politics 

Hun Sen sees co-presidency as solution to row

PHNOM PENH -- Cambodian strongman Hun Sen feels a co-presidency is a
possible solution to the country's months-old political crisis, a
government spokesman said on Wednesday. 

''Hun Sen has said maybe we will have a co-presidency of the national
assembly, but the CPP [Cambodian People's Party] has yet to meet to discuss
the idea,'' spokesman Khieu Kanharith said. 

The proposal was put to assembly chairman Chea Sim by a representative of
opposition leader 

Prince Norodom Ranariddh at meetings last week, a CPP official close to the
chairman said. 
But the official said power-sharing was only a minor point in a range of
topics discussed between Chea Sim and veteran Funcinpec member Ing Kiet. 

The two were not immediately available for comment on Wednesday, and senior
Funcinpec officials in Phnom Penh denied any such idea had been considered. 

''It is not a proposal from Funcinpec. Our position is that we should have
the position of chairman to ourselves,'' party secretary-general Tol Lah
said. 

The CPP under Second Prime Minister Hun Sen won a majority of seats in the
July election, but not the two-thirds needed to govern alone. 

It has since been involved in a series of unsuccessful coalition talks with
the opposition Funcinpec party of former co-premier Prince Norodom
Ranariddh and the self-named Sam Rainsy party. 

Under the Cambodian constitution, the chairman and president of parliament
becomes acting head of state whenever the king is out of the country or
declines to sign legislation. 

King Norodom Sihanouk, 75, is ill with a range of ailments and is due to
leave Phnom Penh early next month for medical treatment in Beijing. He has
shared his time between Beijing and Cambodia in recent years. 

He has already delayed his return to China after being asked to chair talks
between the three main political parties in a bid to solve the deadlock,
which has left the country without a new government since the elections. 

The talks have stalled over a range of issues, most recently the venue for
a proposed summit. 
Although flexible on key ministerial positions, the opposition parties have
stubbornly insisted on the post of chairman in the new government despite
the CPP's repeated denials. 

Khieu Kanharith said he was not sure how seriously the reported proposal
was being considered by CPP leaders Hun Sen and Chea Sim, but he was
confident it would not lead to the sort of arrangement agreed to after the
UN-sponsored election in 1993. 

That poll resulted in a power-sharing deal between Prince Ranariddh and Hun
Sen, with two prime ministers. The prince was ousted as first prime
minister in street battles last July. 

''Because of this experience, maybe we can find a way to prevent it from
happening again,'' Khieu Kanharith said, adding that some changes to the
Constitution might be necessary. 

''We have to avoid problems such as conflicts of power and stalemates,
which could cause a lot of headaches.'' 

ü A decision by the United Nations to leave Cambodia's seat vacant is
''unhelpful'' but not a matter of priority, government officials said on
Wednesday. 

''For Cambodia it is not an urgent matter to retake our vacant seat. Our
main priority is to solve our internal problems,'' foreign ministry
spokesman Hor Sothoun said. 

The country's political leaders are in a months-old deadlock over the
make-up of a coalition government following July's elections. 

The UN credentials committee decided on Tuesday to keep the status quo
regarding the UN seats for Afghanistan and Cambodia. 

Committee chairman Michael Powles of New Zealand said ''there was no call
for a decision'' regarding Cambodia because the country's authorities did
not submit an application for UN recognition. 


Agence France-Presse