The Editor,

Subject to your articles "French ITC funder to pay for

English" and "La langue est une arme" in your last issue, it is optimistic to

say that Cambodian students know how to exercise the right over decision making

for their university future.

Since the world revolves toward the

selection of a common spoken language, Cambodia alone can't refuse this trend.

Although all languages are beneficial to those who've learned them, one is far

more indispensable than others. A foreign language should be nothing but a way

to open Cambodians to the outside world.

As Cambodia is working toward

national reconstruction, its true that all aid/assistance is good to its people.

However, the real value of aid/assistance is not mainly based on how big it is.

A good-will aid should seek to give independence to its beneficiaries as much as

possible. And a "wise" receiver sees help as a means to enable him to stand on

his own feet.

Since any changes in the future would be a difficult and

long process, its extremely important now that Cambodia should start finding its

own way to use the potentialities of aid without being caught in by any

influence, or at least to minimize any "undesirable" effect on its national

rehabilitation process.

- Yos Phanita, Phnom Penh