Funcinpec guerrilla leader Nhek Bun Chhay said in Nov 6 interview that he intends
to meet Khmer Rouge chief Ta Mok to seek "integration" of the KR forces
with those loyal to Prince Norodom Ranariddh - continuing what Second Prime Minister
Hun Sen has termed the "Ranariddhization of the Khmer Rouge". Nhek Bun
Chhay spoke to Tom Fawthrop, a correspondent of the Sunday Times in London,
at a hotel in Surin, Thailand. Excerpts:
Q: What will you discuss with Ta Mok?
A: We will discuss the integration of our forces and ask for Pol Pot to be
handed over to an international tribunal.
When will the meeting take place?
Soon. We are waiting for [resistance chief and former KR] General Iem Phan from
Samlot to join the meeting.
Ta Mok insists that Hun Sen has to be arrested first [before Pol Pot is handed
over]. Are you setting any conditions?
Ta Mok's conditions are very reasonable because Pol Pot and Hun Sen are the same
- they kill Cambodian people just the same.
What kind of integration do you want with the forces of Anlong Veng?
Just the same as in Phnom Malai and Pailin: the consolidation of troops and forces
and official ranks [headed by Rannariddh].
Are you aiming for a 50-50 relationship with the Khmer Rouge?
They have more forces but we are the Royal Government, we are legal, and they
are trying to consolidate with us so it can't be 50-50. Their strong power-base in
Anlong Veng is not part of the equation. They have only a small territory, but the
majority of Cambodian territory belongs to the Royal Government. Ta Mok is only one
group, so they have to accept and follow us.
How can you trust Ta Mok? During the coalition with the Khmer Rouge in the 1980s
didn't you have many problems - why can you trust the Khmer Rouge now?
It is not only Ta Mok. In Anlong Veng many are not happy with Ta Mok - Ta Mok
does not have the same power as before. Some want to rejoin Cambodian society. There
are a couple of factions
What are the different factions?
There is a 50-50 split between the Ta Mok faction and the Pol Pot faction now
that Khieu Samphan has sided with Ta Mok.
How do you rate Ta Mok?
He is completely different from Pol Pot - the way he controls his forces, the
structure in Anlong Veng. Pol Pot's organization was on the basis of absolute power
but with Ta Mok there is some freedom .
What integration has taken place so far?
General Mean Sarin, the [Funcinpec, now with the resistance] governor of Preah
Vihear province, has set up a base at the temple of Preah Vihear [the famous temple
straddling the Cambodian-Thai border which was captured by the KR in June 1993].
Do they stay with the Khmer Rouge inside the temple?
No, they are camped two kilometers away.
Can anyone else get access to the temple?
We plan to hold an integration ceremony [of KR] soon. We also want to open the
temple to tourists.
Is Ieng Sary's recent statement of support for Phnom Penh a major setback for
your struggle?
That is only talk by Ieng Sary and we don't know if Hun Sen forced him to go to
Phnom Penh. His press statement is not from his own mind or brain; this is from Hun
Sen's intimidation telling him what to say. Ieng Sary has told us he is always neutral.
It is only a cosmetic change. Hun Sen probably called Ieng Sary to Phnom Penh to
ask him to organize a rival Solidarity Party to oppose the National Solidarity Party
set up by Khieu Samphan - because Hun Sen always likes to have two of everything.
[On the Tuol Sleng detention center in Phnom Penh during the Pol Pot regime, which
Pol Pot has described as an invention of the Vietnamese]
In 1979, when the Vietnamese occupied Cambodia they killed many Cambodian people
in Pursat and Oral. You should know that Tuol Sleng genocide museum was organized
by Hun Sen and the Vietnamese. If the Khmer Rouge killed the people they would not
put the evidence for people to see. The bones displayed in Tuol Sleng were collected
from Pursat province and the Oral Mountain - the Vietnamese killed approximately
15,000 people in Pursat and 20,000 in Oral.
