Hann So ponders the choices open to the government after the failure of peace
talks
The failure of the round table talks between the Royal Government
of Cambodia (RGC) and the Khmer Rouge on June 15-16, and the closure of the
Khmer Rouge office in Phnom Penh will create instability in the country. Renewed
fighting between government forces and the Khmer Rouge will eventually
intensify. The Khmer people will continue to suffer and die.
To create a
political stability for Cambodia, three options can be considered:
1) The
RGC declares an all-out war against the Khmer Rouge. Should the Khmer Rouge be
outlawed? If the RGC believes that there is no peaceful solution to this
unending problem, it is strategically good to outlaw the Khmer Rouge. This will
force Thailand to stop granting visas to the Khmer Rouge, thus preventing them
from traveling through Thailand.
If the RGC wants to maintain unity among
its own rank and still believes in a political solution, it can continue to keep
the door open while fighting the Khmer Rouge. The latter are already considered
outlaws when they refused to participate in the 1993 UN-supervised elections
