[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 96 (Wednesday, July 9, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7041-S7042]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               DEVELOPMENTS IN CAMBODIA CAUSE FOR CONCERN

  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, for those of us who follow events in 
Southeast Asia closely, recent developments in Cambodia are a cause for 
great concern.
  The coup d'etat--and, yes, I employ that term even if the Department 
of State, for broader foreign policy reasons, does not--staged this 
week by Second Prime Minister Hun Sen is a terrible setback for that 
strife-torn country. Tragically, the expression by Mao Tse-Tung that 
``power grows out of the barrel of a gun'' applies nowhere more so than 
Cambodia. A peace process initiated in 1991, culminating in the Paris 
peace accords, and manifested most significantly in the 1993 elections 
is dying.
  The investment in that country since the signing of the 1991 accord 
by the international community of more than $3 billion, including $160 
million from the United States, has clearly failed to eliminate from 
Cambodia the intertwining of politics and violence. The removal from 
power of the Khmer Rouge, one of the most vicious guerrilla movements 
in history--the very people for whom Cambodia has become synonymous 
with the image of bloodshed on a monumental scale--has not eliminated 
from the minds of Cambodia's leaders the notion of ``power from the 
barrel of a gun.''
  Mr. President, I am a strong supporter in Congress of facilitating 
the development of normal political and economic relationships with 
former adversaries in the Far East. I supported the opening of 
diplomatic relations with Vietnam and the extension of most-favored-
nation trade status to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. With many other 
Members of Congress, I have invested considerable time and effort to 
helping secure a peaceful and prosperous future for a region that has 
known decades of warfare unimaginable to most Americans. I can only now 
fear for the future. The coup by Hun Sen represents a reversal of 
fortune that will prove, I fear, extremely difficult to resolve. The 
culture of violence that dominates major factions in Cambodia is alive 
and well and once again in power.
  The response to the coup by the Clinton administration is 
understandably tempered by the knowledge that we will have to deal with 
the new regime as a simple fact of life, as well as within a broader 
regional context. It is that regional context that worries me as much 
as the developments inside Cambodia. The visit by Hun Sen to Hanoi 
immediately prior to his takeover of Phnom Penh sends a chilling 
message to those of us concerned about the region's future. Whether 
Vietnam is culpable in the events in Cambodia is an issue that demands, 
and presumably will receive, serious attention.
  The American public remains extraordinarily wary of any involvement 
by this country in Southeast Asia. That is understandable given the 
history of United States involvement there as well as memories of the 
years of terror in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge. That concern cannot 
and should not be ignored. That is why I was never under any doubt 
about the popularity of some of my positions with regard to Southeast 
Asia. The United States, however, must remain engaged there. It cannot 
turn its back on a region of great importance to the entire Far East. 
Conflict in Indochina, during a period when countries circle each other 
warily over specks in the South China Sea that may or may not be rich 
in oil and natural gas, can easily have wider implications. We must 
work to bring peace and stability to Southeast Asia. Both morally and 
practically, we must stay engaged.

  I have met a number of times in the past with Hun Sen. He is a tough 
individual not vulnerable to intimidation. He is capable of acting as 
ruthlessly as he deems necessary. His troops have actively sought out 
Members of Cambodia's elected Parliament with the clear intent of 
imprisoning those who oppose him and incorporating into his movement 
those who do not. Cambodia's interior minister was captured and 
executed. Sam Rainsy, president of the Khmer National Party and a 
friend of some of ours, expressed the situation appropriately when he 
asked, only partly rhetorically,

       On what ground, following what rule, what law, what article 
     of the Constitution, what legal procedure can the Second 
     Prime Minister unilaterally ``dismiss'' the First Prime 
     Minister . . . (O)nly with the backing of his tanks Hun Sen 
     gave to himself the right to dismiss the First Prime Minister 
     and to announce the formation of a new government.

  A reign of terror has been launched and a shadow has fallen over a 
country now known more for its violence than its awesome natural 
beauty. Gunfire around the Angkor Wat Temple, revered by Buddhism and 
universally identified with solemnity, provides a sad contrast that 
illustrates all too well the tragic fate of Cambodia. The international 
community, which invested so much time, energy, prestige, and money in 
establishing in Cambodia a democratic form of government and the 
opportunity for the same peaceful and prosperous future enjoyed by so 
many of Asia's countries, can be forgiven if it does not attempt a 
repeat of its efforts earlier this decade.
  The United States should, I believe, work to resolve this crisis and 
repair the damage. I would be hard-pressed at

[[Page S7042]]

the moment, however, to argue on behalf of foreign assistance for 
Cambodia while a government that took power via coup d'etat rules in 
Phnom Penh and the ousted FUNCINPEC party negotiates in the northwest 
with the Khmer Rouge. The administration must communicate more 
forcefully than it has to date to Hun Sen that his actions are 
unacceptable and it must meet with Prince Ranariddh while he is here in 
Washington at the highest possible level of government to convey our 
continued support for the democratically-elected government that was 
ousted. It must be reiterated that Hun Sen was made Second Prime 
Minister and the Cambodian People's Party given a sizable 
representation in Parliament not because of its popular support, which 
it lacks, but because of its history of extreme violence and 
willingness to employ that violence to attain its objectives. It must 
be illuminated the degree to which the international community bent 
over backward and the Cambodian people's interests sacrificed in order 
to bring the CPP into the coalition that was torn apart by the coup.
  Mr. President, the tragedy that is Cambodia continues. The Senate as 
a body, the Congress as an institution, and the administration as this 
country's representative abroad must communicate the message that the 
recent events in Cambodia represent a reversal that cannot be accepted 
without a price. I, for one, stand ready to do my part.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a 
quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________