Coalition partners comprising Cambodia’s two major parties are making a commitment to guarantee the 2002 communal elections will be free of violence.
Funcinpec President Prince Norodom Ranariddh said Wednesday he will sign a deal with CPP President Chea Sim. The agreement was first announced by party officials in March.
“We will sign an open agreement to ensure there won’t be any electoral violence like we experienced in the past,” the Prince said.
“This is another guarantee that safety will be maintained. We have learned from the painful past, and will try to [create] a peaceful future.”
The prince also appealed to the US, Japan and the European Union to fund the commune elections, scheduled for February 2002.
Organizers have asked for $35 million to conduct the balloting; the government is suggesting a budget of $10 million.
Meanwhile, the prince still did not give an exact date for the appointment of Prince Norodom Sirivudh as Funcinpec secretary-general, the No 2 leadership post.
Prince Sirivudh returned to Cambodia in 1999 after spending almost three years in exile. He was accused of plotting to assassinate then-Second Prime Minister Hun Sen, but was amnestied by King Norodom Sihanouk, his half-brother.
“Don’t think too much about this,” Prince Ranariddh said. “Even if God came to take over, the Funcinpec Party would remain.”
