Paul Vehmeyer's comments on the UNTAC period

Paul was former First Secretary Netherlands Embassy - Bangkok (1992-1992) and Deputy Permanent Representative to ESCAP. He was also former Second Secretary to the Permanent Representation of the Netherlands to OECD, Paris (1990-1992).

Whilst in Bangkok for the whole period 1992-1996 he was charged with "Cambodia" and visited from the beginning the UNTAC / UNDP-co-chaired monthly meetings of the SDCOC (State Development Council of Cambodia) held in Phnom Penh.

Paul offered more detail on the UNTAC period, starting with this statement:

"The various parties concerned, Hun Sen's SOC (State of Cambodia), the Royalists (Norodom Sinahouk and his son Ranariddh's later Funcinpec) as well as the KPNLF (roughly speaking an amalgam of liberal Buddhists and heritage of old Lon Nol military man) and of course the Khmer Rouge (PDK's negotiator Khieu Sampan), undersigned the Paris Peace Accords in October 1991.

France as the host country of the talks and the United Nations had a great part in it, and a nearly two-year UN-assisted transitional period for Cambodia took off. By the time of August 1992 UNTAC supported the peace plan with 22.000 troops.

As many as 16 nations were implementing the four main goals. Those included

• the securing of peace and demilitarisation in the whole of Cambodia
• the cantonment and disarming of military troops
• the resettlement of almost 400,000 Cambodian refugees and displaced persons
• the organisation of free and fair elections

Although the cooperation of all interior parties concerned was delicate and had at times to be called less than nominal in May 1993 elections were held. These were a big success for the Cambodians and the UN."

"The answer is affirmative. The Cambodian economy wasn't ready for such a spending spree. The level of supply of goods and services couldn't meet the sudden demand caused by UNTAC and the influx of NGO's, investors, embassies, tourists etc. Venturers who wanted to profit or more likely profiteer from short-term investments ("earning the quick buck") popped-up everywhere. Riels were totally inadequate as currency. I remember buying once a loaf of brown bread in a shop close to the central market in Phnom Penh (it must have been in September 1992) and paying with a US 2-dollar note. They gave me about a shoebox of Riels back ...

Anyway taking sufficient monetary and budgetary measures with lack of policy instruments was pretty hopeless. To control the destabilising factors on the overall economy in 1992 early 1993 was illusory. Of course there were more side-effects to the realisation of the principal goals from the peace accords. (For instance the steep increase in HIV/AIDS cases).

After some lapse of time UNTAC (Roger Lawrence) was able to stabilize the economy. Primarily because the total number of troops employed fell off sharply. Also investors became more concerned with over-all security. This was the time of train (PP-Battambang) hold-ups and hostage takings throughout the country, even in "safe" areas, who ended fatally."

"The answer to this is considerably complex. Your assumption that the exertion of the SOC/HunSen's Cambodian Peoples Party on the UN neutralised the election result is an oversimplification I am afraid. Funcinpec wasn't too well organised to begin with. Remember the various crises around the capable member of SNC (Supreme National Council) and minister of Finance Sam Rainsy as well as the inner circle upheavals. Within the provinces executive power was in fairly all the provinces strongly in hands of SOC-cadres. One could observe that Hun Sen was certainly playing hard-ball there.

Bear in mind please that Cambodia till that time for 17 years had been a one party state and had been thoroughly militarised. So the risk of having a Funcinpec-lead coalition government in the city of Phnom Penh and SNC-chieftains elsewhere was at certain times in the summer of 1993 very, very real. Hun Sen might have done his country a big service at the time with all his canvassing and leg-pulling in CPP's strongholds.

At least HRH Norodom Sihanouk, head of state and king at the time held that view. So Cambodia ended-up with a co-chairing prime ministership. Which was in March 1994 in Tokio at ICORC II (International Consortium on the Reconstruction of Cambodia; Conference to mobilise large sums of assistance) quite a mummery. I remember US Secretary of State Warren Christopher and USA's Ambassador to Japan, Walter Mondale being there and putting-up a forceful show of interest in the democratic developments of Cambodia... Needless to say that Ranariddh couldn't sustain power."

Note: In the UNTAC-period the Cambodian governmental counterpart was invested within this SNC. It was the transitional authority in which throughout this time the sovereignty, independence and unity of Cambodia was enshrined until the free and fair elections had produced a new legitimate national Administration. SOC ("State of Cambodia") as the (internationally contested; UN refused them the seat in the General Assembly since 1982) incumbent of local power had 5 seats. The Royalist had 2 (being Funcinpec). The BLDP/KPNLF had also 2. And the Khmer Rouge possessed 2 as well. The SNC was presided over by the king. The Khmer Rouge have hardly showed up if they ever came at all. I remember that once Khieu Samphan, their delegate for "external relations", trying to attend a meeting at Wat Phnom was attacked by 'the mob'. That photograph went all over the world."

The Cambodian tragedy - why Anlong Veng?
The Anlong Veng project - what is it?
Anlong Veng diary  - March 2000
Siem Reap diary - June 2000
Phnom Penh diary - November 2000
Trapang Prasat diary - June 2001
Angkor Chum diary - June 2001
Phnom Penh & Tuol Sleng - March 2002

Trapang Prasat diary - April 2002
Angkor Chum diary - April 2002
Cambodia Diary - March 2003
3 Year Project Report - May 2003
Anlong Veng, Preah Vihear & Kulen District - February 2004
Anlong Veng, Trapang Prasat & Preah Vihear - March 2009

Mary Sarath's Journal - Anlong Veng to Preah Vihear - March 2009

Matt Warren's Times Educational Article - January 2002
Gaye Miller's story - a container from Melbourne 1 - September 2003
Gaye Miller's story - a container from Melbourne 2 - October 2003
Anne-Lise Aakervik's project - children taking photographs - February 2004
Gaye Miller's story continued 1 - April/May 2005
Gaye Miller's story continued 2 - April/May 2005

Slide Presentation to King Edward's School, Bath - November 2002

Books on Cambodia
'net links Cambodia

Angkor photos - March 2000
Anlong Veng photos - March 2000
Trapang Prasat photos - March 2000
Trapang Prasat photos - November 2000
Angkor photos - June 2001
Trapang Prasat photos - June 2001
Angkor Chum photos - June 2001

Phnom Penh photos - March 2002
Tuol Sleng (S-21) photos - March 2002
Trapang Prasat photos - April 2002
Angkor Chum photos - April 2002

Anlong Veng & Trapang Prasat photos - March 3 2003
Angkor Chum & Varin photos - March 4 2003
Svay Leu photos - March 5 2003

Siem Reap / Artisans d'Angkor - February 20 2004
Anlong Veng & Trapang Prasat - February 21 2004
Dangrek Mountains & Preah Vihear Temple - February 22 2004
Kulen District & Koh Ker Temple - February 23 2004

Anlong Veng, Trapang Prasat & Preah Vihear - March 2009

Mail us if you would like to help.

e-mail webmaster  © yates family 2009
No content may be copied without the author's permission.