(Jakarta): Cambodian Senate President, Samdech Techo Hun Sen said that UNTAC should express gratitude to the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk, as without his involvement, UNTAC would not have been able to fully achieve peace in Cambodia. Without the late king father, UNTAC would have remained stuck in the country.

Samdech Techo delivered a lecture titled “Visions and Experiences in Cambodia’s Peacebuilding Efforts” at the ERIA School of Government in Jakarta, Indonesia on Tuesday (May 6).

He emphasised that the core objective of the Paris Peace Agreements—which UNTAC failed to realise—was to end the war in Cambodia. He affirmed that national reconciliation at the time would not have been possible without the involvement of the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk.

Samdech Techo added that UNTAC had already failed by virtue of not recognising the results of the very elections it had organised. Nevertheless, all political parties—except for the Khmer Rouge—respected the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk.

Cambodia’s general elections, organised by UNTAC, were held from 23 to 28 May 1993 with the participation of 20 political parties. The elected parties included FUNCINPEC, the Cambodian People’s Party, the party of Son Sann, and the National Movement for the Liberation of Kampuchea (MOLINAKA) party.

According to Samdech Techo Hun Sen, on the day the Constituent Assembly was transformed into the National Assembly and the government was formed, the Head of UNTAC, the Deputy Head, and the military commander abruptly left Cambodia overnight, fearing they would be trapped.

“Without the Cambodian late King Father Norodom Sihanouk, UNTAC would have been stuck in Cambodia. I reiterate what the Paris Peace Agreements aimed to achieve—UNTAC failed to deliver. UNTAC did not bring full peace to Cambodia,” Samdech Techo underscored.

He continued that UNTAC succeeded in achieving only partial peace. The war persisted, with one side controlled by the Khmer Rouge and the other by the government formed through the elections.

Samdech Techo Hun Sen noted that even after the adoption of the Constitution in 1993, Cambodia had not yet attained full peace. However, beginning in 1998, Cambodia entered a new historical era—featuring a single National Assembly, a unified Constitution, and one national armed force.
=FRESH NEWS