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- WORLD, Page 41World NotesCAMBODIAStepping in the Right Direction
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- Peace in Cambodia has proved to be about as elusive as the
- sight of John Sununu on the shuttle. But last week brought
- progress toward a settlement of the 12-year-old civil war. The
- Vietnam-supported government of Prime Minister Hun Sen and three
- rival resistance groups -- the communist Khmer Rouge, the
- noncommunist followers of former Prime Minister Son Sann, and
- the disciples of former head of state Prince Norodom Sihanouk
- -- accepted an unconditional cease-fire and a cessation of
- foreign-arms supplies. At Sihanouk's prodding, the transitional
- 12-member Supreme National Council, made up of representatives
- of the four factions, agreed to meet again later this month to
- begin work on electoral rules and a new constitution.
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- Developments on the periphery might make it easier for the
- warring parties to reach a settlement. In Hanoi, the Seventh
- Congress of the Vietnamese Communist Party dismissed Foreign
- Minister Nguyen Co Thach, a man China viewed as its principal
- antagonist in the region. It is widely believed that his
- departure will make Beijing, the chief supporter of the Khmer
- Rouge -- which ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1978 -- more willing
- to nudge the guerrillas to accept a compromise.
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