Open US interference
The undermining of the Cambodian government was carried out in the name of the United Nations and with UN personnel. But it was an operation for the United States, and the US government has not been at all timid about meddling openly when it sees fit.
Nick Johnson reports from Phnom Penh that the US hand was quite visible in the collapse of Prince Sihanouk's first attempt to form a coalition government immediately after the election: "A June 1 'non-
document' from the US mission stated that the US would not accept a government that included either Sihanouk or SoC. They only want FUNCINPEC plus allies. So the deal fell apart in 24 hours."
(A non-document is an institutionalised form of diplomatic lying: it is a document given out with the warning that it will be denied.)
The US government clearly regards UNTAC and its officials more or less as hired employees. Green Left Weekly has a copy of a lengthy May 10 letter from US special representative Charles Twining to UNTAC chief Yasushi Akashi which is almost insulting in its tone of command. The following passage gives an idea of both the tone and the US ambassador's attention to the detail of the election:
"Finally, your Civil Administration chief in one of the provinces told me that he believes any public facility must be made available to any party requesting it. In that province, the most important facility was the stadium. He was successful in ensuring its availability. I continue to hear complaints about Phnom Penh's Olympic Stadium being available to only certain parties. FUNCINPEC was unable to obtain it May 9 for a rally. the BLDP has asked for it for a rally on May 16. Unless the party is willing to pay $7,000 (which it does not have), it will be obligated to hold its rally outside the stadium in the hot sun. I suggest that this is unfair. To ensure the neutral political environment, this is the kind of facility I believe UNTAC should control from now until the end of the campaign so that parties may request its use in turn through your secretariat."
Other "suggestions" in Twining's letter included the banning of individual CPP candidates or even "the party's entire list" in a province if they could be shown to have "interfered with a political candidate's ability to move, e.g. to use a state ferry".