At the “UNTAC Exhibition Weekly Speaker Series” yesterday organized by the Australian Embassy, our Executive Director – Amb. Pou Sothirak – gave his personal reflections on UNTAC operation in Cambodia 30 years ago. Below are the essence of his reflection:
1- Amb. Pou Sothirak expressed his appreciation to H.E. Pablo Kang, Ambassador of Australia for reviving the historical legacy of UNTAC which is known to assist the re-emergence of new Cambodia yearning for stability, peace, independence, progress and democracy.
2- We should remember that UNTAC has helped Cambodia end years of isolation, foster the spirit of national reconciliation and allow the Cambodian people for the first time in almost 40 years to choose their government in a comparatively free, fair and democratic manner. UNTAC succeeded in organizing a surprisingly successful May 1993 election, enabling a new constitution to be adopted with a new government formed and His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk was restored to the throne as Cambodia’s constitutional monarch and a national army was established.
3- However, UNTAC has had negative implications as well. These include high monetary cost of operation worth approximately $1.5 billion with the human cost, there were questions of neutrality and impartiality, and effectiveness of UNTAC is coping with four different existing administrations of the Cambodian warring factions at the time and the inability of UNTAC of dealing Khmer Rouge’s blatant violations of the Paris Peace Agreements to demobilize and disarm.
4- We should pay tribute to the mission of UNTAC that justified in action the spirit of the Paris Peace Agreements. While significant challenges remain in the country’s development path, there is no doubt that Cambodia can stand on its own feet as a unitary, sovereign, and independent nation with development well underway, thanks to the desire for peace and the spirit of national reconciliation born from the Cambodian leaders as well as the strong support from international community, especially Australia.
For more information, please visit: https://cicp.org.kh/
To read and download Amb. Pou Sothirak’s full statement, please visit:
