NETHERLANDS/EU/CAMBODIA: DEMARCHE ON TRAFFICKING

C O N F I D E N T I A L THE HAGUE 003330 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP AND EUR E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/22/2014 TAGS: CB KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL NL SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS/EU/CAMBODIA: DEMARCHE ON TRAFFICKING SCANDAL REF: STATE 269580 Classified By: Political Counselor Andrew Schofer for reasons 1.4 (b) a nd (d) ¶1. (C) Poloffs discussed reftel points December 21 with Eric Verwaal, Head of MFA's Southeast Asia and Oceania Department, and Hein Copper, desk officer. Verwaal clarified that the Netherlands Embassy in Bangkok covers Cambodian issues since the Dutch have no Embassy in Phnom Penh. Verwaal was annoyed that the MFA in The Hague, representing the Presidency, had not cleared the statement issued by the UK Ambassador in Phnom Penh on behalf of EU Heads of Mission there. Nevertheless, he said the statement was otherwise non-controversial and reflected Dutch Presidency views. He was pleased it had been issued expediently following the event. ¶2. (C) Verwaal said his office would get a briefing about the situation from the EU Heads of Mission in the field and would circulate results to all EU members. He thought a "logical follow-up" might be an EU Troika visit to seek clarification from the Royal Government of Cambodia on the status of the investigation into the incident. Verwaal pointed out that as the Dutch EU Presidency ends in two weeks, Luxembourg would take up the issue within the EU, although the British would likely follow the matter in the field as Luxembourg has no embassy in Cambodia either. ¶3. (U) Global Issues officer also shared points with MFA's Judicial and Police Cooperation Division, which handles TIP issues. That Division forwarded the demarche language to the Netherlands Embassy in Bangkok. Marjo Compvoets, Senior Policy Officer for TIP, appreciated the information and said she would work with Mr. Verwaal's office to respond. SOBEL