CAMBODIA ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, NAM RESOLUTIONS ON

UNCLAS PHNOM PENH 001930 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS, IO E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PHUM CB SUBJECT: CAMBODIA ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, NAM RESOLUTIONS ON LEBANON REF: A. A) STATE 169257 ¶B. B) STATE 176793 ¶1. (SBU) Pol/Econ Chief delivered reftel A and B demarches to MFA Director for the Department of International Organizations Sun Suon on October 11 and October 24, respectively. On the indigenous peoples demarche, there is no New Zealand Embassy in Cambodia and the Australian Embassy informed us that they were not instructed to raise this issue with the RGC. Sun Suon noted that this issue has been a contentious matter for some time, but was not up to date on the arguments presented in reftel B. Pol/Econ Chief provided demarche points from reftel A to the MFA official, adding that they represented agreed-upon language with the New Zealand and Australian governments. Pol/Econ Chief noted that the Cambodian hill tribes might view themselves as indigenous people; Sun Suon said that the RGC would not recognize any of the country's ethnic minority groups as indigenous people and would insist the term cannot be applied in Cambodia. Suon nevertheless promised to pass on our points and arguments. ¶2. (SBU) On the NAM resolutions and Lebanon (reftel B), Suon said that Cambodia normally recommends balanced language in NAM statements and proposed resolutions, and would do so in the case of Lebanon. He agreed that the NAM resolutions are more political than substantive, but added that Cambodia usually looks to others in ASEAN for consensus on their position. MUSSOMELI