CAMBODIA ON BURMA CONFERENCE

UNCLAS PHNOM PENH 000419 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS - A. COPE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PGOV PHUM BM CB SUBJECT: CAMBODIA ON BURMA CONFERENCE REF: A. STATE 5524 ¶B. PHNOM PENH 417 ¶C. STATE 53985 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. NOT FOR INTERNET DISSEMINATION. ¶1. (SBU) Pol/Ec chief May 23 delivered demarche (Ref A) to Kan Pharidh, Director General of the ASEAN Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, on the Royal Ploughing Day holiday. Kan Pharidh understood the significance of our points, took on board the distinction between recovery and reconstruction, and said he would brief Foreign Minister Hor Namhong and Secretary of State Kao Kim Hourn on the U.S. position before they departed for the Burma conference. ¶2. (SBU) Kan Pharidh noted our earlier demarche to Prince Sisowath (Ref B),and understood the additional points about the need to move to a full-scale, independent needs assessment. Kan Pharidh emphasized Cambodia's support for the ASEAN mechanism and the newly established Task Force to be led by ASEAN Secretary General Dr. Surin Pitsuwan. He expressed the hope that the UN-ASEAN conference would get results so that every nation wishing to provide aid could have "deliverable ouputs." He noted there would be an ASEAN Task Force meeting back-to-back with the UN-ASEAN donors meeting, adding that ASEAN was providing its own technical experts to the process. ¶3. (SBU) In addition to the USD $50,000 cash donation from the government and USD $10,000 from the Cambodian Red Cross, Kan Pharidh said that the Royal Cambodian Government was considering sending food (rice and dried fish) as well as cloth as further disaster assistance to the Burmese people in the wake of Cyclone Nargis. CAMPBELL