Bye-Bye Ballots

Elections in Cambodia will proceed but without the Khmer Rouge

EVEN ITS STAUNCHEST ALLY COULD NO LONGER SUPport Cambodia's most violent guerrilla faction. China's vote last Monday made unanimous a Security Council resolution to proceed with national elections in May -- even though the Khmer Rouge will field no candidates. The decision apparently eliminates any chance for the Maoist group to be included in a coalition government, though no one can predict what will happen after the 20,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force leaves. The Khmer Rouge, who were responsible for the death of at least a million Cambodians during their 1975-79 reign of terror, made clear they will not go quietly. Just...

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