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Many of the remainder are inaccessible because they live in areas controlled by the Khmer Rouge. Since they withdrew last June from the peace process that they had accepted in the Paris agreement of October 1991, they have refused to allow UNTAC electoral teams into their areas, sabotaging some of the principal ambitions of the U.N. plan -- the disarming of factions and nationwide elections. Hun Sen, the Prime Minister of the Vietnam-backed administration in Phnom Penh, says that "the Paris agreement is no longer balanced. It is like a handicapped person." But while accepting some UNTAC requirements, his administration also harasses the U.N. effort.
In the shade of the UNTAC umbrella, there is a heartening political spring in Cambodia. Alongside several brave Cambodian groups, UNTAC is promoting human-rights ideas. At least 14 political parties have sprung up to contest the election, including one with the Stars and Stripes as its symbol. Hun Sen's ruling communists have renamed themselves the Cambodian People's Party, but find it hard to escape their Marxist, pro-Vietnamese history or reputation for corruption and brutality. Their principal competitor is the nationalist, anticommunist party founded by Prince Norodom Sihanouk, the country's former ruler.
The party claims that its supporters are harassed, intimidated, even killed; most observers in Phnom Penh believe Hun Sen's administration is behind the attacks. Hun Sen denies that. Although he is an authoritative figure who will no doubt hold a senior position in any postelection coalition, his power is limited by hard-line communists within his government and a security apparatus not entirely under his control.
Though they have withdrawn from the peace process and the elections, the < Khmer Rouge recently announced a new political party, the National Unity of Cambodia Party. It is headed by Khieu Samphan, long presented as the "acceptable" face of the Khmer Rouge. Pol Pot, their notorious leader, directs their campaign unseen from near the Thai border. If their party did take part in the elections, it would probably win several seats. It is important -- if shocking -- to realize that the Khmer Rouge do have support in Cambodia. Some people see them as nationalists and incorrupt -- but there is no reason to believe they have changed their brutal and absolutist policies.
Cambodia's central drama is that it is a small country of 9 million people, overshadowed by two large and threatening neighbors: 65 million Thais to the north and west, 70 million Vietnamese to the east. For centuries both have coveted, infiltrated, invaded and otherwise tried to exploit Cambodia; their ambitions and the resulting fears among Cambodians still dominate the country.