Joseph Y. Yun (L), U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Carol A. Rodley, U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia, leave the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong in Phnom Penh March 17, 2011. Cambodia offered on Thursday to repay 30 percent of the debt the country owes the United States, calling this a compromise over money it says was used by a pro-American government in the 1970s to repress its own people.
REUTERS/Samrang Pring (CAMBODIA - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS)
PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Cambodian and US officials held talks on Thursday to explore ways of settling a decades-old "dirty debt" of more than $400 million, both sides said.
The low-interest loans from the US were given to the government of General Lon Nol after it came to power in a US-backed coup in 1970.
Cambodia says the money helped pay for a devastating bombing campaign on the country by US forces targeting Khmer Rouge guerrillas in the early 1970s.
Prime Minister Hun Sen last year called for the "dirty debt" to be cancelled, but the government softened its stance after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in November that Washington was willing to discuss alternative ways for Cambodia to repay the sum.
A Phnom Penh meeting between US Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Joseph Yun and Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong was the first step in that direction, the US embassy said in a statement.
During the talks, Hor Namhong asked the US to lower the interest rate on the loans from three percent to one, foreign ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said.
Phnom Penh also requested that 70 percent of the debt be converted into development assistance for Cambodia, he said, without giving further details.
The remainder of the amount would be paid to Washington, he added.
"Our real wish is that... we want it to be cancelled. (But) we have to find common ground that we all can agree on. We cannot resolve it if we stick to a point that they do not agree with," Koy Kuong said.
Yun did not talk to reporters after the meeting but the US embassy said the US hopes "an agreement can be reached soon".
"Such an agreement would enhance Cambodia's creditworthiness and ability to access international capital markets," the statement said.
By the end of 2009, Cambodia's debt to the US totalled approximately $445 million, it added.
Washington was the main financial and military supporter of Lon Nol's regime until it was toppled by the Khmer Rouge movement in April 1975.
Officially, the loans were to develop the country's agriculture sector and boost commodities exports.
----------------------------------------
Cambodia offers partial repayment of "dirty" US debt
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen had earlier asked the United States to forgive what he called the "dirty debt" built up by the Lon Nol military government that came to power in a 1970 coup backed by Washington.
Cambodia offered on Thursday to repay 30 percent of the debt the country owes the United States, calling this a compromise over money it says was used by a pro-American government in the 1970s to repress its own people.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen had earlier asked the United States to forgive what he called the "dirty debt" built up by the Lon Nol military government that came to power in a 1970 coup backed by Washington.
U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Joseph Yun, who is visiting Cambodia, was told the rest could be converted into development aid and Cambodia would pay interest of 1 percent, rather than the 3 percent demanded by Washington.
"We wanted to cancel the whole debt, but with this proposal we want to find something we can agree on," Koy Kuong, Cambodian Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs, told reporters.
"If they can't agree to our offer, we won't be able to solve this."
Cambodia and several U.S. congressmen have argued the money was spent on arms that the Lon Nol government used on its own people. It was toppled in 1975 by the ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge, under whose regime an estimated 1.7 million people died in less than four years.
Yun declined to speak to reporters after Thursday's meeting with Foreign Minister Hor Namhong. According to Kuy Kuong, Yun told the minister his government would consider the new proposal.
One sticking point is that the United States values the debt at more than $445 million, rather than the $317 million Cambodia reckons it owes.
Analysts say Cambodia's close relationship with China, its biggest investor and trade partner, is troubling the United States, which sees the warm ties as part of Beijing's efforts to broaden its influence in Southeast Asia.
Yun's visit came after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Cambodia in November and called for talks on the debt to be reopened.
Clinton appeared to suggest the possibility of the United States using Cambodian debt payments to fund programmes in the country on education and the environment.
Reuters
REUTERS/Samrang Pring (CAMBODIA - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS)
PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Cambodian and US officials held talks on Thursday to explore ways of settling a decades-old "dirty debt" of more than $400 million, both sides said.
The low-interest loans from the US were given to the government of General Lon Nol after it came to power in a US-backed coup in 1970.
Cambodia says the money helped pay for a devastating bombing campaign on the country by US forces targeting Khmer Rouge guerrillas in the early 1970s.
Prime Minister Hun Sen last year called for the "dirty debt" to be cancelled, but the government softened its stance after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in November that Washington was willing to discuss alternative ways for Cambodia to repay the sum.
A Phnom Penh meeting between US Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Joseph Yun and Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong was the first step in that direction, the US embassy said in a statement.
During the talks, Hor Namhong asked the US to lower the interest rate on the loans from three percent to one, foreign ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said.
Phnom Penh also requested that 70 percent of the debt be converted into development assistance for Cambodia, he said, without giving further details.
The remainder of the amount would be paid to Washington, he added.
"Our real wish is that... we want it to be cancelled. (But) we have to find common ground that we all can agree on. We cannot resolve it if we stick to a point that they do not agree with," Koy Kuong said.
Yun did not talk to reporters after the meeting but the US embassy said the US hopes "an agreement can be reached soon".
"Such an agreement would enhance Cambodia's creditworthiness and ability to access international capital markets," the statement said.
By the end of 2009, Cambodia's debt to the US totalled approximately $445 million, it added.
Washington was the main financial and military supporter of Lon Nol's regime until it was toppled by the Khmer Rouge movement in April 1975.
Officially, the loans were to develop the country's agriculture sector and boost commodities exports.
----------------------------------------
Cambodia offers partial repayment of "dirty" US debt
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen had earlier asked the United States to forgive what he called the "dirty debt" built up by the Lon Nol military government that came to power in a 1970 coup backed by Washington.
Cambodia offered on Thursday to repay 30 percent of the debt the country owes the United States, calling this a compromise over money it says was used by a pro-American government in the 1970s to repress its own people.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen had earlier asked the United States to forgive what he called the "dirty debt" built up by the Lon Nol military government that came to power in a 1970 coup backed by Washington.
U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Joseph Yun, who is visiting Cambodia, was told the rest could be converted into development aid and Cambodia would pay interest of 1 percent, rather than the 3 percent demanded by Washington.
"We wanted to cancel the whole debt, but with this proposal we want to find something we can agree on," Koy Kuong, Cambodian Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs, told reporters.
"If they can't agree to our offer, we won't be able to solve this."
Cambodia and several U.S. congressmen have argued the money was spent on arms that the Lon Nol government used on its own people. It was toppled in 1975 by the ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge, under whose regime an estimated 1.7 million people died in less than four years.
Yun declined to speak to reporters after Thursday's meeting with Foreign Minister Hor Namhong. According to Kuy Kuong, Yun told the minister his government would consider the new proposal.
One sticking point is that the United States values the debt at more than $445 million, rather than the $317 million Cambodia reckons it owes.
Analysts say Cambodia's close relationship with China, its biggest investor and trade partner, is troubling the United States, which sees the warm ties as part of Beijing's efforts to broaden its influence in Southeast Asia.
Yun's visit came after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Cambodia in November and called for talks on the debt to be reopened.
Clinton appeared to suggest the possibility of the United States using Cambodian debt payments to fund programmes in the country on education and the environment.
Reuters
1 comment:
Le Cambodge devra rembourser la somme de 455.000.000 $ aux américains ! sans blague ! la dette de 1970 !
Les américains nous avaient entrainé dans la guerre de 1970-75 , pour éradiquer les communistes indochinois , en particulier les vietminh et les vietcong .
On se rappelait bien à cet époque , les communistes utilisaient le territoire khmer pour faire leur base arrière et aussi pour éviter de se faire bombarder dessus.
Tout le monde sait , ce que veut dire " La route de hochiming" , c'est le territoire khmer qui longeait la frontière vietnamienne .
Alors les américains voulaient détruire ces bases viets , mais ils n'avaient pas le droit puisque c'est un pays soit disant indépendant .
Alors pour pouvoir bombarder les troupes vietnamiens du nord dans le territoire khmer , les américains avaient entrainé le Cambodge dans le conflit , en aidant ce royaume , en République Khmère.
Et voilà , le tour est joué !
Pays amis : République khmère , le Vietnam du sud ,se sont abandonnés en avril 1975 , car l'Indochine ne valait rien pour les américains !
Les lâches ! ils ne falaient pas commencer ! Le Cambodge avait payé très cher de cette guerre d'Indochine.Des centaines de milliers de morts collaborés avec les américains , 2 000 000 de morts pendant les Khmers rouges !
On vient de sortir de l'enfer et maintenant il faut que nos compatriotes remboursent la dette !
C'est absurde ! et scandaleux ! les frères d'armes à l'époque doivent exiger aux gouvernements américains d'éponger cette dette .
Les américains nous prenaient pour les idiots , quand ils ne voient plus d'intérêt , ils nous avaient abandonné comme une m...
Post a Comment