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Article: Cambodia's Leaders Weigh Political Reform; Flexibility Linked to High Cost of War
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- February 16, 1988
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Drained by a nine-year guerrilla war and a battered economy,
Cambodia's Vietnamese-backed leadership is now talking the language
of political reform in an effort to end the country's internal
conflict.
Although most western analysts remain skeptical, Cambodia's
rulers are raising ideas and floating proposals which, on the
surface, seem to contradict communist doctrine: direct elections,
parliamentary democracy and political pluralism.
"If we are willing to attend a general election, it means we have
some hope of winning it," said Khieu Kanarit, a member of Cambodia's
Communist Party Central Committee. "If we lose an election, it will
be our own fault. We have had nine years to ...