VZCZCXRO1568
OO RUEHAG RUEHCHI RUEHDF RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHNH RUEHROV
DE RUEHPF #0419 1440727
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 230727Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 2517
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 2314
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 0134
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 0171
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO PRIORITY 0042
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PRIORITY 0569
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL PRIORITY 0667
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 3211
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON PRIORITY 0104
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 2283
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