Myanmar prime minister begins bilateral discussions in Cambodia

Nov 30, 2007, 6:31 GMT

Phnom Penh - Myanmar Prime Minister General Thein Sein arrived in Cambodia Friday to a fanfare reception and a personal greeting by Prime Minister Hun Sen before a series of talks with top Cambodian leaders.

Children waving the Myanmar flag lined the road and Prime Minister Hun Sen personally greeted Sien in a sign that Cambodia was determined to retain cordial relations with its fellow Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member.

He arrived one day after Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong declared his government would not support economic sanctions against Myanmar but was in favour of diplomatic negotiations.

Besides Hun Sen, Sien is scheduled to meet with several top leaders. Although Cambodian officials played down the visit as routine, analysts speculate it is an attempt by the beleaguered ruling military junta to gauge and garner support.

Cambodia has maintained warm relations with Myanmar, unlike many others in the 10-member ASEAN bloc, with members like Malaysia and the Philippines taking a tough stance on the group's recalcitrant black sheep and its dismal human rights record.

For that reason, and because many top Cambodian leaders share a military background, Cambodia is seen as a possible mediator as international pressure grows for the junta to ease its grip and accept the pro-democracy movement, after it violently quashed peaceful protests in September.

Sein's three-day visit to Cambodia overlaps with a two-day trip by the UN special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, but although Gambari's aides say they have not ruled out a meeting, Cambodian Foreign Ministry officials called it unlikely and said the timing was a coincidence.