CAMBODIA: COUP LEADER HUN SEN ATTENDS TEMPLE OPENING CEREMONY

(14 Jul 1997) English/Nat Cambodia’s coup leader Hun Sen said Monday he would welcome the return of his rival and ousted co-premier Prince Norodom Ranariddh back to the country. However the former Khmer Rouge strongman said the Prince would have to answer to the courts. Hun Sen led a military take-over in Phnom Penh, on July 5, effectively pushing Ranariddh and his Funcinpec troops out of the capital. Ranariddh travelled to France one day before the July 5 coup and has since been trying to lobby support against Hun Sen’s actions. It was another day of public relations for Cambodian strongman Hun Sen, eleven days after his military take-over of the capital, Phnom Penh. On Monday, he attended a temple opening ceremony in Kompong Thom province, where he eagerly greeted crowds and groups of monks. Despite the light hearted atmosphere, the leader was under heavy security and took the opportunity to step up his rhetoric against the country’s