Cambodia accused of atrocities

Press, 27 January 1978, Page 5

Cambodia accused of atrocities

NZPA-Reuter Hong Kong

Vietnam has accused Cambodian soldiers of murdering i and disembowelling Cam- ■ bodian civilians and then ■ claiming the atrocities were i committed by the Vietnam-

The accusation was made at a press conference in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) by Mr Ngo Dien. assistant to Foreign Minister I (Mr Nguyen Duy Trinh), the 1 Vietnam News Agency has! reported. Mr Ngo Dien. who! presented two Cambodian soldier prisoners to reporters. also accused Cambodia of planning attacks against Vietnam long before diplomatic relations were broken off by Phnom Penh on December 31.

Ngo Dien said Cambodian soldiers “had murdered and disembowelled their own people and taken photographs of the bodies in order to claim that the atrocities were perpetrated by Vietnamese.”

A film was also run for reporters which "showed the corpses of Kampuchean civilians who were put to death by the Kampuchean authorities -in order to put the blame on Vietnam” the agency said. The two captured Cambodian soldiers, aged 24 and 25, told the press conference that they had been well treated by the Vietnamese, the agency reported. Mr Ngo Dien showed reporters documents taken from captured Cambodian soldiers, including a report! on a Cambodian military! conference held last July ini an area bordering on Viet-i nam.

He told the press confer-; ence “the Kampuchean’ authorities have long carried( out a propaganda campaign considering Vietnam as the I enemy No.l while secretly preparing for attacks against Vietnam all along the border line, according to a unified plan drawn up from the central level and secretly diffused to the lower ranks at border areas.”

Mr Ngo Dien. speaking to almost 100 Vietnamese and foreign journalists, also gave Cambodian attacks in their bloody border conflict.