Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 102 Part 3.djvu/552

 102 STAT. 2504

PUBLIC LAW 100-502—OCT. 18, 1988

Public Law 100-502 100th Congress Joint Resolution Oct 18 1988 ' [H.J. Res. 602]

^^ support of the restoration of a free and independent Cambodia, the withdrawal of Vietnamese forces, and the protection of the Cambodian people from a return to power by the genocidal Khmer Rouge.

Whereas the people of Cambodia suffered terribly under the despotic regime of the Khmer Rouge and subsequently during the occupation by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; Whereas the people of Cambodia have been victims of genocide, enslavement, starvation, and other deliberate acts of cruelty perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge, resulting in the deaths of over one million Cambodian people; Whereas the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has maintained armed forces within Cambodia, thereby perpetuating their domination and forestalling the realization of self-determination by the Cambodian people; Whereas the Vietnamese-installed Government of the People's Republic of Kampuchea has seriously abused the human and civil rights of the Cambodian people; Whereas due to fears of persecution in their homeland, hundreds of thousands of Cambodians have become refugees or displaced persons, seeking first Eisylum in other Southeast Asian nations and subsequent resettlement in third countries; Whereas the United States has supported the non-Communist resistance led by Prince Norodom Sihanouk and Son Sann in order to end the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia and recover for the Cambodian people their sovereign rights; Whereas Prince Norodom Sihanouk has with courage and conviction devoted his energies to restoring his homeland to independence, neutrality, peace, and harmony; Whereas the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has declared its intention to withdraw forces from Cambodia by the end of 1990 and has pledged to join negotiations for a resolution of the Cambodian question; Whereas dialogue and diplomatic discussions have increased on a regional and international basis concerning the future of Cambodia; Whereas the stability of Southeast Asia can only be assured once peace is restored to Cambodia and the rights of the Cambodian people are universally respected; and Whereas it is a moral imperative of all nations that the people of Cambodia no longer be made to suffer at the hands of the Khmer Rouge or any other force that would do further harm to the Khmer people or further endanger their cultural and religious heritage: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. That the United States— (1) declares that all parties seeking a settlement of the conflict in Cambodia, including the United States, should have among their highest priorities the restoration of a free and

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