World

Cambodia's PM Warns Of Economic Mess

September 18, 2000 / 8:39 AM EDT / AP

Cambodia's Prime Minister warned Tuesday that his poverty-stricken nation's growth likely will slow down because of the damage to crops from the worst flooding in 70 years.

Speaking in the southeastern province of Prey Veng, Hen Sen said vast areas of rice paddies and other crops have been lost in addition to lives, homes and animals.

"What I have to worry about now...is economics," Hun Sen said according to a national radio broadcast.

"We had hoped for 5.5 percent economic development this year and some of that growth was to come from agriculture. But the floods have sunk agriculture. So the question is, can we reach 5.5 percent or not?"

The government said Tuesday that 116 people have died due to the floods, which have hit southeastern Cambodia hardest.

In neighboring Vietnam, which also has suffered the fury of raging Mekong river flowing from Cambodia, at least 30 people have been killed including 23 children.

Some 1 million people in both countries have been affected in one way or another, losing their homes, belongings, land, livestock or loved ones.

Cambodia is one of the poorest nations in the world and its economy is largely dependent on farming. Virtually all farmers grow rice. International aid organizations have had plodding success in encouraging farmers to diversify.

The government also is struggling to industrialize its economy but has faced many hurdles in the wake of the 1997 Asian economic crisis and armed factional fighting in the ruling coalition.

Monika Midel, country director of the World Food Program, said Tuesday that damage to crops will be extensive, though it's difficult to estimate the losses while so much of the southeastern part of the country is under water.

"One of the main problems after the water recedes will be (recovering from) crops destroyed and infrastructure destroyed or damaged," said Midel, who traveled Monday with Hun Sen.

Last week, the Red Cross appealed for $1.9 million in aid, with the bulk going to Cambodia. On Monday, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies launched an additional appeal of up to $1.5 million for Vietnam.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Cambodian villagers driven out of their homes and camping on highways are facing a new danger: speeding vehicles that have struck humans and animals at random.

On Route 6, one of the main highways of Cambodia, Dan Sok, a 44-year-old fisherman, set up a makeshift home of plastic-sheeted roof on the road for his wife and seven children.

Dan Sok said most of the displaced families in his village of Kampong Preah, 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Phnom Penh, have been huddled along the road with their animals for several weeks, expecting the water to recede.

"But it has always remained," he said.

Srey Moeung, a farmer in the nearby village of Lor Idh, said a pregnant woman was killed last week on the highway when she was stuck by a motorcycle that propelled nto her after being hit by a speeding car. A man was killed in a similar accident, he said. Other villagers spoke of livestock being struck.

"It's not safe over there," said Srey Moeung, 63, who was fortunate enough to have a house on stilts high enough to escape the floods. He and his family members use wooden row boats to run errands and visit neighbors.

Livestock being the most precious asset of the poor in the countryside, villagers have parked hundreds of cows, pigs, chickens and water buffaloes along Route 6, which connects Phnom Penh with the country's most populous and hardest hit province of Kompong Cham.