CAMBODIA: FORMER KHMER ROUGE SOLDIERS REINTEGRATED BACK INTO ARMY

(8 Nov 1996) Khmer/Fr The Cambodian government has completed the massive task of reintegrating thousands of former Khmer Rouge guerilla soldiers into its army. The breakaway faction, formerly loyal to ousted dictator Pol Pot, defected in August to join forces with government troops. The move signals a major step towards peace in a country still living in the shadow of Pol Pot’s reign of terror, leaving a small core of hard-liners more isolated than ever. The mass induction began on Wednesday and was completed in three separate ceremonies. A dilapidated Buddhist temple in Pailin near the Thai border set the scene for the massive military changeover. Here, in this remote northwestern corner of the country, one-thousand, 200 Khmer Rouge guerillas turned out in their old uniforms for the last time. Until two months ago the Royal Cambodian Army was their deadly enemy. Having switched allegiances, the soldiers are hoping for a brigh