February 4, 2000
Phnom Penh - Cambodia will soon begin to demobilize 31,500 members of its armed forces as part of long-term economic reform plans, government officials said on Friday. Demobilisation will begin with a pilot project involving 1,500 soldiers who will be sent home with $240 in cash and basic supplies before the beginning of the rainy season in May, minister without portfolio Sok An told reporters.
Some 31,500 soldiers will be demobilized over the next five years, said Svay Sittha, who heads a government team overseeing the plan. The cuts will reduce the size of the armed forces to less than 100,000 men.
Government officials said earlier they were seeking $104 million from aid donors to pay for the scheme. The government is discussing funding with main aid donors including Japan, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, Svay Sittha said. Cambodia's donors have long pressed the government to slash defence spending and direct scarce resources into more productive social sectors, especially since the collapse of the Khmer Rouge guerrilla group in late 1998.
