Honorable House Arrest

When the Peking-based ambassador of a Middle Eastern country received word that he would be allowed to visit Cambodia, he was delighted. After all, he could observe firsthand a new socialist society in the making. He could take his family on sightseeing excursions to the temple ruins of Angkor Wat. But the ambassador had not reckoned with the xenophobia of the fanatical rulers of Democratic Kampuchea, as Cambodia is called.

During the three weeks that the ambassador and his family spent in Phnom Penh, they were virtually imprisoned. Every morning a Khmer Rouge soldier arrived on a bicycle and took orders for the day's meals. Several hours later, he would return with the cooked dishes. On only a few occasions did the ambassador have appointments with Cambodian officials--and he was whisked to them in a curtained limousine. Managing a few peeks out, he saw nothing more than shimmering hot, nearly deserted streets.

Although the Kampuchea government has diplomatic relations with 86 states, only eleven foreign embassies have been allowed to open. With the possible exception of the Chinese, who have close ties with Cambodia's rulers, all foreign diplomats are subject to this strange honorable house arrest. They are not allowed to go more than 200 yards or so from their compounds. Because the embassies are not permitted autos, an envoy who wants to make a call or shop at a recently opened "diplomatic store" must request a car from the Foreign Ministry. Predictably, there is little social life. Summed up one diplomat: "The most exciting thing in Phnom Penh was going to dinner with the North Koreans."

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