World Notes Cambodia

Peace in Cambodia has proved to be about as elusive as the sight of John Sununu on the shuttle. But last week brought progress toward a settlement of the 12-year-old civil war. The Vietnam-supported government of Prime Minister Hun Sen and three rival resistance groups -- the communist Khmer Rouge, the noncommunist followers of former Prime Minister Son Sann, and the disciples of former head of state Prince Norodom Sihanouk -- accepted an unconditional cease-fire and a cessation of foreign-arms supplies. At Sihanouk's prodding, the transitional 12-member Supreme National Council, made up of representatives of the four factions, agreed to meet again later this month to begin work on electoral rules and a new constitution.

Developments on the periphery might make it easier for the warring parties to reach a settlement. In Hanoi, the Seventh Congress of the Vietnamese Communist Party dismissed Foreign Minister Nguyen Co Thach, a man China viewed as its principal antagonist in the region. It is widely believed that his departure will make Beijing, the chief supporter of the Khmer Rouge -- which ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1978 -- more willing to nudge the guerrillas to accept a compromise.