Insomniacs' corner
Sir: 'For the record once again' (say John Pilger and David Munro, Letters, 11 May) 'the Singaporean delegate to the UN was not shown in our film shaking hands with anyone.'
Any reader of The Spectator who has a video recording of Cambodia: The Betrayal made when the programme was transmit- ted on 9 October 1990 can check the facts. The sequence with the Singaporean Permanent representative at the UN, Pro- fessor Chan Heng Chee, occurs in Part 2 of the programme with the VCR counter at about 1200. The sequence clearly shows
'I want one. I want one . . her shaking hands with Mr Son Sann, the non-Communist leader: slowly, deliberate- ly. unmistakably, for several seconds.
Pilger and Munro describe Son Sann as the 'ally' of Pol Pot's man at the UN. On 5 May 1991, Son Sann said in an appeal to Vietnam's leaders: 'Please leave this group [Khmer Rouge] to the Cambodian people who will deal with them with the support and assistance from the UNSC five perma- nent members and the Asean countries.' Some ally!
My piece de resistance is said to be my acceptance of the invitation by Mr Chris Mullin MP to deny that British soldiers based in Thailand were training Khmer terrorists while I was ambassador in Thai- land. In denying this, I am in good com- pany. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Mr Mark Lennox-Boyd MP, stated in the debate on Cambodia in the House of Commons on 26 October 1990 that: 'The Government never sustain, suc- cour or support terrorists and terrorism . . . I must clearly place on record that the British Government, of course, utterly and clearly refute the allegations made by the Hon. Member for Sunderland South [Mr Mullin] and by Mr Pilger in his program- me.'
Derek Tonkin
Heathfields, Berry Lane, Worplesdon, Guildford, Surrey
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