PHNOM PENH, July 23: Cambodia's Second Premier Hun Sen today made an emotional appeal for the international community to recognize the legality of the ouster of First Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh.

In a radio broadcast, he said the international community was ignoring alleged crimes committed by the Prince in order to punish the Cambodian people as it had done in the past.

He invoked powerful memories of the United States' bombing and invasion of Cambodia in 1970s, the crippling US-led economic embargo and eastern support for the anti-Vietnamese resistance in 1980s.

``Before, when we fought Pol Pot to liberate our country, they blamed us for 14 years,'' he said, referring to the period between the Vietnamese invasion in 1979 until 1993 when governments in Phnom Penh - supported until 1991 by Hanoi - were not recognized as legal by most countries.

``They only recognised us after (the 1993 UN-brokered election). Now, there are some powerful countries, they recognise Ranariddh,'' he said in a veiled reference to the US which has came down strongest against the Prince's ouster.

Hun Sen, who effectively seized control of the capital and the government after toppling Ranariddh, said around 65 people died and at least 129 were wounded in the Phnom Penh street battles. The latest casualty figures from the factional fighting earlier this month boosted the toll from the bloody July 5-6 clashes from the unofficial estimate of 48 dead and more than 120 wounded.

``Those who have lost their lives, we regret it deeply and feel very sorrowful, but their sacrifice was for the survival of the people. I apologise for all the dead,'' Hun Sen said. Around 281 civilian houses were razed by fire, while 198 others were damaged during the violence.

He said the families of the security forces victims had been paid more than 1,000 dollars each in compensation for losing their serving relatives.

The Amnesty International said that at least 35 Cambodians have been executed and some 400 others detained after Hun Sen ousted Ranariddh.

The London based human rights group, in a recenlty published report, has urged Hun Sen to ``reveal the truth'' about the alleged executions.

Amnesty says it is not clear whether the executions were ordered by Phnom Penh or at the initiative of individual commanders.

The group says it has received ``reliable reports'' that at least 35 people ``have been extrajudicially executed''.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.