A prep course for the month-long World Cup soccer tournament, a worldwide pheno

e enabled western Germans to thrive in a free-market , democratic environment . 

`` There 's a sort of social , cultural convergence taking place that 's making 

( Western ) Europe and the U.S. more similar , '' Borinski said . `` I think it 

has a positive effect in that it helps create a much broader understanding above

 all among younger generations , which have been welded together in a common you

th culture . ''

 MOSCOW A bipartisan delegation from the Senate Armed Services Committee said Tu

esday it would recommend that the first joint exercises involving U.S. and Russi

an ground troops be moved from Russia to the United States because of nationalis

t hostility here to the planned maneuvers . Sen. Sam Nunn , D-Ga. , chairman of 

the committee , said that after meeting with Russian legislators `` it was appar

ent that this was a sensitive area . '' As a result , the Senate delegation unan

imously decided to recommend to President Clinton that the exercises `` be held 

on American soil at a suitable military base and at a suitable time to both the 

American and Russian side . '' The joint peacekeeping exercises , involving abou

t 250 troops from each side , had been set for July near the city of Orenburg on

 the Volga River . The Russian military had favored the maneuvers , which would 

allow the former enemies to engage in joint operations for the first time , but 

nationalist and Communist forces strongly opposed them , saying U.S. forces shou

ld never set foot in `` Holy Russia . '' Last month Russian President Boris Yelt

sin had asked the Defense Ministry to reconsider the exercises . Since then , to

p defense officials have given mixed signals about the maneuvers , but it was cl

ear that planning had all but stopped . U.S. . Defense Secretary William J. Perr

y had hailed the joint exercise as proof of a new cooperative era in military re

lations between the two countries . Russian parliamentary leaders , wary of hand

ing hard-line nationalists such a visible and emotional cause , were clearly rel

ieved by Nunn 's proposal . `` It 's not just a question of substance in such ma

tters but a matter of tact , '' said Vladimir Lukin , former ambassador to the U

nited States , who now heads the Parliament 's foreign affairs committee . Nunn 

said the delegation of four Republicans and three Democrats was somewhat taken a

back when the issue of the joint maneuvers was raised because in Washington they

 had been told that , after some flip-flops by the Russian side , the exercise `

` was now back on course . '' `` This exercise is not designed to use armored ve

hicles or tanks . It is not even designed for live firing . But it has obviously

 been a sensitive subject here , and it seems to me we can further our objective

s by beginning . . . in the U.S. , '' he said . Nunn said he hopes U.S. troops w

ill eventually be able to come to Russia for joint exercises . `` It would be my

 hope that there would be reciprocity and that at some point in the future we wo

uld have that kind of further peacekeeping exercises here in Russia , '' he said

 .

 Cambodia awoke from a 20-year nightmare last May with historic U.N.-sponsored e

lections . Ninety percent of the population defied Khmer Rouge threats to vote f

or peace . There was hope that Cambodia was on the road to reconciliation . But 

what a difference a year makes . Today Pol Pot 's weakened forces are on the att

ack again . In the past few months the Khmer Rouge have recaptured their Pailin 

headquarters from the government , establishing control over areas in northern a

nd western Cambodia and displacing 60,000 villagers . The ineffectiveness of the

 Phnom Penh government and an ill-conceived military campaign are key reasons fo

r Khmer Rouge successes . But a major external factor is Thailand 's help for th

e Khmer Rouge . The Thai military provides them goods and , reportedly , arms an

d gives their leadership sanctuary . Despite Thailand 's impressive growth and s

teady if halting moves toward democracy , the Thai military and its civilian sup

porters dominate foreign policy , particularly toward Cambodia and the other nea

rby states of Burma , Laos and Vietnam . The cross-border gem and timber transac

tions between Thailand and Cambodia are murky but highly profitable for both sid

es as much as $ 20 million per month . Yet , there are reasons beyond lucre for 

Thailand 's de facto alliance with the Khmer Rouge . The Thai government 's atti

tude toward Cambodia has been shaped by a troubled history . Bangkok never liked

 the earlier Sihanouk government and helped stoke up border insurgencies . In th

e 1980s , when the overriding concern was getting the Vietnamese out of Cambodia

 , the United States and Southeast Asian nations did not put any priority on end

ing Thai and Chinese support for Pol Pot . The Vietnamese left after the 1991 Pa

ris Peace Agreement . China reportedly ceased its support , leaving Thailand hol

ding a monopoly on dirty work . Some Thais want to keep a hand in Cambodian affa

irs and create a sort of permanent buffer zone against a renascent Vietnam . A s

enior Thai official told me in 1992 that protecting the Khmer Rouge was an impor

tant element of Thai security . The Thai government publicly proclaims the oppos

ite and provides economic assistance to the Phnom Penh government , but even if 

it doesn't condone the military 's complicity with the Khmer Rouge in violation 

of Cambodia 's sovereignty , it has not controlled the practice . Perhaps it can

not , given the Thai government 's weakness relative to the army . Whether by gr

aft or statecraft , Thailand has become Pol Pot 's best ally . The war in Cambod

ia could have been brought to an end and 370,000 refugees returned from Thailand

 only by the largest U.N. peace-keeping and assistance operation ever assembled 

, costing $ 2 billion . Now only the world community can help ensure that Cambod

ia 's pathetically weak state and its hopes for rehabilitation are not destroyed

 by the Khmer Rouge . Pol Pot 's insurgents have suffered serious political setb

acks and losses of manpower , but they are tenacious fighters who survived a war

 with the far tougher Vietnamese with outside support . The United States and re

gional governments need to focus on the issue . Sihanouk 's declining health has

 added urgency . The problem is tough to crack . Trade sanctions and other punit

ive efforts against a friendly Thailand would be ridiculous . Providing weapons 

and training to the Cambodian government might help , but one can't have much co

nfidence in a top-heavy army whose rolls exaggerate the true numbers of servicem

en . The only tools remaining are moral and diplomatic suasion continually remin

ding the Thais that they are undermining a neighbor and the costly work of the w

orld community . Bangkok will resist having the issue raised , but doing so mult

ilaterally can put greater pressure on the military and perhaps induce Thailand 

's top figures , including its respected monarch , to weigh in . Secretary of St

ate Warren Christopher 's participation in Association of Southeast Asian Nation

 ( ASEAN ) meetings in Bangkok this July offers a prime opportunity to air the w

orld 's concerns about Cambodia . ASEAN came into its own during the Cambodian c

risis , which for 10 years was the focus of ASEAN discussions . A voluble Singap

ore leadership spearheaded the effort to get the Vietnamese out . Since Vietnam 

's departure , Singapore 's interest has evaporated ; it doesn't even have an em

bassy in Phnom Penh , and its aid is virtually invisible . ASEAN discussions abo

ut Cambodia have been perfunctory . ASEAN must be brought around to face the Khm

er Rouge problem and focus on how to reduce Pol Pot 's capacities and strengthen

 the government 's . It needs to consider Cambodia 's early membership . ASEAN a

nd its new security forum willn't become effective instruments for regional stab

ility if members refuse to discuss some issues that make them uncomfortable . As

 for the United States , President Clinton has rightly said that we cannot solve

 every world problem . But we should work with others when U.S. participation ca

n make a difference . Working with our Western allies and ASEAN countries to hel

p break the Thai-Khmer Rouge connection is such an opportunity . If we don't tak

e it , Cambodia 's resurrection could be short-lived .

 MANILA , Philippines A conference on human rights in Indonesian-ruled East Timo

r opened here Tuesday despite intense opposition from the Philippine and Indones

ian governments and a ban on 34 foreign participants , including the wife of Fra

nce 's president and a Nobel Peace Prize winner . The privately sponsored Asia-P

acific Conference on East Timor , organized by opponents of Indonesia 's 1976 an

nexation of the former Portuguese colony , convened after the Philippine Supreme

 Court overturned an injunction against it . However , the court upheld the gove

rnment 's right to ban foreigners from entering the country to participate in th

e meeting . Authorities threatened to arrest several foreign delegates who elude

d the ban and attended the opening session . But a phalanx of priests , nuns and

 chanting students surrounded the foreign delegates as they were escorted to the

 University of the Philippines conference site from nearby hostels . The charged

 emotions , large Filipino turnout and heavy press coverage of the conference in

dicated Indonesian pressure on the Philippines to block the gathering had backfi

red badly . A number of politicians and commentators complained that by bowing t

o Jakarta 's `` bullying '' tactics , the government had undermined the Philippi

nes ' democratic principles and tarnished its international reputation . The res

ult has been to focus far more attention on the plight of East Timor here and ab

road than would probably have been the case if the conference had proceeded with

out interference , organizers said . Although the Philippines and East Timor sha

re a Roman Catholic religious heritage , Indonesia 's invasion , annexation and 

subsequent occupation of the territory had never been an issue here . An estimat

ed 100,000 East Timorese , a sixth of the population , died during the 1970s as 

a result of the invasion , a subsequent famine and efforts to crush guerrilla re

sistance , human-rights groups have reported . In a statement read for her at th

e opening session of the five-day conference , Ireland 's Mairead Maguire , who 

shared the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize , accused Indonesia of engaging in `` barbaris

m '' against the people of East Timor . Maguire , 50 , was one of 10 foreigners 

who were detained at Manila 's airport and deported on orders of President Fidel

 Ramos to prevent them from attending the conference . Danielle Mitterrand , pre

sident of the human-rights group France-Libertes and wife of French President Fr

ancois Mitterrand , was originally scheduled to deliver the conference 's keynot

e speech but canceled after she was blacklisted . She said Monday in Paris that 

Indonesia had exerted `` tyrannical pressure '' and `` a kind of blackmail '' on

 her and the Philippines . A Philippine senator said banning Mitterrand was a ma

jor political blunder , given that Ramos is scheduled to visit France in Septemb

er and his wife , Amelita Ramos , has been invited to open a Philippine exhibiti

on at a Paris museum next month . Three bishops , a prominent Japanese priest an

d the head of Indonesia 's largest Muslim organization also were blacklisted . O

rganizers said one of the bishops died six months ago . The Philippines ' Roman 

Catholic prelate , Cardinal Jaime Sin , joined the storm of criticism . In a let

ter Monday to the bishop of Dili , the East Timorese capital , Sin said he was `

` sorry to see the political leaders of my own nation giving in to the pressure 

of a foreign nation . '' Ramos justified his ban on foreign participants in the 

conference by asserting that freedom of speech and assembly were outweighed by `

` national security '' issues . In applying pressure to block the meeting , Indo

nesia had hinted that , among other measures , it could promote the cause of Mus

lim separatists in the southern Philippines , presidential aides said .

 BANGKOK , Thailand U.S. allegations of drug trafficking by Thai legislators hav

e thrown Thailand 's parliament into an uproar and raised the prospect of the fi

rst major test of a new extradition treaty . So far , three opposition legislato

rs have been publicly named by U.S. officials as suspects in drug-trafficking ca

ses , and reports that others might be implicated have aroused apprehension amon

g jittery politicians . The publicity has focused attention on the role of big m

oney in Thai politics and fueled concerns that the parliament 's reputation is b

eing damaged . Thailand is a conduit for much of the heroin produced in the Gold

en Triangle , the border area where Burma , Thailand and Laos meet . The huge pr

ofits generated by the drug trade have sowed corruption among Thai politicians ,

 security officials and businessmen at the local and national levels , U.S. and 

Thai sources charge . According to a recent State Department report , efforts to

 fight drug trafficking and money laundering in Thailand are hampered by such fa

ctors as `` widespread police and military corruption '' and `` the narcotics in

volvement of some politicians . '' More than 60 percent of the heroin entering t

he United States comes from the Golden Triangle , U.S. officials estimate . Burm

a produces nearly 90 percent of the triangle 's annual yield of more than 2,500 

tons of opium , the raw material for heroin . Some analysts predict a record cro

p this year of more than 3,000 tons . Last month , Thanong Siripreechapong , 42 

, was forced to resign from parliament after a judge in San Francisco unsealed a

 1991 indictment accusing him of involvement in smuggling more than 45 tons of m

arijuana from Thailand to the United States between 1973 and 1987 . The indictme

nt said Thanong was paid more than $ 13 million in a series of deals . Last year

 , the U.S. government seized about $ 1 million in assets including a Beverly Hi

lls house and a Mercedes-Benz that Thanong was found to have acquired in the Uni

ted States with proceeds from drug smuggling . He was notified twice of U.S. for

feiture proceedings but did not appear . Thanong denied the charges and said he 

wanted to fly to the United States to clear his name . The U.S. . Embassy here r

esponded it would facilitate the trip , but that if he did enter the United Stat

es , he would be `` arrested immediately . '' The Chart Thai party , the largest

 of five parties in opposition to the coalition government of Prime Minister Chu

an Leekpai , expelled Thanong after finding inconsistencies in his testimony in 

parliamentary hearings . He had represented the northeastern province of Nakhon 

Phanom , known as Thailand 's premier marijuana growing area . Thailand faces a 

dilemma over the prospect that U.S. authorities might seek Thanong 's extraditio

n . The case already has generated a debate over whether a Thai citizen can lega

lly be extradited to stand trial in a foreign country . Extradition of Thai nati

onals has previously been banned , but the current constitution is ambiguous on 

the issue , and a 1992 extradition treaty with the United States neither authori

zes nor forbids it . If the government decides Thanong cannot be extradited , it

 may decide to prosecute him here , officials said . But it remains to be seen w

hether Thai authorities could try him based on foreign evidence for offenses com

mitted before a new Thai conspiracy law took effect . In a parliamentary session

 May 19 , Mongkol Chongsuthanamanee , 48 , tearfully denied involvement in the d

rug trade after it was disclosed that he had been denied a U.S. visa because his

 name is on a narcotics watch list . The U.S. . Drug Enforcement Administration 

has implicated Mongkol in a conspiracy to smuggle heroin to the United States , 

but currently lacks evidence to indict him , a U.S. official said . Mongkol , wh

o represents the opposition Chart Pattana party from Chiang Rai , a northern tow

n bordering the Golden Triangle , called the allegations against him `` rubbish 

'' and threatened to sue the Thai Foreign Ministry and U.S. . Embassy for defama

tion . A brother , Arun Chongsuthanamanee , is seeking commutation of a 1992 dea

th sentence for drug trafficking . Mongkol is a protege of Narong Wongwan , who 

was in line to become Thailand 's prime minister in 1992 until the State Departm

ent confirmed that he too had been denied a visa on suspicion of drug traffickin

g . Narong 's nomination to head a pro-military coalition was later scuttled , a

nd Gen. Suchinda Kraprayoon was chosen instead . Suchinda 's accession to the pr

emiership then prompted massive protests in which hundreds of democracy demonstr

ators were killed by the army before Suchinda was forced to resign . Narong , wh

o is still in parliament , remains barred from entering the United States . The 

allegations linking legislators to drug dealing came to a head after Thai newspa

pers quoted Foreign Minister Prasong Soonsiri as telling a cabinet meeting that 

he had a U.S. list of 17 politicians , including 10 opposition legislators , sus

pected of being traffickers . Opposition legislators demanded that he name the s

uspects and traded insults with government members . Prasong dismissed the repor

ts , and the U.S. . Embassy denied providing any such list . However , lists com

piled by Thai academic and media sources quickly began circulating , including o

ne that named three senior members of the government . `` I have to confirm that

 several politicians , both at the local and national levels , are suspected of 

being involved in the drug trade , '' Prime Minister Chuan told parliament . He 

acknowledged having a list of suspected drug-dealing politicians , but declined 

to disclose details .

 WASHINGTON David Watkins , the White House aide who was forced to resign after 

taking the presidential helicopter to play golf near Camp David , relented Tuesd

ay from his refusal to pay the full cost of the flight and agreed to reimburse t

he government for the full $ 13,129.66 tab . The White House announced it was ti

ghtening its rules on use of government aircraft , with approval required from t

he chief of staff or deputy chief of staff . If they want to make the trip , the

y must receive approval by the the White House counsel or deputy counsel . Previ

ously , Watkins , head of the office of administration , had authority to approv

e helicopter flights . The White House also released a summary of 11 other helic

opter trips by members of the White House staff , saying they all appeared to be

 proper uses of the helicopter . `` There were no other instances of abuse , '' 

White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers said . She said a review of staff use 

of fixed-wing aircraft would be released later this month . The other trips gene

rally involved White House military and communications personnel , three times t

o classified locations . Secetary of State Warren Christopher flew to Williamsbu

rg , Va. , for a Senate Democratic retrat , and Secretary of Housing and Urban D

evelopment Henry Cisneros and Deputy Office of Management and Budget Director Al

ice M. Rivlin went on a `` special training mission '' to a classified location 

. Watkins himself went to Camp David for `` camp familiarization '' last April a

nd to Beltsville , Md. , for `` orientation and training '' last September . Wat

kins ' decision to reimburse the government spares his former administration col

leagues from having to chip in for the reimbursement and the White House hopes p

uts an end to the embarrassing episode . After moving quickly to force Watkins t

o resign from his post as director of administration , the White House fumbled i

ts handling of the matter . It belatedly discovered that a second helicopter was

 involved and after Watkins balked at paying the tab scrambled to put together c

ontributions from nearly the entire senior staff to pay for the cost , billing t

he money as a `` gesture of friendship '' to the fired aide . Although President

 Clinton announced that the taxpayers would not be out `` one red cent '' from t

he helicopter incident , Watkins initially refused to pay any more than a share 

of the costs . He insisted he had done nothing wrong and would not pay up as a m

atter of principle , White House sources said . But Watkins said Tuesday that he

 called Chief of Staff Thomas F. `` Mack '' McLarty Monday night and said he wou

ld repay the full amount . Watkins , a Little Rock advertising executive whose f

inancial-disclosure statement shows his net worth at more than $ 1 million , sai

d in a telephone interview Tuesday that when he learned the amount had grown far

 beyond the few thousand dollars he originally believed the trip would cost , he

 decided his former colleagues should not be saddled with the bill . Watkins sai

d he had orginally believed the cost would be only about $ 2,500 , and likened t

he contributions promised by 13 senior aides to `` buying tickets to Barbra Stre

isand . '' But , he said , `` When it 's over $ 1,000 , it 's braces for your ch

ildren 's teeth . It could be a financial burden for some . '' Watkins added , `

` While I contend I did nothing wrong , I was carrying out the duties of my job 

, it was something that I was involved with and so I should go ahead and not cre

ate any resentment or any more resentment . '' The 55-mile trip to Camp David an

d the nearby Holly Hills Country Club became public when the Frederick ( Md. ) N

ews-Post published a photograph of Watkins and other adminisration officials abo

ut to board the presidential helicopter after playing 18 holes of golf . Watkins

 was accompanided by Alphonso Maldon , the head of the White House military offi