SHORT TAKES : Asner Blasts Khmer Rouge Role

BANGKOK, Thailand —  Actor Ed Asner today compared giving the Khmer Rouge a role in a new Cambodian government with allowing the Nazis to form a new government.

The actor, known for his roles as crusty newsmen on the television series “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Lou Grant,” toured Cambodia last week with representatives of Operation U.S.A., a Los Angeles-based relief organization that funds medical training in the Southeast Asian nation.

Asner said he became concerned about Cambodia when he realized the proposed transitional government recognized by the United Nations included the Khmer Rouge, which killed hundreds of thousands of people during its 1975-78 reign. Vietnam installed the current Communist government after invading in late 1978.

The Khmer Rouge dominate a guerrilla coalition fighting the government.