HISTORY
Although
Cambodia had a rich and powerful past under the Hindu state of
Funan and the Kingdom of Angkor, by the mid-19th century the country
was on the verge of dissolution. After repeated requests for French
assistance, a protectorate was established in 1863. By 1884, Cambodia
was a virtual colony; soon after it was made part of the Indochina
Union with Annam, Tonkin, Cochin-China, and Laos. France continued
to control the country even after the start of World War II through
its Vichy government. In 1945, the Japanese dissolved the colonial
administration, and King Norodom Sihanouk declared an independent,
anti-colonial government under Prime Minister Son Ngoc Thanh in
March 1945. The Allies deposed this government in October. In
January 1953, Sihanouk named his father as regent and went into
self-imposed exile, refusing to return until Cambodia gained genuine
independence.
Full
Independence
Sihanouk's actions hastened the French Government's July 4, 1953
announcement of its readiness to grant independence, which came
on November 9, 1953. The situation remained uncertain until a
1954 conference was held in Geneva to settle the French-Indochina
war. All participants, except the United States and the State
of Vietnam, associated themselves (by voice) with the final declaration.
The Cambodian delegation agreed to the neutrality of the three
Indochinese states but insisted on a provision in the cease-fire
agreement that left the Cambodian Government free to call for
outside military assistance should the Viet Minh or others threaten
its territory.
Neutral
Cambodia
Neutrality was the central element of Cambodian foreign policy
during the 1950s and 1960s. By the mid-1960s, parts of Cambodia's
eastern provinces were serving as bases for North Vietnamese Army
and Viet Cong (NVA/VC) forces operating against South Vietnam,
and the port of Sihanoukville was being used to supply them. As
NVA/VC activity grew, the United States and South Vietnam became
concerned, and in 1969, the United States began a series of air
raids against NVA/VC base areas inside Cambodia.
Throughout
the 1960s, domestic politics polarized. Opposition grew within
the middle class and among leftists, including Paris-educated
leaders such as Son Sen, Ieng Sary, and Saloth Sar (later known
as Pol Pot), who led an insurgency under the clandestine Communist
Party of Kampuchea (CPK).
The
Khmer Republic and the War
In March 1970, Gen. Lon Nol deposed Prince Sihanouk and assumed
power. On October 9, the Cambodian monarchy was abolished, and
the country was renamed the Khmer Republic. Hanoi rejected the
new republic's request for the withdrawal of NVA/VC troops and
began to reinfiltrate some of the 2,000-4,000 Cambodians who had
gone to North Vietnam in 1954. They became a cadre in the insurgency.
The United States moved to provide material assistance to the
new government's armed forces, which were engaged against both
the Khmer Rouge insurgents and NVA/VC forces. In April 1970, U.S.
and South Vietnamese forces entered Cambodia in a campaign aimed
at destroying NVA/VC base areas. Although a considerable quantity
of equipment was seized or destroyed, NVA/VC forces proved elusive
and moved deeper into Cambodia. NVA/VC units overran many Cambodian
Army positions while the Khmer Rouge expanded their smallscale
attacks on lines of communication.
The
Khmer Republic's leadership was plagued by disunity among its
members, the problems of transforming a 30,000-man army into a
national combat force of more than 200,000 men, and spreading
corruption. The insurgency continued to grow, with supplies and
military support provided by North Vietnam. But inside Cambodia,
Pol Pot and Ieng Sary asserted their dominance over the Vietnamese-trained
communists, many of whom were purged. At the same time, the Khmer
Rouge forces became stronger and more independent of their Vietnamese
patrons. By 1974, Lon Nol's control was reduced to small enclaves
around the cities and main transportation routes. More than 2
million refugees from the war lived in Phnom Penh and other cities.
On
New Year's Day 1975, communist troops launched an offensive that,
in 117 days of the hardest fighting of the war, destroyed the
Khmer Republic. Simultaneous attacks around the perimeter of Phnom
Penh pinned down Republican forces, while other Khmer Rouge units
overran fire bases controlling the vital lower Mekong resupply
route. A U.S.-funded airlift of ammunition and rice ended when
Congress refused additional aid for Cambodia. Phnom Penh surrendered
on April 17, 1975--5 days after the U.S. mission evacuated Cambodia.
Democratic
Kampuchea
Many Cambodians welcomed the arrival of peace, but the Khmer Rouge
soon turned Cambodia--which it called Democratic Kampuchea (DK)--into
a land of horror. Immediately after its victory, the new regime
ordered the evacuation of all cities and towns, sending the entire
urban population out into the countryside to till the land. Thousands
starved or died of disease during the evacuation. Many of those
forced to evacuate the cities were resettled in new villages,
which lacked food, agricultural implements, and medical care.
Many starved before the first harvest, and hunger and malnutrition--bordering
on starvation--were constant during those years. Those who resisted
or who questioned orders were immediately executed, as were most
military and civilian leaders of the former regime who failed
to disguise their pasts.
Within
the CPK, the Paris-educated leadership--Pol Pot, Ieng Sary, Nuon
Chea, and Son Sen--was in control, and Pol Pot was made Prime
Minister. Prince Sihanouk was put under virtual house arrest.
The new government sought to restructure Cambodian society completely.
Remnants of the old society were abolished, and Buddhism suppressed.
Agriculture
was collectivized, and the surviving part of the industrial base
was abandoned or placed under state control. Cambodia had neither
a currency nor a banking system. The regime controlled every aspect
of life and reduced everyone to the level of abject obedience
through terror. Torture centers were established, and detailed
records were kept of the thousands murdered there. Public executions
of those considered unreliable or with links to the previous government
were common. Few succeeded in escaping the military patrols and
fleeing the country. Solid estimates of the numbers who died between
1975 and 1979 are not available, but it is likely that hundreds
of thousands were brutally executed by the regime. Hundreds of
thousands more died of starvation and disease--both under the
Khmer Rouge and during the Vietnamese invasion in 1978. Estimates
of the dead range from 1.7 million to 3 million, out of a 1975
population estimated at 7.3 million.
Democratic
Kampuchea's relations with Vietnam and Thailand worsened rapidly
as a result of border clashes and ideological differences. While
communist, the CPK was fiercely anti-Vietnamese, and most of its
members who had lived in Vietnam were purged. Democratic Kampuchea
established close ties with China, and the Cambodian-Vietnamese
conflict became part of the Sino-Soviet rivalry, with Moscow backing
Vietnam. Border clashes worsened when Democratic Kampuchea's military
attacked villages in Vietnam.
In
mid-1978, Vietnamese forces invaded Cambodia, advancing about
30 miles before the arrival of the rainy season. In December 1978,
Vietnam announced formation of the Kampuchean United Front for
National Salvation (KUFNS) under Heng Samrin, a former DK division
commander. It was composed of Khmer communists who had remained
in Vietnam after 1975 and officials from the eastern sector--like
Heng Samrin and Hun Sen--who had fled to Vietnam from Cambodia
in 1978. In late December 1978, Vietnamese forces launched a full
invasion of Cambodia, capturing Phnom Penh on January 7, 1979
and driving the remnants of Democratic Kampuchea's army westward
toward Thailand.
The
Vietnamese Occupation
On January 10, 1979, the Vietnamese installed Heng Samrin as head
of state in the new People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK). The
Vietnamese Army continued its pursuit of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge
forces. At least 600,000 Cambodians displaced during the Pol Pot
era and the Vietnamese invasion began streaming to the Thai border
in search of refuge.
The
international community responded with a massive relief effort
coordinated by the United States through the UN Children's Fund
(UNICEF) and the World Food Program. More than $400 million was
provided between 1979 and 1982, of which the United States contributed
nearly $100 million. At one point, more than 500,000 Cambodians
were living along the Thai-Cambodian border and more than 100,000
in holding centers inside Thailand.
Vietnam's
occupation army of as many as 200,000 troops controlled the major
population centers and most of the countryside from 1979 to September
1989. The Heng Samrin regime's 30,000 troops were plagued by poor
morale and widespread desertion. Resistance to Vietnam's occupation
continued. A large portion of the Khmer Rouge's military forces
eluded Vietnamese troops and established themselves in remote
regions. The non-communist resistance, consisting of a number
of groups which had been fighting the Khmer Rouge after 1975--including
Lon Nol-era soldiers--coalesced in 1979-80 to form the Khmer People's
National Liberation Armed Forces (KPNLAF), which pledged loyalty
to former Prime Minister Son Sann, and Moulinaka (Movement pour
la Liberation Nationale de Kampuchea), loyal to Prince Sihanouk.
In 1979, Son Sann formed the Khmer People's National Liberation
Front (KPNLF) to lead the political struggle for Cambodia's independence.
Prince Sihanouk formed his own organization, National United Front
for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia
(FUNCINPEC), and its military arm, the Armee Nationale Sihanoukienne
(ANS) in 1981.
Within
Cambodia, Vietnam had only limited success in establishing its
client Heng Samrin regime, which was dependent on Vietnamese advisers
at all levels. Security in some rural areas was tenuous, and major
transportation routes were subject to interdiction by resistance
forces. The presence of Vietnamese throughout the country and
their intrusion into nearly all aspects of Cambodian life alienated
much of the populace. The settlement of Vietnamese nationals,
both former residents and new immigrants, further exacerbated
anti-Vietnamese sentiment. Reports of the numbers involved vary
widely, with some estimates as high as 1 million. By the end of
the decade, Khmer nationalism began to reassert itself against
the traditional Vietnamese enemy. In 1986, Hanoi claimed to have
begun withdrawing part of its occupation forces. At the same time,
Vietnam continued efforts to strengthen its client regime, the
PRK, and its military arm, the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary
Armed Forces (KPRAF). These withdrawals continued over the next
2 years, and the last Vietnamese troops left Cambodia in September
1989.
Peace
Efforts
From July 30 to August 30, 1989, representatives of 18 countries,
the four Cambodian parties, and the UN Secretary General met in
Paris in an effort to negotiate a comprehensive settlement. They
hoped to achieve those objectives seen as crucial to the future
of post-occupation Cambodia--a verified withdrawal of the remaining
Vietnamese occupation troops, the prevention of the return to
power of the Khmer Rouge, and genuine self-determination for the
Cambodian people. A comprehensive settlement was agreed upon on
August 28, 1990.
Cambodia's
Renewal
On October 23, 1991, the Paris Conference reconvened to sign a
comprehensive settlement giving the UN full authority to supervise
a cease-fire, repatriate the displaced Khmer along the border
with Thailand, disarm and demobilize the factional armies, and
prepare the country for free and fair elections. Prince Sihanouk,
President of the Supreme National Council of Cambodia (SNC), and
other members of the SNC returned to Phnom Penh in November 1991,
to begin the resettlement process in Cambodia. The UN Advance
Mission for Cambodia (UNAMIC) was deployed at the same time to
maintain liaison among the factions and begin demining operations
to expedite the repatriation of approximately 370,000 Cambodians
from Thailand.
On
March 16, 1992, the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC)
arrived in Cambodia to begin implementation of the UN Settlement
Plan. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees began fullscale repatriation
in March 1992. UNTAC grew into a 22,000-strong civilian and military
peacekeeping force to conduct free and fair elections for a constituent
assembly.
Over
4 million Cambodians (about 90% of eligible voters) participated
in the May 1993 elections, although the Khmer Rouge or Party of
Democratic Kampuchea (PDK), whose forces were never actually disarmed
or demobilized, barred some people from participating. Prince
Ranariddh's FUNCINPEC Party was the top vote recipient with a
45.5% vote, followed by Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party and
the Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party, respectively. FUNCINPEC
then entered into a coalition with the other parties that had
participated in the election. The parties represented in the 120-member
assembly proceeded to draft and approve a new constitution, which
was promulgated September 24, 1993. It established a multiparty
liberal democracy in the framework of a constitutional monarchy,
with the former Prince Sihanouk elevated to King. Prince Ranariddh
and Hun Sen became First and Second Prime Ministers, respectively,
in the Royal Cambodian Government (RGC). The constitution provides
for a wide range of internationally recognized human rights.
On October 4, 2004, the Cambodian National Assembly ratified an agreement with the United Nations on the establishment of a tribunal to try senior leaders responsible for the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge. Donor countries have pledged the $43 million international share of the three-year tribunal budget, while the Cambodian government’s share of the budget is $13.3 million. The tribunal plans to begin trials of senior Khmer Rouge leaders in 2008.
