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Cambodia

Country in southeast Asia, bounded north and northwest by Thailand, north by Laos, east and southeast by Vietnam, and southwest by the Gulf of Thailand.

Government

Under the 1993 constitution, which provided for a constitutional monarch with limited powers, the king is said to ‘reign but not rule’. The cabinet is appointed by the king on the basis of assembly support. He has the power to make appointments but only in consultation with senior ministers, and can declare a state of emergency with the consent of the prime minister and cabinet. Control of the cabinet is shared by the two main political parties under a co-premier system. There is a directly elected, 120-member national assembly, serving a four-year term.

History

The area now known as Cambodia was once occupied by the Khmer empire, an ancient civilization that flourished during the 6th-15th centuries. After this, the region was subject to attacks by the neighbouring Vietnamese and Thai, and in 1863 became a French protectorate. A nationalist movement began in the 1930s, and anti-French feeling was fuelled in 1940-41 when the French agreed to Japanese demands for bases in Cambodia, and allowed Thailand to annex Cambodian territory.

During World War II Cambodia was occupied by Japan. France regained control of the country in 1946, but it achieved semi-autonomy within the French Union in 1949 and full independence in 1953. Prince Norodom Sihanouk, who had been elected king in 1941, abdicated in favour of his parents and became prime minister as leader of the Popular Socialist Community in 1955. When his father died in 1960, he became head of state.

Khmer Republic

Sihanouk remained neutral during the Vietnam War and was overthrown by a right-wing revolt led by pro-USA Lt-Gen Lon Nol in 1970. Lon Nol first became prime minister (1971-72) and then president (1972-75) of what was termed the new Khmer Republic. His regime was opposed by the exiled Sihanouk and by the communist Khmer Rouge (backed by North Vietnam and China), who merged to form the National United Front of Cambodia. A civil war developed and, despite substantial military aid from the USA during its early stages, Lon Nol's government fell in 1975. The country was renamed Democratic Kampuchea, with Prince Sihanouk as head of state.

Khmer Rouge regime

The Khmer Rouge proceeded ruthlessly to introduce an extreme communist programme, forcing urban groups into rural areas, which led to over 2.5 million deaths from famine, disease, and maltreatment. In 1976 a new constitution removed Prince Sihanouk from power, appointed Khieu Samphan (the former deputy prime minister) president, and placed the Communist Party of Kampuchea, led by Pol Pot, in control. The Khmer Rouge developed close links with China and fell out with its former sponsors, Vietnam and the USSR.

Vietnamese invasion

In a Vietnamese invasion of Kampuchea launched in 1978 in response to border incursions, Pol Pot was overthrown and a pro-Vietnamese puppet government was set up under Heng Samrin in 1979. The country was renamed the People's Republic of Kampuchea. The defeated regime kept up guerrilla resistance under Pol Pot, causing over 300,000 Kampuchean refugees to flee to Thailand in 1979 alone.

In 1982 the resistance movement broadened with the formation in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, of an anti-Vietnamese coalition and a Democratic Kampuchea government in exile with Prince Sihanouk (then living in North Korea) as president, Khieu Samphan (political leader of the now less extreme Khmer Rouge) as vice-president, and Son Sann (an ex-premier and contemporary leader of the non-communist Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF)) as prime minister.

The coalition received sympathetic support from ASEAN countries and China. However, its 60,000 troops were outnumbered by the 170,000 Vietnamese who supported the Heng Samrin government, and the resistance coalition's base camps were overrun in 1985. During 1982-91 the USA aided the KPNLF and the Sihanoukist National Army (ANS) - allies of the Khmer Rouge - with millions of dollars in ‘humanitarian’ aid and secret ‘nonlethal’ military aid.

Vietnamese troop withdrawal

Hopes of a political settlement were improved by the retirement of the reviled Pol Pot as Khmer Rouge military leader in 1985 and the appointment of the reformist Hun Sen as prime minister. A mixed-economy domestic approach was adopted and indigenous Khmers promoted to key government posts; at the same time, prompted by the new Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, the Vietnamese began a phased withdrawal. In spring 1989, after talks with the resistance coalition, the Phnom Penh government agreed to a package of constitutional reforms, including the adoption of Buddhism as the state religion and the readoption of the ideologically neutral name State of Cambodia. Withdrawal of the Vietnamese army was completed in September 1989.

Continued civil war

The United Nations (UN) continued to refuse recognition of the Hun Sen government and the civil war intensified, with the Khmer Rouge making advances in the western provinces, capturing the border town of Pailin in October 1989. The Phnom Penh government was left with an army of 40,000, backed by a 100,000-strong militia, against the resistance coalition's 45,000 guerrillas, half of whom belonged to the Khmer Rouge. In September 1990 the USSR and China reportedly agreed to a mutual cessation of arms supplies to their respective Cambodian clients. In November 1990 a peace settlement was proposed by the UN Security Council, but rejected outright by the Phnom Penh government.

Accord reached

Guerrilla fighting intensified in January 1991 but, for the first time in 12 years, a ceasefire was implemented in May-June 1991, and an accord was reached by the all-party Supreme National Council in Pattaya, Thailand, between Prince Sihanouk, the guerrillas' nominal leader, and the Hun Sen government. Subsequent meetings in July, August, and September 1991 added flesh to this accord, including an understanding that the Cambodian government and the Khmer Rouge-led rebel alliance would disband 70% of their armies prior to UN-run elections, which would be held on the basis of proportional representation.

End of civil war

In October 1991, a peace agreement was signed in Paris, ending 13 years of civil war. The UN peacekeeping operation provided for a UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) to be established within six months. It would administer the country in conjunction with the Supreme National Council (comprising representatives from Cambodia's four warring factions) until the UN-administered general elections in 1993.

Return of Sihanouk and Khmer Rouge

The ruling Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party, anxious to make itself more attractive to voters, formally abandoned its Marxist-Leninist ideology in October 1991 and changed its name to the Cambodian People's Party (CPP). Heng Samrin was replaced as party chair by the powerful Chea Sim and the party endorsed a multiparty democratic system, a free-market economy, and the protection of human rights. It upheld Buddhism as the state religion and declared support for Prince Sihanouk's future candidacy for the state presidency. Prince Sihanouk returned to Phnom Penh in November 1991 after a 13-year absence. As the ‘legitimate head of state’ until the presidential elections, he administered the country in conjunction with Prime Minister Hun Sen and UNTAC during the transition period.

Khieu Samphan, leader of the Khmer Rouge, also returned to Phnom Penh but was forced to fly back to Thailand after being violently attacked by an angry mob. Despite promises in August 1992 that the Khmer Rouge would cooperate in the peace process, they were still refusing to disarm.

Restoration of human rights

In January 1992 hundreds of political prisoners began to be released from Cambodia's jails and it was announced that freedom of speech and the formation of new political parties would be allowed.

First free elections

In the UN-administered elections of June 1993 (which saw a 90% turnout but were boycotted by the Khmer Rouge), the royalist United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC) won a surprise victory, under the leadership of Sihanouk's son Prince Ranariddh. A new liberal-democratic, pluralistic constitution was promulgated in September 1993, providing for a limited monarchy sharing power with parliament. The following month Sihanouk was re-elected king by a throne council, naming Prince Ranariddh as executive prime minister and Hun Sen as deputy premier. UNTAC announced its mission as successfully completed, although the Khmer Rouge still controlled one-fifth of the country and continued their offensive.

Demise of the Khmer Rouge

In July 1994, parliament voted to outlaw the Khmer Rouge. In response, the group's leaders announced the formation of a ‘provisional government of national union and salvation’, based in the northern province of Prey Vihear; three Westerners abducted in July were later murdered. However, an estimated 7,000 Khmer Rouge fighters had surrendered during 1994 in response to a government amnesty. A serious split emerged in the Khmer Rouge in August 1996 when a number of military divisions sought peace with the Cambodian government and formed the Democratic National United Movement (DNUM), led by Ieng Sary, former deputy leader of the Khmer Rouge. Sary was granted an amnesty by Sihanouk.

Coups and civil war

An attempted coup by Prince Norodom Chakrapong, an estranged son of Sihanouk, and dissident general Sin Song was quashed in July 1994. There was evidence of the FUNCINPEC regime becoming increasingly authoritarian, and in November 1995 Prince Norodom Sirivudh, a half-brother of King Sihanouk, was arrested and exiled for allegedly plotting to kill deputy premier Hun Sen.

In November 1996, Kov Samuth, the brother-in-law of Second Prime Minister Hun Sen, was assassinated. This heightened tensions between Hun Sen's CPP and its coalition partner, FUNCINPEC, led by First Prime Minister Norodom Ranariddh, and in February 1997 localized fighting between CPP and FUNCINPEC forces was reported in the northwest.

In March 1997, sixteen people were killed when grenades were thrown at a demonstration. The target, who escaped unhurt, was Sam Rainsy, an outspoken opposition politician, who was leader of the Khmer National Party. Rainsy blamed the attack on supporters of Hun Sen, who he claimed was determined to ‘seize absolute power by any means’.

In July, Hun Sen ousted Prince Norodom Ranariddh. In Paris, where he was in self-imposed exile, Ranariddh appealed to the world's governments to condemn the coup. However, resistance to Hun Sen came to an end towards the end of the month as key countries prepared to accept his new regime. The Cambodian foreign minister was appointed prime minister in August 1997, replacing the ousted prince. Commanders loyal to Hun Sen and Prince Ranariddh agreed to a regional ceasefire in Poipet, near the Thai border. Nevertheless in late August, Cambodian refugees still streamed into neighbouring Thailand by the thousands. In October the physically ailing King Norodom Sihanouk left Cambodia for medical treatment in China. He had already withdrawn himself from government functions by no longer signing decrees. In December, fierce fighting resumed in the northwest between the forces of Hun Sen and Prince Norodom Ranariddh.

Pol Pot captured

In late June 1997, Pol Pot was captured by guerrillas who had rebelled against him. He was condemned to life imprisonment by his former Khmer Rouge comrades in July. Reports of the trial and sentencing were met with renewed calls for Pol Pot to face a full international tribunal for his crimes against humanity. To the dismay of human-rights supporters seeking a fuller historical records of the Cambodian genocide, Pol Pot's trial was staged in the forests of northern Cambodia with few observers present. Meanwhile, in November, Khmer Rouge guerrillas were claiming significant military gains against the forces of Hun Sen's government. Pol Pot escaped early in January 1998, but in April reports of his death near the Thai border were confirmed. At the time of his death, a force of 300-2,000 Khmer Rouge guerrillas were still holding out against government troops on the Cambodian border.

Peace accord

In February 1998, Hun Sen accepted a peace plan brokered by Japan. It provided for the exiled Norodom Ranariddh to be tried in absentia on charges of smuggling arms and colluding with Khmer Rouge rebels, and, if found guilty, to be pardoned by his father, King Norodom Sihanouk to enable him to participate in the July 1998 general election. In addition, Ranariddh agreed to cut all ties with the Khmer Rouge and begin an immediate ceasefire with government forces. As expected, Ranariddh was found guilty in absentia in ‘show trials’ in March 1998 and was sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment and a US$50 million fine. However, he was pardoned by his father and returned to Phnom Penh at the end of March. Some fighting continued between Hun Sen's forces and the supporters of Prince Ranariddh, and there was concern that, since the coup of the previous July, more than 100 supporters of the Prince's FUNCINPEC movement had been killed or disappeared, with Hun Sen's security aides implicated.

Political deadlock

The July 1998, general election was won by the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), of the incumbent Hun Sen. With 41% of the vote, the CPP won 64 of the 122 seats in the National Assembly, finishing ahead of the royalist party of Prince Norodom Ranariddh, which captured 32% of the vote and 43 seats, and the party led by pro-democracy campaigner Sam Rainsy, which won 14% of the vote and 15 seats. The opposition claimed that there had been ballot-rigging, but international observers were satisfied. After the election, Hun Sen, whose party lacked the two-thirds Assembly majority needed for approval of a new government, offered to form a coalition government, but Ranariddh and Rainsy refused to cooperate and led street protests.

In 1998 the political deadlock was resolved when a new coalition government was formed, with Hun Sen as sole prime minister and Prince Norodom Ranariddh as president of the National Assembly. Chea Sim, the CPP's chairman and the former president of the National Assembly, became chairman of a new upper house, the Senate, whose members were to be appointed by King Norodom Sihanouk. The CPP retained control over the key finance and foreign affairs ministries, while FUNCINPEC agreed to re-integrate its troops into the government army. Opposition leader Sam Rainsy accepted the agreement, while royal pardons were extended to five prominent political exiles, including Prince Norodom Sirivudh, a half-brother of the king, who had been convicted of alleged attempts on Hun Sen's life. In December 1998 Cambodia was allowed to re-occupy its UN seat, which had been vacant for more than a year.

Disintegration of the Khmer Rouge

In March 1998, the armed forces of Hun Sen's government advanced into Anlong Veng, the last major stronghold of the Khmer Rouge's resistance forces. Several thousand Khmer Rouge guerrillas were reported to have defected, leaving around 2,000 fighters under the control of Ta Mok, the Khmer Rouge leader since 1997. By May some 87,000 Cambodian refugees had fled to Thailand. In December, the Khmer Rouge was reduced to a remnant of 200 fighters following further defections. Two prominent members of the Khmer Rouge, Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea, pledged allegiance to the new Hun Sen government and publicly apologized for the suffering caused by the 1975-79 Khmer Rouge regime. Meanwhile, pressure mounted for the trial of the Khmer Rouges' leaders for crimes against humanity. In September 1999 Ta Mok was formally charged with genocide, but it was not until January 2001 that the government agreed to set up a tribunal to try leaders of the former Khmer Rouge regime. In August the government confirmed that Khieu Samphan would stand trial in connection with Khmer Rouge atrocities. However, the UN announced in February 2002 that it was ending its involvement in the setting up of the tribunal. The exemption of some of the suspects from trial led UN officials to doubt whether the court would guarantee independence and impartiality.

Natural disaster More than four million people in Cambodia were affected by the worst floods in a generation, in late September 2000. The death toll reached at least 120.

Cochin-China Indochina, French Kampuchea Khmer Republic Khmer Rouge

Mekong Phnom Penh Podlaski, Ron Vietnam