Cambodia is a small country, made up of mostly buddhists. Lon nol subsequently took control of the government. I was two years old and had been born into the antivietnam war movement. The second indochina war and cambodias way into civil war. Cambodia is a country that suffered a vicious civil war lasting more than two decades. In the 1960s and 1970s cambodia was being pulled in many different directions. Cambodia on saturday commemorated the 20th anniversary of the end of civil war, vowing to use all necessary means to continue protecting the country. The cambodian communists, however, refused to adhere to the agreements, and in 1973 they were subjected to a massive american aerial bombardment, although the united states and cambodia were not at war and no u. In march 1970, while prince sihanouk was visiting the soviet union, the national assembly voted to remove him from office as head of state. The conflict was part of the second indochina war 19551975 which also consumed the neighboring kingdom of laos, south vietnam, and north vietnam individually referred to as the laotian civil war and the vietnam war respectively.
Vietnam invades, ending the khmer rouge regime, but civil war with the western and. It ended with the rise of brutal dictators and one of the worst genocides in asian history. Cambodian civil war the secret bombing of cambodia. Worse, in 1967 civil war broke out in the countryside. A chronology of key events in the history of cambodia. The bombing slowed communist attacks on phnom penh and wreaked havoc in the heavily populated. Mental health of cambodian refugees 2 decades after resettlement in the united states grant n. The people on the khmer rouge death list were the group called the city people. The vietnamese army invaded cambodia in 1979 and removed pol pot and the khmer rouge from power, after a series of violent battles. Cambodian genocide world without genocide making it. Security concerns increased before the 197075 civil war, and the government moved the. The cambodian people have experienced war, conflict and deadly political clashes almost continuously for the past 30 years.
The cambodian civil war was a conflict from 19671975, primarily between the communist khmer rouge and the cambodian government. Territorial control and recruitment in the cambodian civil. Before we can understand any of that, however, we have to take the time to understand where this conflict came from. Territorial control and recruitment in the cambodian civil war 5 conditioning. Mobilization strategies varied according to armed group and contexts of the civil war. There was the early realisation that the problem was complex and would take time to resolve, but no one was sure how long it would take. These years can be roughly divided into five phases. As far as cambodia was concerned, the effects of the cold war were discernible from the outset, with the formation of the indochinese communist party in 1951 in vietnam and. The cambodian conflict 1978 1991 described above would need to be resolved and untangled before the war could end.
Pol pots victorious khmer rouge immediately attacked into vietnamese territory, only to be rebuffed there by the newly triumphant communists. Cambodia time line chronological timetable of events. To briefly summarize, the war involved two major periods of conflict. War, genocide, and resistance in east timor, 197599. The cambodian civil war was a conflict that pitted the forces of the communist party of kampuchea known as the khmer rouge and their allies the democratic republic of vietnam north vietnam and the viet cong against the government forces of cambodia after october 1970, the khmer republic, which were supported by the united states u. The khmer rouge won the war, establishing a communist revolutionary government that existed for less than four years. Chronology of the khmer rouge movement cambodia tribunal. This is a collection of associated press and united press international short color film segments of the cambodian civil war. The khmer cambodian empire reached its apex in the 12th century, a time marked by the construction of the massive temple complexes known as angkor wat and bayon and the imperial capital of angkor thom. Most anticipated a long battle of attrition with no easy solution.
I was seven when pol pot was toppled a few years later, and the ghastly images of the. Cambodian civil war simple english wikipedia, the free. However, during the height of cambodian civil war in the 1980s, china played a very prominent role in supporting the notorious khmer rouge, the sihanoukist and the son sann group to fight against the phnom penh government which was ran by heng samrin, chea sim and hun sen. Coding this case is coded as ending by strategic shift, when the u. It is spoken by nearly 90% of the countrys population. The vietnam war spilled across the vietnam cambodia border, sihanouk swore revenge, and a new civil war tore cambodia apart. During his rule, civil war broke out in neighboring vietnam between communist north vietnam and the south vietnamese army, which was aided by the us. Sihanouk pursued a diplomatic campaign to gain independence from france, in which he eventually succeeded. Mobilization strategies varied according to armed group and contexts of. The leader of funcipec argued, the war in cambodia exists only and will be pursued between cambodia and vietnam, with vietnam as the aggressor and cambodia as the aggressed party peou, 1997. The vietnam war spilled across the vietnamcambodia border, sihanouk swore revenge, and a new civil war tore cambodia apart. Except where otherwise provided by special law, the provisions of this code shall apply to property related matters and family relations. Their crime was that they lived in the enemys zone, helping and supporting the enemy. Megan berthold, phd chiah chun, phd p olitical instability, civil conflict, war,genocide,persecution, and the attendant violationsofhumanrightsareincreasingly recognized as paramount.
In the sihanouk era, few cambodians were willing to desert their fields to engage in rebellion or other political activity chandler, 1991, p. These were any cambodian men, women, girls, boys, and babies who did not live in their liberated zones before they won the war in 1975. Khmer rouge in a wider civil and international war. List of weapons of the cambodian civil war wikipedia. The ethnic issue in the cambodian civil war request pdf. The cambodian civil war led to the cambodian genocide, one of the bloodiest in history.
Clashing armies and cia covert operations modern war. To understand this, one must become a little bit more familiar with cambodia s past to understand the underlying issues and grievances which coalesced into the khmer rouge movement. At this time, 85 percent of cambodian territory was controlled by the khmer rouge. The khmer rouge defeated lon nols khmer republic and entered phnom penh in april 1975, two weeks before the vietnamese communists took saigon. Cannibalism, khmer rouge and horrors of war the cambodia. Cambodian civil war t55 tanks the cambodian civil war was a conflict between the forces of the communist party of kampuchea the khmer rouge and the royal forces of the kingdom of cambodia from 1967 to 1970, then between the national united front of kampuchea and the khmer republic from 1970 to 1975. The country has experienced civil unrest since the 1960s, which continues today, with political and social instability.
The civil war ended when the khmer rouge decisively won, an end that served only as prelude to a more intensive period of targeting civilians detailed in a separate case study. The language is used in government, administration, education, media, and more. The escalating conflict pitted government troops, now renamed the khmer national armed forces forces armes nationales khmresfank, initially against the north vietnamese and the viet cong, and subsequently against the old rak, now revitalized and renamed the cambodian. Clashing armies and cia covert operations modern war studies hardcover conboy, kenneth on. The khmer rouge became a major player in the civil war and gained members because many people resented lon nol. Mental health of cambodian refugees 2 decades after. Cambodian prime minister samdech techo hun sen l, front views the winwin monument during an event marking the 20th anniversary of the end of civil war in phnom penh, cambodia, on dec. They were in the middle of a civil war and, at the same time were being drawn into the conflict in vietnam. Cambodian civil war the reader wiki, reader view of. A comprehensive overview of the cambodian civil war that takes a deep dive into the causes, effects, and trauma of the situation.
The purpose of this chapter is to explore mobilization of combatants by armed forces in the cambodian civil war, 197075. The war allows us to capture the diversity of structural contexts and the groups efforts in recruitment. After the war ended in 1975 the khmer rouge won the war. Opposition from both groups grew as they both planned to overthrow sihanouk and reverse cambodian neutrality, by either aligning with the north vietnamese or with the united states. Communism, civil war, political processes, grievance, genocide, dictatorship, conflict. Cambodia, like many other newly independent countries, had to face the new escalating global problem of the time. Gerrand said he witnessed lon nol soldiers, under the leadership of a khmer krom commander named danh krouch, barbecue the organs of slain viet cong forces in 1971. Samrin troops along with vietnamese troops stationed in. Following 400 years of decline, cambodia became a french colony and during the 20th century experienced the turmoil of war. The official draft submitted by the ministry of justice to the council of ministers is in khmer.
Confused and hurt, sihanouk traveled to beijing and accepted chinese advice to resist the coup by taking charge of a united front governmentinexile. The case can be made that an additional consequence of u. Cambodia gained independence from france in 1953 after nearly 100 years of colonial rule. Untac in cambodia from occupation, civil war and genocide to. Cambodian civil war fit in with the political process model. Although, with the secret bombing of cambodia by nixon, the delicate balance at home of conservatives and communists was disrupted. Cambodias civil war 19671975 led to an estimated 250,000 deaths. The cambodian civil war was a conflict that pitted the forces of the communist party of kampuchea known as the khmer rouge and their allies the democratic republic of vietnam north vietnam and the viet cong against the government forces of the kingdom of cambodia and, after october 1970, the khmer republic, which were supported by the united states u. The cambodian civil war rocked southeast asia from roughly 1970 to 1975. The cambodian civil war was a fiveyearold war that lasted from 1970 to 1975 and took place in cambodia. By the mid1960s, sihanouks delicate balancing act was beginning to go awry. This code sets forth the general principles governing legal relations in civil matters. Regionally, the presence of largescale north vietnamese and viet cong logistical bases on cambodian territory and the use of kampong saom then sihanoukville as a port of disembarkation for supplies being sent to communist troops.