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History
Independence
On
November 9, 1953, France releases Cambodia into
independence and King Norodom Sihanouk returns.
In
1955, in order to free himself from the restrictions
set for the king by the Cambodian constitution, Norodom
Sihanouk abdicates in favour of his father, Norodom
Suramarit, and enters politics. In successive elections,
in 1955, 1958, 1962 and 1966, the party
of Norodom Sihanouk wins every seat in parliament.
In
March 1969 American planes start bombing Cambodia
to interrupt the supply trails of the Vietcong. The
bombardments last until 1973.
In
1970, while Norodom Sihanouk is in Moscow on
a state visit, Marshal Lon Nol stages a coup
d'etat in Phnom Penh. Lon Nol abolishes the monarchy
and declares Cambodia a republic. Norodom Sihanouk chooses
to stay in Peking, presiding over a governmentinexile.
The Khmer Rouge are part of it. During the following
years, the Khmer Rouge conquer more and more
regions of Cambodia, until finally only Phnom Penh remains
under the control of the Lon Nol government.
On
April 17, 1975, the Khmer Rouge march
into Phnom Penh. Within a few days, the execute a large
number of Cambodians formerly connected to the Lon Nol
regime. More than 2 Million inhabitants of Phnom
Penh are forced out of the city and moved to provincial
labour camps. Phnom Penh becomes a ghost town. The economy
of the entire country is transformed along radical Communist
lines, money is simply abolished. The consequences
include famine and epidemics.
Within
the following 44 months more than a Million Cambodians
fall victim to the Khmer Rouge rule of terror.
Refugees who make it to Thailand report atrocities of
the worst kind: executions of children, only
because they were not born of peasant families or of
Vietnamese or Chinese origin. Whosoever was suspected
of being educated, or to be a member of a merchant family,
was murdered: clubbed to death, not shot, in order to
save ammunition.
On
December 25, 1978, after a series of transgressions
at the CambodianVietnamese border, the Vietnamese
army invades Cambodia. On January 7, 1979,
Vietnamese troops occupy Phnom Penh. A Vietnamfriendly
government is installed, Heng Samrin, a Khmer
Rouge guerrilla who earlier had fled to Vietnam,
is proclaimed president. The new Cambodian government
is not recognized by Western countries.
In
1982, three Cambodian resistance groups, the
Khmer Rouge, the National Front for an Independent,
Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC)
of Prince Sihanouk, and the anticommunist Khmer People's
National Liberation Front of former PM Son Sann,
form a coalition aiming to expel the Vietnamese occupation
forces.
In
1989 the Vietnamese troops retreat from Cambodia.
On October 23, 1991, the government previously
installed in Phnom Penh by the Vietnamese, together
with the resistance coalition, among them the Khmer
Rouge, sign a peace treaty in Paris. Three weeks
later, on November 14, 1991, Prince Sihanouk
returns to Phnom Penh. The population of the capital
receives him enthusiastically.
In
1992 the United Nations Transitory Authority
in Cambodia (UNTAC) take over the government and
the administration of the country. The Khmer Rouge
do not adhere to the Paris agreement which stipulates
that warring factions lay down their arms.
On
May 23, 1993, in elections for a constitutional
assembly, supervised by the UN, FUNCINPEC wins
45 % of the votes, the Cambodian People's Party of the
government installed by the Vietnamese achieves 38 %.
FUNCINPEC and CPP agree to form a coalition
government.
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