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Introduction 3

The Khmer Empire & Angkor Wat 4

Cambodia under French colonial empire 7

Cambodian civil war 1970-1975 10

Khmer Rouge 14

Vietnamese Invasion of Cambodia 18

Cambodia¶s current situation 20

Bibliography 26

2
 ,
Cambodia is a country with clearly many contrasts. It is a country, the size of four times the
Netherlands and with a population of 14,5 million people, in South-East-Asia that has had experienced
centuries of war and turmoil. At one point, Cambodia was an empire which territory spread over
current Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar. In the 19th century, Cambodia became a colony of France,
and gained its independence in 1954. Years of civil war, turmoil, and political corruption follwed as
Cambodia began governing itself. Bordering to Vietnam, Cambodia became a merely a tool for the
United States in their fight against communist Vietnam. Internal power struggles followed and the
Khmer Rouge came in power in 1975. The regime ended in 1979 with Vietnamese invasion. Massive
famine spread over whole Cambodia and within just one decade nearly two million Cambodians died.
This is merely an estimation as nobody really knows how many people have died. Also, it is not clear
which were the parties involved in the killings and how many each party has contributed to this
devastating history. It is estimated that the secret bombings of Cambodia by the United States alone
has killed 700.000 people. It is in the benefit of all the parties to keep the truth tellers silent.
Landmines still scatter the nation, serving as dangerous remnants of war en resulting in an alarmingly
high number of disabled people. The government is weak and in many aspects ineffective. Illegal
activities as children sex trade continues. The economy remains in shambles and has to be built up
from the ground.

The breathtaking temples of Angkor and its disturbing past are truly two contrasting sides of
Cambodia.

3

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The Khmer Empire was known as one of the most powerful empires in Southeast Asia, based in what
is now called Cambodia. The empire grew out of the former kingdom Chenla and at times rules over
parts of modern-day Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and Malaysia. Its greatest legacy is Angkor
which witnesses to the Khmer Empire¶s immense power and wealth, as well as the variety of belief
systems that it patronized over time. The empire¶s official religions included Hinduism and Mahayana
Buddhism, until Theravada Buddhism prevailed after its introduction from Sri Lanka in the 13th
century. The history about the Khmer Empire and Angkor Wat go so deep and went through so much
that no written records have survived other than stone inscriptions. The main information we today
have do primarily come from:

-c Archaeological reconstruction and investigation

-c Stone inscriptions
-c Relief in a series of temple walls with depictions of military marches, life in the palace, market
scenes and also the everyday lives of the population
-c Reports and chronicles of Chinese diplomats, traders and travelers

The birth of the Khmer Empire was estimated to be in 802 BC when Jayavarman II declared himself
as chakravartin, which means king of the world, on Phnom Kulen. There were some factors that led to
the rise of the Khmer Empire and the prosperity of Angkor Wat:

-c Location of Angkor Wat

-c The influences of religion
-c The control of water resources

These points will be discussed later as we go on with the history of the kings of the Khmer Empire.

Jayavarman II: The founder of Angkor

The first data on Jayavarman II, dating 1053 BC, came from K. 235 stone inscription on a stele in
Sdok Kok Thom temple which is to be found in Isan region. It recounts two and a half centuries of
service that members of the temple provided to the Khmer court, mainly as chief chaplains of the
Hindu religion.
Jayavarman II was a prince who lived at the court of Sailendra in Java (today¶s Indonesia) and brought
back to his home the art and culture of Javanese Sailendran court to Cambodia. After he eventually
returned to his home, the former kingdom of Chenla, he quickly built up his influence, conquerd a
series of competing kings, and in 790 BC became king of a kingdom called ³Kambuja´ by the Khmer.
In the following years he extended his territory and eventually established his new capital of
Hariharalaya near the modern Cambodian town of Roluos. He thereby laid the foundation of Angkor,
which was to arise some 15 km to the northwest. When he declared himself as chakravartin in 802 BC
he not only became the uncontested ruler, but also declared the independence of his kingdom from
Java. Jayavarman II died in the year 834 BC and he was succeeded by his son Jayavarman III.
Jayavarman III died in 877 C.E. and was succeeded by Indravarman I and so on until 24 kings ruled
the Khmer Empire.

Yasovarman: Establisher of Yasodharapura, the first city of Angkor

Jayavarman II¶s successors continually extended the territory of what was then called Kambuja.
Indravarman I (ruled during 877-889 BC) managed to expand the kingdom without wars. Thanks to
the wealth gained through trade and agriculture he began extensive building projects, foremost were
the temple of Preah Ko and irrigation works. After his death he was followed by his son Yasovarman I
(ruled during 889-915 BC), who established the fist city of Angkor called Yasodharapura. On a hill,
called Phnom Bakheng, which rises around 60 m above the plain on which Angkor sits, the city¶s

4
central temple was build. Yasovarman I also created the East Baray, which is a massive water
reservoir of 7.5 by 1.8 km.

The peaceful act of expanding the kingdom without wars and extending the Khmer terrority
came to an end in 950 BC when the kingdom of Champa (modern central Vietnam) began to
revolt and the first war between these kingdoms took place. The Khmer Empire lost a share of
their ground but went on ruling in Kambuja. From 968 to 1001 BC Jayavarman V ruled with a
largely peaceful period, marked by prosperity and a cultural flowering. He established a new
capital called Jayenanagari and a lot of new temples as the Mahayana Buddhism and
Hinduism were still the two main religions.

After the death of Jayavarman V a decade of conflict followed. Kings ruled only for a few
years and were violently replaced by their successors. From 1010 until 1050 BC Suryavarman
I ruled and tried to bring peace into the Khmer civilization. He built the construction of the
West Baray which is the second largest water reservoir (8 by 2.2 km) after the Eastern Baray.

Suryavarman II: The largest temple Angkor Wat

The attempt of a peaceful kingdom failed and the 11th century continued to be a time of
conflict and brutal power struggles. Only when Suryavarman II (ruled during 1113-1150 BC)
the kingdom was united internally and extended externally. Under his rule the largest temple
Angkor Wat was built in a period of 37 years dedicated to the god Vishnu. This ruler was seen
as one of the greatest not only because of the building of Angkor Wat but also because of the
territories he conquered. From the Mon kingdom of Haripunjaya to the west (today¶s central
Thailand) and the area further west to the border with the kingdom of Bagan (modern Burma).
Down south further parts of the Malay peninsula and several provinces of Champa in the east.
Suryavarman II¶s end is unclear, however in the last inscription his name and the planned
invasion of Vietnam in 1145 BC were mentioned and connected. Some say that he died
during a failed military expedition in Dai Viet territory around 1145 and 1150.

The Khmer Empire versus the kingdom of Champa

After Suryavarman II¶s death his successors took over the Empire, however there were a lot
of fights because of all the territories that were conquered. In 1177 BC Kambuja was defeated
in a battle on the Tonlé Sap lake by the army of the Chams, and was incorporated as a
province of Champa. In 1181 Jayavarman VII took over with a lot of experience as being a
military leader as prince under previous kings before being king. He gathered an army and
regained the capital, Yasodharapura. He continued the war against the neighbouring eastern
kingdom for 22 years until the Khmer defeated Champa in 1203.

Fall of the Khmer Empire

With the ongoing fights between the conquered places, the changes in religion and the decreasing
power of the Khmer kings, the Empire began to fall. The introduction to Theravada Buddhism played
a big role in the changes of religion. The previous belief system of the Khmers before was Hinduism
and Mahayana Buddhism, which had no say against the concept of µgod-king¶. However, Theravada
Buddhism prevailed and challenged this concept because it taught people to seek self-enlightenment
which led to the people not committing themselves wholeheartedly to the king. All the maintenance
were being neglected, for example, the irrigation system was not as efficient so the Empire¶s
productivity and economy diminished greatly. As neighbouring city states were becoming more

5
powerful the roads in Kambuja also served the Empire¶s downfall. It became weaker and weaker and
other empires took advantage of that such as Ayutthaya who used the roads to invade Angkor in 1431
where the Khmer Empire lost the fight and with Jayavarman Paramesvara being the last king it fell
down.cc

6
Cambodia under French colonial Empire


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The period before Cambodia became a French colony can be characterized as stagnancy. Although
there weren¶t many occasions going on, Cambodia got more contact with other countries. Because of
the river Mekong in Cambodia which, was a central trading place. Because of weak authority and
several wars with Thailand people from Cambodia didn¶t get any advantage of central trading place
Mekong.

In the 16th century Thailand constantly has been assaulted by Birma. Ang Chan (king of Cambodia)
took advantage of this; he recaptured west Cambodia and transferred the capital Phnom Penh to
Lovek.

In the second half of the 16th century Portuguese missionaries enter Cambodia. Cambodia believed that
they would get some help form the Portuguese against Thai occupation. Unfortunately, Lovek became
part of Thailand again and they didn¶t get any support. After that, Cambodia came in a period of µdark
centuries¶, because it lies between two powerful neighbor countries Thailand and Vietnam who fought
wars over Cambodian territory. The weak kings of Cambodia one time search for protection from
Thailand and the other time from Vietnam.

Ang Eng became king in 1779. Under his reign Thailand got more grip on Cambodia and a couple of
Cambodian province were occupied. At the same time the Vietnamese conquer the Mekong-delta,
whereby Cambodia lost its passage to the sea. c


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In the 19th century Cambodia suffered more and more due to extremely warfare between Vietnam and
Thailand. Soon after the coronation of Norodom(1860-1904). Cambodia had to give away the
provinces Siem Reap, Battambang and Sisophon to Thailand.cTo prevent Cambodia from its two
powerful neighbors, Norodom invited France to make Cambodia its protectorate. Many Cambodians
believed that this brilliant act actually saved Cambodia from disappearing. In 1864 Norodom signed
the protectorate convention with France.

Cambodia didn¶t improve through this protectorate. In 1884 France forced Norodom to sign a
convention, which included Cambodia would be a colony of France for the coming ninety years. The
governance of Cambodia was miserable and the economic profits went to the French.

Cambodia entered the Union of Indo-China together with Vietnam and Laos in 1887. The reason why
France wanted to colonize Cambodia was that they were interested in Vietnam. Due to the France
influence, neighbor countries couldn¶t align with the Khmer area anymore.

France took advantage of the colony and used it as a market for their industry. The rice fields and
rubber plantations provided many exports products. France has promised democracy and economic
development to the population. But they didn¶t keep their promises. This was a tough period for the
population. The farmers had to pay high taxes and were forced to work. There was no education and
there was a poor infrastructure. The population regularly came in revolt against France, but the French
easily got this under control.

7
France wasn¶t really that interested in Laos. On economic expert there wasn¶t enough to get from
Laos. There were no metallic and they weren¶t interested in the mountainous farming cultivation. They
saw Vietnam as most profitable country. Although they didn¶t make any profits from Laos, they also
obliged this population to work for them.


c
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cc

After World War II many countries in South-East Asia became independent. In 1907 France made a
convention with Thailand, which included; the provinces Siem Reap, Battambang and Sisophon are
part of the Khmer area again.

After World War II and the Japanese occupation in 1940 France tried to move on with their
governance like they did in the past. But they got a lot of resistance from different local rebel groups.
The local rebel groups had discovered the weaknesses of France and they desired to independency. In
1940 Norodom Sihanouk became king and revealed as a diplomat, who claimed independency of his
own country. In 1946 Norodom Sihanouk made an agreement which stated that Cambodia will be a
part of the France Union. Gradually he got more independency for his country.

In 1952 Sihanouk made himself a prime-minister and changed the government. He tried to get a lot of
support from the world for his initiative acts. In 1953 the France government did propose Cambodia,
Laos and Vietnam to be independent. On the first side they keep on fighting but after a great military
defeat in 1954 in Dien Bien Phu, a conflict in Indochina where France got beaten by Vietnam.
Norodom signed a peace agreement and Indochina came independent. This was the end of the first
War in Indochina where France had a big roll. Despite of the independency the welfare didn¶t grow
and there were still problems. The political situation wasn¶t stable. The civil service was
inexperienced.

8

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The colonialism from Cambodia and other Indo-China countries didn¶t have any economic, policy or
social advantage. In the thirties France manage great cotton and rubber plantations. Because the
independent farmers refused to do labour work, France imported labour workers from Vietnam.
Although the Cambodian farmers didn¶t have own fields to their availability, rent and large
landownership were an unknown phenomenon, so there was no
disability of land.

Cambodia was an insignificant supplier of raw materials and

also they didn¶t play a roll as French customer of industrial
products. After a century, France has changed its colonial
policy. They invested more in Indo-China and the economy
made slowly developments.


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The French colonialism has had an influence on the Cambodian

culture. Many classic colonial buildings were constructed
including the Police station, the Hotel Le Royal and the large
villas around the Royal palace (French Area). By the 1930s the
canals had been filled and turned into garden boulevards, which
Independence are now parks along Sihanouk Boulevard.
monument

Independence from France came in 1954, issuing in a period of considerable urban and commercial
development and the beginning of the distinctive µNew Khmer Architecture,¶ reflected in existing
ence structure such as the Independence Monument and Chaktomuk Theatre.
t
A typical matter you can find in Cambodia nowadays is French bread.

Hotel le Royal
in Phnom Penh

9


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The Cambodian civil war was a conflict between the Khmer Rouge and the government forces of
Cambodia called the Khmer Republic in 1970 till 1975.

- The Khmer Rouge was influenced by their allies the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the
Viet Cong.

- The Vietcong was a political organization and army in South Vietnam that fought the U.S. and
South Vietnamese government during the Vietnam war.

The Vietnam war and the government forces of Cambodia were supported by the United States and
the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam).

+
,
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The influence for Cambodia's Civil War was the conflict that occurred in Vietnam that was divided
into North and South Vietnam. North Vietnam supported by communist allies and South Vietnam by
the U.S.

The Vietcong was a political organization and army in South Vietnam that fought the U.S. And South
Vietnamese government during the Vietnam war.

The Vietminh was a national independence movement that opposed the U.S. In the Vietnam War and
was led by Ho Chi Minh. Who later proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North
Vietnam). North Vietnam was a communist state.

The Vietcong was a communist controlled army that fought a guerilla war against anti-communist
forces in South Vietnam.

North Vietnam was led by the People's Army of Vietnam and fought U.S. Army and South vietnamese
army.

The North Vietnamese army (People's Army of Vietnam) were involved because they had Base Areas
and sanctuaries in Eastern Cambodia for extra military effort in South Vietnam. These communist
Base Areas were protected by Cambodian neutrality since their establishment in 1966.

The U.S. Were involved because they needed the time to withdraw from the South-East Asia and to
protect the South-Vietnamese regime, which was a U.S. Ally.

This conflict in Cambodia, between the two opposing sides from the Vietnam war, led to five years of
U.S. Aerial bombing campaigns and direct material and financial aid. Which brought the destruction
of the Cambodian economy and starvation of the population.

10


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The Khmer Republic was declared on Oct 9 1970 and was a pro- US military-led government with
Lon Nol as its general and prince Sirik Matak. They took power on March 18 1970 coup against the
Head of State, Prince Sihanouk.

Subsequently Prime Minister Lon Nol became effective Head of State.

The coup ended Sihanouk's period of cooperation with the North Vietnamese regime and the Viet
Cong and it aligned Cambodia with South Vietnam.

The reasons for the coup was that by 1969, Lon Nol and his rightists thought that Sihanouk's actions
were getting unacceptable.Sihanouk tolerated the stay of the Viet Cong and Vietnam People's Army
within Cambodian borders. He also had negotiated a secret arrangement with Hanoi whereby in return
for the guaranteed purchase of rice at inflated prices, the port of Sihanoukville was opened for
weapons shipments to the Vietcong.

Lon Nol's appointee as Prime minister was Sirik Matak, an US-friendly nationalist, who thought to
have suggested to assassinate Sihanouk.

On March 12 1970 Sirik Matak cancelled Sihanouks trade agreement with North Vietnam; Lon Nol
closed the port of Sihanoukville to the North Vietnamese and gave them and ultimatum. That
ultimatum was that all PAVN/NLF forces were to withdraw from Cambodia within 3 days on March
15 or face military action. This was impossible and did not happen.

On 18 March Lon Nol requested that the National Assembly vote on the future of the prince's
leadership of the nation. Sihanouk lost his power and Lon Nol was granted emergency powers. Sirik
Matak kept his function as Prime Minister.

The majority of the middle class and educated had become frustated about the actions of the prince
Sihanouk and welcomed the change of government. Together with the military they celebrated the
return of American military and financial aid. There were also demonstrations occuring by 40 000
peasants but they were spread out by contigents of the armed forces. This led to the massacre of the
vietnamese population in Cambodia. Most of the population, urban and rural, took their anger out on
the Vietnamese. Lon Nol called for 10 000 volunteers to help out Cambodia's poorly-equiped 30 000-
man army and managed to recruit over 70 000 man. In towns and villages all over Cambodia, soldiers
and civillians sought out their Vietnamese neighbors in order to murder them. On 15 April, 800
Vietnamese bodies floated down the Mekong river and into South Vietnam.

In an apology towards the Vietnamese Lon Nol stated that ´ was difficult to distinguish between
Vietnamese citizens who were Viet Cong and those who were not. So it is quite normal that the
reaction of Cambodian troops, who feel themselves betrayed, is difficult to control.´

11
:-c
c; :-c

On May 5 the National United Front of Kampuchea(FUNK) and the Gouvernement Royal d'Union
Nationale du kampuchea (GRUNK) were established by Sihanouk. He said"I had chosen not to be
with either the Americans or the communists, because I considered that there were two dangers,
American imperialism and Asian communism. It was Lon Nol who obliged me to choose between
them." He allied himself with the Khmer Rouge, the North Vietnamese and the NLF. Military
operations by GRUNK were led by Pol Pot. This was done by Sihanouk because he wanted to get
revenge against those who had betrayed him. Peasants, who were motivated by loyalty to the
monarchy , joined forces with the FUNK. The Khmer Rouge, had gained many members and was
positioned to become a major player in he civil war. The Khmer Rouge began to defeat Lon Nol's
army on the battlefields with aid from by the Vietnamese. By the end of 1972, the Vietnamese
withdrew from Cambodia and turned the great responsibilities for the war over to the CPK.

This change in the government allowed the opportunity for the destruction of the communist Base
Areas


c,c

On 29 April 1970, South Vietnamese and U.S. units held a Cambodian Campaign which were a series
of military operations conducted in eastern Cambodia. These operations were conducted by the Army
of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and U.S. Forces and ended on 30 June. The target of the
campaign was to defeat approximately 40 0000 troops of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and
the National front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF aka Viet Cong) who had their Base Areas
in Cambodia.
The North Vietnamese reacted by launching an own offensive against FANK (Khmer National Armed
Forces, armed forces of the Khmer Republic) in order to protect and expand their Base Areas and
logistical system. They took over the entire northeastern third of he country after defeating FANK
forces. The Khmer Rouge also established territories in the south and southwestern parts of the
country, operating independently from the North Vietnamese.

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On 21 Jan 1971 Cambodian military FANK conducted an operation named Chenla II. Their goal was
to clear Route 6 of enemy forces and therefore open communications with Kompong Thom,
Cambodia's second largest city, which has been isolated from the capital for more than a year. After
the succesful operation, retaking Kompong Thom, when FANK formation were moving towards
enemy territory, they were exposed by PAVN and Khmer rouge forces and heavily attacked. Though it
was successful, the army of FANK were severely weakened by the counterattack.

c
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12
-
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From 1972 through 1974, the war was active along FANK's lines of communications north and south
of Cambodia. U.S. Air Force started supplying FANK troops with direct air support. The communists
occupied one-half of Cambodia and had cut all the land routes leading to and from the capital of
Phnom Penh . On 28 January 1973, the Paris Peace Accord was signed, Lon Nol announced a
unilateral cease-fire and it stopped U.S. airstrikes. The bombing resumed on 9 February because the
Khmer Rouge ignored this and carried on fighting. Then in March the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff
proposed a much expanded bombing campaign. During 1973 (Freedom deal) aircraft dropped 250 000
tons of bombs (high explosives) that forced the communists back into the countryside.
On the last day of the Operation Freedom Deal, 250 000 tons of bombs had been dropped on the
Khmer Republic.

%597c

Massive US bombing raids in Cambodia are terminated by act of Congress. More than a million
people and two-thirds of Cambodia's draught animals have been killed, wounded or maimed since
bombing started in 1965. The US has dropped 2 756 941 tons of bombs, ore than all the bombs
dropped by the Allies during World War II, in 230,516 sorties on 113,716 sites. Nearly half the
population have been uprooted and displaced within their own country.

13
-
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Cambodia was still a colony of France in the 1940s. In this period the country attempted to be a free
independent state which was obtained in the year 1953. It was also during this decade that communism
became popular as well. Probably without the rise of communism in Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge
could have never been successful.

In the 1930s, there was a party formed, which was called the Indochinese Communist Party (ICP). The
ICP existed of members from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos and after the occupation by France
finally ended, this party took the initiative to form the United Issarak Front in Cambodia.

By no coincidence most of its members were from the ICP. This party who was lead by Son Ngoc
Minh controlled almost a half of Cambodia by 1952. However, politically, the country was still
technically under the control of Norodom Sihanouk²the King of Cambodia, and the government of
the Khmer Republic.

The ICP divided in 1951 its party into the Vietnam Workers¶ Party, the Lao Itsala, and the
Kampuchean People¶s Revolutionary Party (KPRP). The latter party broke into an "urban committee"
and a "rural committee" in the mid 1950s, and this caused a burst in the country between urban
"leftist" policies and rural "right wing" policies. The party¶s supporters were split accordingly between
these two groups.

The Khmer Rouge¶s origin thus occurred in the early 1950s. A man, born in Cambodia by the name of
Saloth Sar, better known as Pol Pot, who had spent its time in France as a student and who became a
member of the French Communist Party returned to Cambodia in 1953 and joined a clandestine
communist movement, the Second Congress of the KPRP, and began his rise up the ranks to become
one of the world's most infamous dictators. With this status he had the unique opportunity to be a type
of mediator, or middle man, between the Communism movement and other leftist groups. This role
allowed him to gain popularity with the people. However, as Sihanouk was still the leader of
Cambodia, Pol Pot opposed him as the King of the country. He believed in a Communist doctrine and
ruling, and wanted to replace him.

What were the reasons the Khmer Rouge was formed? The Khmer Rouge supported a doctrine against
the rich, and believed that money should be distributed in equal proportions throughout the population.
Pol Pot and his adherents believed that the population should work for the government. The idea was
that individuals would work for the government and the "common good", and that the government
would provide their citizens with food and shelter. This was exemplified by the farms that the Khmer
Rouge instituted after they gained control of the government.

During the 1960s, Pot left Cambodia and went to North Vietnam. The purpose of the visit was to seek
assistance from the Vietnam government with the idea to overthrow the current rulers of Cambodia.
Pot started a revolution against the Cambodian government, beginning an insurgency campaign in
1968. This was also known as the Cambodian Civil War. Specifically, this divided the country into
Khmer Rouge supporters and their allies, against the Cambodian government, the Khmer Republic.

The Khmer Rouge was supported by Northern Vietnam, and provided the party with shelter and
weapons in their fight against the government. Cambodia was unable to combat the insurgence,
primarily because of Vietnam¶s military aid. After two years, the party announced itself as the

14
"Communist Party of Kampuchea". Popular support grew for the party because in March 1970,
Marshal Lon Nol, a Cambodian politician who had previously served as prime minister and his pro-
American associates staged a successful coup to depose the King of Cambodia, Sihanouk, as head of
state. At this period, the Khmer Rouge had gained many members and was positioned to become a
major player in the civil war of Cambodia due to its alliance with Sihanouk. Their forces were led by
Pol Pot, who was assigned CPK's party secretary and leader in 1963. The Khmer Rouge began to
defeat Lon Nol's army on the battlefields with aid from by the Vietnamese. By the end of 1972, the
Vietnamese withdrew from Cambodia and turned the great responsibilities for the war over to the
CPK.

By early 1973, about 85 percent of Cambodian territory was in the hands of the Khmer Rouge, and
Lon Nol's army was almost unable to go on the offensive. However, from January to August 1973, the
Khmer Republic government, with assistance from the US, was able to continue fighting the Khmer
Rouge for two more years and dropped about half a million tons of bombs on Cambodia, which may
have killed as many as 300,000 people. Many who resented the bombings or had lost family members
joined the Khmer Rouge's revolution.

On April 17, 1975 there came an end after five years of foreign interventions, bombardment, and civil
war in Cambodia. On this date, Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia, fell to the communist
forces.


c!
c'

c

In 1975 is was official, the Khmer Rouge took power and forced citizens of Phnom Penh and other
important towns, more than two million people in total, to move to the countryside to undertake
agricultural work. The Khmer Rouge started to realize their radical Maoist and Marxist-Leninist based
transformation program at this time. Their main goal was to transform Cambodia into an agricultural,
classless society by depopulating cities and forcing the urban population ("New People") into the
countryside in which there was no financial difference between people, no rich, no poor, and no
exploitation. They told residents that they would be moved only about "two or three kilometers"
outside the city and would return in "two or three days". Some witnesses say they were told that the
evacuation was because of the "threat of American bombing" and that they did not have to lock their
houses since the Khmer Rouge would "take care of everything" until they returned. These were not the
first evacuations of civilian populations by the Khmer Rouge. Similar evacuations of populations
without possessions had been occurring on a smaller scale since the early 1970s. Thousands of people
died during the evacuations.

The entire population was forced to become farmers in labor camps. To accomplish this, they
abolished money, free markets, private property, foreign clothing styles, religious practices, and
traditional Khmer culture which resulted in the complete halt of almost all economic activity. Leisure
activities were severely restricted. People throughout the country, including the leaders of the CPK,
had to wear black costumes, which were their traditional revolutionary clothes. Even public schools,
hospitals, pagodas, mosques, churches, universities, shops and government buildings were shut or
turned into prisons, stables, reeducation camps and granaries. The purpose of this policy, as Pol Pot
envisioned it, was to turn Cambodians into "Old People" through agricultural labor.

The ideology the Khmer Rouge spread among its civilians was that only pure people were qualified to
build the revolution. Immediately after seizing power, they arrested and killed thousands of soldiers,
military officers and civil servants from the Khmer Republic regime led by Marshal Lon Nol, whom
they did not regard as "pure." Over the next three years, they executed hundreds of thousands of

15
intellectuals; city residents; minority people such as the Cham, Vietnamese and Chinese; and many of
their own soldiers and party members, who were accused of being traitors. Many were held in prisons,
where they were detained, interrogated, tortured and executed. The most important prison in
Cambodia, known as S-21, held approximately 14,000 prisoners while in operation. Only about 12
survived.

It is important to know that the leadership of the Khmer Rouge remained largely unaltered from the
1960s to the end of the 1990s so the opportunity that there would be a turn in the policy of the regime
from any potential new leader was very small. The leaders were mostly from middle-class families and
had been educated at French universities. During their four years in power, the actions by the Khmer
Rouge resulted in massive deaths trough executions, work exhaustion, illness, and starvation.

This was a time where everyone was deprived of their fundamental rights. People were not allowed to
go beyond their cooperative. The regime strictly forbade anyone to gather and hold discussions. If
three people gathered and talked, they could be accused of being enemies and arrested or executed.
Even family relationships not sanctioned by the state were also banned, and family members could be
put to death for communicating with each other as well. In any case, family members were often
relocated to different parts of the country with all postal and telephone services abolished.

The Khmer Rouge asked all Cambodians to believe, obey and respect only Angkar Padevat, which
was to be everyone's "mother and father."

The Khmer language has a complex system of usages in which they define speakers' rank and social
status. During the rule of the Khmer Rouge, these usages were abolished. People were encouraged to
call each other "friend" or "comrade", and to avoid traditional signs of devotion such as bowing or
folding the hands in salutation. Their language was also transformed in other ways as the Khmer
Rouge invented new terms. People were told to forge a new revolutionary character that they were the
"instruments" of the ruling body known as "Angkar" (The Organization), and that nostalgia for pre-
revolutionary times could result in execution.

In the year 1976 the CPK came with a "Four-Year Plan," and under the terms Cambodians were
expected to produce three tons of rice per hectare throughout the country; before the Khmer Rouge
era, the average was only one ton per hectare. This meant that people had to grow and harvest rice all
12 months of the year. In most regions, the Khmer Rouge forced people to work more than 12 hours a
day without rest or adequate food. They did not believe in western medicine but instead favored
traditional peasant medicine; many died as a result. Moreover, the total lack of agricultural knowledge
by the former city dwellers made famine inevitable. Rural dwellers were often unsympathetic or too
frightened to assist them. Such acts as picking wild fruit or berries was seen as "private enterprise" and
punished by death.

A lot of Cambodians requested asylum by crossing the border into Thailand. From there, they were
transported to refugee camps such as Sa Kaeo or Khao-I-Dang, the only camp allowing resettlement in
countries such as the United States, France, Canada, and Australia. In some refugee camps such as Site
8, Phnom Chat or Ta Prik the Khmer Rouge cadre controlled food distribution and restricted the
activities of international aid agencies.

16

c+c
c-
c 
c

By the end of 1977, clashes broke out between Cambodia and Vietnam. The once-formidable KR
soldiers offered weak opposition to the Vietnamese. Many of them were purged and demoralized, sick
of killing their own people and far from loyal to the regime in Phnom Penh. As the Vietnamese
withdrew, so thousands of Khmers fled with them, taking refuge across the frontier in Vietnam.
Among those who deserted at this time was a young Khmer Rouge commander called Hun Sen.
Subsequently, in collaboration with the Vietnamese, he began to build a Cambodian liberation army
with the aim of overthrowing Pol Pot and establishing a regime friendly to Vietnam in Phnom Penh.

Khmer Rouge misrule came to a sudden end in December 1978 when Vietnam sent its forces rolling
across the Cambodian frontier, seizing Phnom Penh on January 7, 1979 and forcing the discredited
DK leadership to take refuge in camps along the Thai border. The Vietnamese were accompanied by
around 20,000 members of the Vietnamese-backed Cambodian liberation army as well as Hun Sen
himself and other Cambodian opponents of the Khmer Rouge regime.

The United Nations voted to give the resistance movement against communists, which included the
Khmer Rouge, a seat in its General Assembly. From 1979 to 1990, it recognized them as the only
legitimate representative of Cambodia.

There followed a cynical period of nine years when the regime established by the Vietnamese ± which
everyone, including most Cambodians, saw as a major improvement on DK ± was made an
international pariah, while the Khmer Rouge guerrillas received military and food aid from an unlikely
collection of backers including China, USA, Britain and Thailand.

In 1982, the Khmer Rouge formed a coalition with Prince Sihanouk, who was exiled in China after the
Cambodian Civil War, and the non-communist leader Son Sann to create the Triparty Coalition
Government. In Phnom Penh, on the other hand, Vietnam helped to create a new government - the
Peoples Republic of Kampuchea - led by Heng Samrin.

In September 1989 Vietnam finally withdrew its forces from Cambodia, handing over control to the
United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC). In May 1993, following UN-organised
elections, Cambodia officially became a constitutional monarchy with King Sihanouk as head of state.
The KR opted out of the elections, however, and this led to more years of intermittent warfare during
which the KR was gradually worn down. The KR leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998, while the last KR
diehard, military leader Ta Mok, was captured in northern part of Cambodia and taken to trial in
Phnom Penh in early 1999.

The Khmer Rouge continued to exist until 1999 when all of its leaders had defected to the Royal
Government of Cambodia, been arrested, or had died. As a consequence, the power of the once
greatly feared KR was broken forever.

17
È



c 
c+c

c
Vietnam use to be allies with the Khmer Rouge, in fact, parts of the Khmer army had been trained by
the Vietnamese. During the Khmer Rouge regime they started growing apart because Cambodia took
several islands of Thailand that were held by Vietnam and they crossed the Vietnamese borders in
several locations. The Cambodian army also slaughtered Vietnamese civilians along their borders and
claimed territory, which Vietnam was trying to recapture. This led to a small border war between
Cambodia and Vietnam in 1977.

In 1978 the Vietnamese army invaded Cambodia and overthrew the khmer rouge regime in
less than 4 weeks, some Khmer Rouge soldiers just gave up because they were sick of killing
their own men. Pol pot fled to the Thai-Cambodian border where he maintained a small
khmer army and continued to have a big influence in the organization and ordered arrests and
killings within the ranks of the Khmer rouge. Pol pot tried to hang on to his power and the
recognition of the United Nations as the rightful regime of Cambodia. Among those who
deserted at this time was a young Khmer Rouge commander called Hun Sen. Subsequently, in
collaboration with the Vietnamese, he began to build a Cambodian liberation army with the
aim of overthrowing Pol Pot and establishing a regime friendly to Vietnam in Phnom Penh.

The Vietnamese reasons for overthrowing the Khmer rouge regime were ³ in the name of
human rights´ and many people viewed them as heroes for rescuing the Cambodian people.
However after the liberation the Vietnamese became the ³ invader´ when they occupied
Cambodia for 10 years. Under Vietnamese occupation, torture and forced labor were
common.

On January 10, 1979, the Vietnamese installed Heng Samrin as head of state in the new
People's Republic of Cambodia. The Vietnamese Army continued to pursue Khmer Rouge
forces.
Vietnamese also occupied the best housing and lived as a tiny elite. However the new regime
was still viewed as an improvement in comparison to the regime of the Khmer Rouge. Heng
Samrin Vietnamese regime had to keep fighting because a remainder of the Khmer Rouge's
military forces had managed to establish themselves in some regions.

In 1981 the pro-Vietnamese People¶s Revolutionary Party wins the elections and the
international community refuses to recognize the new government.

The United Nations voted to give the resistance movement against communists, which
included the Khmer Rouge, a seat in its General Assembly. From 1979 to 1990, it recognized
them as the only legitimate representative of Cambodia. Therefore the Khmer Rouge and
prime minister Sihanouk remain in their seats at the United Nations.

In September 1989 Vietnam finally withdrew its forces from Cambodia, handing over control
to the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC). In May 1993, following
UN-organised elections, Cambodia officially became a constitutional monarchy with King
Sihanouk as head of state while Hun Sen remains prime minister. Hun Sen use to be part of
Sihanouk¶s communist regime and was a sergeant in the Khmer Rouge living in Vietnam
during the genocide. He has one glass eye, and injury sustained during the Phnom Penh

18
offensive in 1975 with the Khmer Rouge. During the elections of 1993 Hun Sen lost the
elections but he refused to step down. He became co-prime minister together with Norodom
Ranariddh, the son of Sihanouk. In 1997 the tensions grew high when Norodom Ranariddt
began to collaborate with the remaining Khmer Rouge rebels. (with who¶m he had allied
against Hun Sen¶s backed Vietnamese government) His goal was to have them absorbed into
the ranks. In response Hun Sen had him replaced with Ung Huot. They ruled together until
1998 when Hun Sen¶s party won the elections and he became sole prime minister again.

The KR opted out of the elections, however, and this led to more years of intermittent warfare
during which the KR was gradually worn down. The KR leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998 a year
after he was placed under house arrest by the Ta Mok Khmer Rouge part. A little while later
the last KR military leader Ta Mok, was captured in the northern part of Cambodia and taken
to trial in Phnom Penh in early 1999. The Khmer Rouge continued to exist until 1999 when
all of its leaders had defected to the Royal Government of Cambodia, been arrested, or had
died. As a consequence, the power of the once greatly feared KR was broken forever.

Hun Sen is currently the longest serving leader in Asia. He is still in power and is married and
has 6 children. 3 boys and 3 girls of which one girl has been adopted. In October 2007, Hun Sen
made a surprise announcement at a graduation ceremony, in front of an audience of nearly 3000, that
his adopted daughter was a lesbian. He had taken legal steps to disown Malis and to prevent her from
receiving any inheritance. Nonetheless, he asked the audience to accept homosexuals.

19


c,
c

The atrocities in the past are still visible in nowadays Cambodia. Its traces can be easily found when
looking at the poor infrastructure. Many roads and buildings still bear the consequences of conflicts, as
the war instruments have left non erasable damage. 30 years of continuous turmoil and war have also
left its marks in the society¶s demographics. It is estimated that there are more than 6 million
landmines left in Cambodia, which makes it the country with the highest landmines density. One out
of 300 people is an amputee and 50% of the population is aged under 15. Its economic system has also
been destroyed. From an economics point of view, war is always costly as it destroys human and
physical capital, and it displaces population, and creates health and famine crises. This chapter is
divided in two sections; one, the mental health of Cambodian refugees, and two, Cambodia¶s current
economic situation.

(

c

c+c

c
+

When mentioning Cambodia, the words that often come to mind for those who are somewhat familiar
with the country¶s history are µpolitical instability¶, µcivil conflict¶, µwar¶, µgenocide¶ and
µpersecution¶.

Due to the traumatic past in Cambodia, the country is having one of Asia¶s worst mental health crises.
Cambodian psychiatrist Sotheara Chhim, who is heading the Dutch funded Transcultural Psychosocial
Oganization (TPO), puts the problem like this: ³In my opinion I think the past plays a very important
role in attributing to the problem. I think every Cambodian is like a glass carrying some water,
meaning the traumatic past. If more water is put in, the glass fills easier than an empty glass
(VOANews, 2010).´ According to a study of the TPO, 35% of Cambodians suffer from some kind of
psychiatric problem with over 10% suffering from major depression while most of the population are
too young to remember the war atrocities. There are also about 40 psychiatrists for a population of 14
million people, 10 of whom reside outside Phnom Penh.

Also Cambodians who have fled the war and who have been settling down in foreign countries suffer
from severe mental problems. Marshall et al. (2005) have conducted a research on the long-term
mental health of Cambodian trauma exposed-refugees years after permanent resettlement in host
countries. Studying a population sample of 490 Cambodian refugees residing in Long Beach,
California, who had lived during some portion of the Khmer Rouge regime, Marshall et al. have come
to the conclusion that despite their arrival in the United States approximately 2 decades ago, the
refugees community had high rates of psychiatric disorders related to traumas. These psychiatric
disorders are due to the intensive amounts of trauma exposures. The rates of trauma exposure of the
research sample are shown in table 1.

20


c%: Rates of trauma exposure (N=490)*

This has raised questions whether the mental health resources in the community provide insufficient
care. The asylum policies for future refugees should be evaluated as they should not only remove
vulnerable populations from life threatening danger, but also promote the health of these refugees
(Marshall et al., p. 578). This is not just a community problem. It is also the problem for society as a
whole. According to a study that was published in May 2008 in the American Journal of Psychiatry,
major mental disorders cost the United States at least $193 billion annually in lost earnings alone. This
is not taking into consideration the costs of treatments, social security payments, and homelessness. As
expected, many of the Cambodian refugees have no marketable skills. The majority rely on social
security and speak little or no English at all. Many were uneducated farmers during their lifetime in
Cambodia and were even illiterate in their native language.

In another study on mental health, and then particularly on major depressions among Afghan refugees
from the war with the Soviet Union that started in 1979, Lipson and Omidian (1993) had found similar
results. Many refugees were described as having sleep disturbances, memory problems, headaches,
constant worry, flashbacks of bad memories, depression, dizziness, and anger. All these symptoms fall
under the µmajor depressive disorder¶, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorder IV. Mental disorders are not only prevalent among the first generation of Cambodian
refugees, but also among the second. Parenting skills are negatively affected by the mental health of
the parents, and so their children are indirectly affected by the war their parents have witnessed.
Another issue is the language barrier. 91,6% of Cambodian households in the United States do not

21
speak English at home and 53,5% of Cambodians reported their English speaking ability as less than
³very well´ (We the people: Asians in the United States 2004). This inability to communicate
effectively makes the parenting skills impaired. Recent studies also have shown that depression is very
common among Cambodian children. 9% of children will experience a major depressive episode by
the age of 14, and by the time they graduate from high school the likelihood will increase to 20%
(School-Based Program Teaches Skills That Stave Off Depression 2003).

These are serious problems, and it is important for patients with mental disorders to find professional
help.

22


c
,,c
c

The Cambodian economy has expanded greatly during the last decade with an annual average of 9,4%.
In 2005 its economy peaked at 13,5% and grew at double digit rates throughout 2006 and 2007, until it
drops to 6,7% in 2008. In 2009 the economy declined by 2% and estimations are a growth of 4,8% in
2010. See table 2 for Cambodia¶s Real GDP growth.



c#c

Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010*

Real GDP 8,8% 8,1% 6,6% 8,5% 10,3% 13,5% 10,8% 10,2% 6,7% -2% 4,8%
growth

*Estimate

At first it was thought that Cambodia would not be greatly affected by the global economic crisis due
the lack of a developed banking system and because it was not considered to be fully integrated into
the global financial system. However, this has not been the case. The economy was mostly thriving on
growth in tourism, construction, agriculture, and garments. All of these sectors have been hit hard in
during the period of the economic crisis. The International Monetary Fund has reported that the
garment industry has declined with 5%, the tourism industry with 6%, and the construction industry
with 2% (UNDP, 2010). It is believed that in reality these numbers are heavily understated. One clear
indicator of Cambodia¶s huge decline is the fall in Foreign Direct Investment by 47% in the year 2009.
There is high risk of laid-off workers. Between September 2008 and March 2009, there were 63.000
net job losses in the garments sector alone. Bankrupt textile companies have left Cambodia without
paying workers¶ salaries.

In addition, approximately 200.000 more migrant workers are likely to return to Cambodia. Many of
these have been working in Thailand and Malaysia. In addition to all this, the Cambodian labour
market has an estimated 250.000 new entrants yearly. I believe that the full consequence of the crisis
on Cambodia will be much more severe than most forecasts. The main cause for this will be the real
estate market which can bankrupt Cambodian banks. Cambodia has had experienced its first
construction boom in 1.000 years. Property agents have reported that property prices have doubled
between 2004 and 2007, which was Asia¶s second-fastest growth rate after China. With many people
seeing opportunity to make money, this market had been mainly fuelled by speculation. Everybody
was buying and selling property. The largest project announced for Phnom Penh is CamKo city, which
is to be a World City. It would be entirely financed by Korean investors. More and more Chinese,
Taiwanese, Singaporean, Korean, Japanese and Malaysian investors have becoming active on the
Cambodian real estate market.

But in the last six months real estate values have dropped about 30-40%. Also 30-40% of construction
projects have been postponed or cancelled, resulting in more job losses. The overexposure of banks to
the property sector could lead to a large deterioration in credit quality and a need for recapitalization.
Some clients have already made panicked withdrawals resulting in falling deposits for banks. There is
also the threat of non repayment of outstanding loans due to the economic downfall. Cambodia¶s
biggest bank, Canadia, is facing the serious possibility of bankruptcy.

Looking at the solvency of Cambodia¶s economy, we can see that Cambodia is still not self-sustaining.
Imports are exceeding exports by over 40% meaning that Cambodia is running huge budget deficits
that can only be financed by debt. Foreign debt has increased from 829million USD in 2003 to a

23
staggering 4.266million USD in 2009. See table 3 for import and export numbers and see table 4 for
statistics on foreign debt.



c7: Cambodian import and export

Import Export



c4: Foreign debt

'

c 
c
c1c: <8c

2003 0.829

2004 2.4

2005 2.4

2006 0.8

2007 3.664

2008 3.89

2009 4.266

As these figures show, the Cambodian economy is still very much relying on foreign donors. In June
2010 donors have promised another 1,1billion USD in aid. For a country that has 2,0billion USD in
government budgets the aid goes a long way. On December 16, 2008, the Chinaview, had reported that
experts were predicting that the Cambodian real estate market would recover by 2010. So far the
recovery hasn¶t settled in yet, and with a dire outlook on the global economy there is little hope that
the Cambodian real estate market will bounce very soon. To add to the Cambodian miserable
economy, food prices have inflated tremendously this year. The global food prices of 2007 and 2008

24
may even be exceeded in the new future. The rising price of food is a serious issue in any country
where food expenditure accounts for about 70% of total household expenditure of 40% of the
population. 35% of the population live under the poverty rate as can be seen in table 5. It is estimated
by the World Bank that a 10% increase of the rice price would increase the national poverty rate by
0,5% (United Nations Cambodia 2008, p. 2). 20% of Cambodians live under the food poverty line,
which means that they eat less than 2100 calories per day.



c6: Population % under poverty rate

The main source of development for Cambodia would be an increase in FDI, but as long as the world
remains in an economic slump there is no chance that foreign countries are willing to invest as much
in Cambodia as in previous years.

25

c
Chandararot, K., Sina, S., Dannet, L., Rapid assessment of the impact of the financial crisis in

Cambodia, ÷
 
    , 2009

Reedy, J., The mental health conditions of Cambodian refugee childen and adolescents, 2007

UNDP¶s response to the global economic crisis Cambodia, 2010

<http://www.nih.gov/news/health/may2008/nimh-07.htm>

<http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Soc/soc.culture.cambodia/2009-03/msg00017.html>

<http://www.gluckman.com/CambodianBuildingBoom.html>

<http://www.voanews.com/khmer-english/news/Mental-Health-Crisis-Strains-Cambodia-
91069979.html>

26