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| Cambodia
History |
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Although there is evidence of habitation in parts of the country as far back as 4000BC, little is known about the early history of Cambodia.
Indian and Chinese traders exchanged
goods with people living on the coasts of present-day Cambodia in
the early AD centuries. Early Chinese historians wrote about a kingdom
known as ‘Funan’ that
flourished between AD300–600. A dynasty founded
by the Prince Jayavarman and a possible descendent
from the rulers of Funan ruled settlements in the eastern part of
the country between 790AD and the 11th century. Cambodia spread
westwards during this period into some parts of Thailand.
The succeeding dynasty, that ruled during the 12th
and the early 13th centuries, was based at the now
well-known temple complex of Angkor Wat. Under
King Suryavarman, the Cambodians spread their influence
further into northern Thailand and southern Vietnam. Angkor came under military pressure from the Chinese
to the north and the newly formed kingdoms of northern Thailand from the year
1220 onwards. Towards the closing of the 15th century, Angkor
was deserted and fell into ruin. It has been unoccupied since,
with the exception of a brief period in the early 16th century.
Until the establishment of the French protectorate,
Cambodia was shadowed by its more powerful Vietnamese
and Thai neighbours.
The French presence in Cambodia came about through
its colonial involvement in Vietnam, and was primarily
intended to forestall the possible British or Thai
incursions alongside the Mekong River.
The weakened ruling family in Cambodia at the time, headed by King
Norodom, accepted French protection and control over its
foreign and security policies. A brief attempt to regain Cambodia’s
independence in 1880 failed, the French then absorbed Cambodia
into what became French Indochina.
It then became an Associated State of the French
Union in 1949, gaining full independence
in 1953
King Norodom Sihanouk abdicated in favour
of his father, Norodom Suramarit in 1955, in order to enter
politics. Using the title Prince Sihanouk, he founded
the Popular Socialist Community, which held power
from 1955 until 1966. Following the death of his father Prince Sihanouk
became Head of State in 1960. The Vietnam war,
and the enormous secret bombing campaign by the Americans
against Vietnamese guerrilla bases in Cambodia, destabilised the
Sihanouk government. In early 1970, 2 years after the bombing
started, Prince Sihanouk was removed from power by a right-wing coup,
which proclaimed a Khmer Republic by General
Lon Nol. Khmer Rouge Communist guerrillas,
and with the support of their Vietnamese counterparts, increased
their military campaign against the government. The Communist regime
gained full control in 1975.
The country was now in full control of the new Prime Minister
Pol Pot, who had developed a unique ideology based on the
teachings of Maoism and Medieval quasi-mysticism,
rooted in the history of the Angkor state. Pol Pot
began with the establishment of ‘Year Zero’
in 1975, under which Cambodia was to be reborn
into a pure Communist state centred on basic agricultural
production. The currency was
abolished, intellectuals were
purged, churches and temples were destroyed and tens of thousands
of urban dwellers were driven into the countryside for ‘re-education’
and primitive agricultural labour. The result was
a regime of horrific brutality, responsible for
1 of the worst genocides of the 20th century. It is estimated
that 1 - 3rd of the population of Cambodia died during the 4
years of Khmer Rouge rule.
In 1978, the Vietnamese army- fed up with Khmer's
excesses – invaded Cambodia and overthrew
the Pol Pot's regime. By 1981 a new constitution was in place and
in 1982, Phnom Penh, a ghost city under the Khmer Rouge, saw the
return of up to 600,000 inhabitants from the countryside. For several
years thereafter the Vietnamese-controlled government
experienced ongoing armed opposition from an unlikely group of supporters
of Prince Sihanouk, the KPNLF
(Khmer Peoples’ National Liberation Front)
and the Khmer Rouge, of which the latter were endorsed
by China and were by far the most powerful. The coalition as a whole
was eventually and collectively recognised as the legitimate government
of Cambodia by the United Nations.
Cambodia
drifted in a state of semi-chaos throughout the
1980s, until a United Nations-led effort started
to stabilise the country. By 1991, a political settlement was reached,
including all parties except for the now much diminished Khmer
Rouge. Under the terms and conditions of the 1991 agreement, the
UN provided a 16,000 soldier peacekeeping contingent and administrative
support (known as the rubric of the UN Transitional Authority
in Cambodia, UNTAC). The operation was widely seen as a
success and the apparent political stability allowed for a general
election in 1993. The election provided a narrow victory for FUNCINPEC,
the party led by Prince Sihanouk, who returned to Cambodia from
exile to assume the presidency. Sihanouk's FUNCINPEC
established a government of national unity with its main opponent,
the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP),
led by Hun Sen.
The 2 parties argued continuously over policy, aid, development,
commercial contracts and how to deal with the Khmer Rouge. Hun Sen and the CPP then moved to
extricate FUNCINPEC from the government. This move
brought condemnation from the international community and led to
the suspension of foreign aid as well as Cambodia’s application
to join ASEAN. In 1998, the Cambodian People's
Party gained a small majority at National Assembly elections
and mindful of international reaction, chose to form a coalition
with FUNCINPEC. The ASEAN group
of countries relented and Cambodia is became a full member of the
organisation. Cambodia finally seemed to have a
government with international recognition. The
two parties also agreed that an international tribunal would be
established so that the Khmer Rouge rulers responsible for genocide
would be brought to trial. |
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