Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
April 17, 1975 Khmer Rouge forces march into Phnom
Penh to the cheers of the Cambodian people - but subse-
quently institute a brutal regime to eradicate all perceived
opposition, killing between one and two million people.
1978 Invading Vietnamese forces reach Phnom Penh
and a Vietnamese-backed government led by Hun Sen is
established; the Khmer Rouge flee to the jungle near the
Thai border. A rival Chinese-backed government-in-exile is
created, dominated by the Khmer Rouge, and headed by
Sihanouk; the international community recognizes this in
opposition to Vietnam.
1987 Negotiations between the Hun Sen's government and
the coalition led by Sihanouk begin, and the Vietnamese
agree to start withdrawing troops.
1991 The Paris Peace Accords are signed. Sweeping powers
are granted to the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia
(UNTAC) to supervise control of the country and implement
free elections, although little disarmament is achieved.
1993 Despite assassinations and intimidation tactics,
there is a nearly ninety-percent turnout at the elections;
a fragile coalition between the royalist FUNCINPEC party
and Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP) is agreed.
1994 The Khmer Rouge are outlawed, and though they
still control the north and northwest, an amnesty begins
to attract some defections.
1996 Notorious senior Khmer Rouge commander Ta Mok
arrests Pol Pot and sentences him to life imprisonment;
more defections follow.
April 1998 As Cambodian troops encroach on the last
Khmer Rouge strongholds, Pol Pot dies, possibly of a heart
attack, or possibly executed by his own cadres.
July 1998 Hun Sen's CPP wins another election; an alliance
is negotiated, with Hun Sen as sole prime minister.
2004 King Sihanouk abdicates and invites one of his sons,
Norodom Sihamoni, to replace him as king.
2008 Hun Sen wins another election with a sixty-percent
majority. UN-backed war crime trials of former Khmer
Rouge leaders begin. The first to stand trial is Duch, head
of S21 prison in Phnom Penh (see p.80) - he is eventually
sentenced to life in prison.
2008-11 Repeated clashes between Cambodian and
Thai troops around the disputed border temple of
Preah Vihear.
June 2012 The trials of top-ranking Khmer Rouge leaders
Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and his wife Ieng
Thirith commence amid allegations that the court is
bowing to government pressure to act favourably towards
powerful and wealthy Khmers who were previously mid-
level Khmer Rouge commanders. Ieng Sary subsequently
dies in early 2013, while his wife is declared mentally unfit
to stand trial.
Oct 2012 Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia's “King-Father”,
dies of a heart attack aged 89.
July 2013 In fresh elections, Hun Sen's CCP wins a narrow
victory over Sam Rainsy's Cambodian National Rescue
Party, amid allegations of electoral fraud. Widespread
protests erupt sporadically during later 2013 and into
2014.
Oct 2013 The trials of the two remaining Khmer Rouge
leaders finally conclude - with a verdict expected in 2014.
Jan 2014 Four unarmed textile workers shot dead by
police during anti-government protests in Phnom Penh.
2
THE KHMER ROUGE
Born of radical communism and wartime opportunism, the Khmer Rouge defined the
darkest period in Cambodia's history, leaving a legacy that will last for generations. The ragtag
band of communist guerrillas, led by French-educated Saloth Sar (subsequently known as
Pol Pot ), first began to garner popular support during the American bombings of eastern
Cambodia. After King Sihanouk was deposed (see p.65), the Khmer Rouge took advantage
of the chaos to seize territory, eventually marching into Phnom Penh to the cheers of
Cambodians longing for peace. But the party, known simply as Angkar , immediately began to
act on their deranged designs to create a socialist utopia by transforming the country into an
agrarian collective. The entire population of Phnom Penh and other provincial capitals was
forcibly removed to the countryside to begin new lives as peasants working on the land. They
were the lucky ones. Pol Pot ordered the mass extermination of intellectuals, teachers, writers,
educated people, and their families. Even wearing glasses was an indication of intelligence, a
“crime” punishable by death. The brutal regime lasted four years before invading Vietnamese
forces captured Phnom Penh in 1978; by this time, between one and three million
Cambodians had perished in the genocide.
Driven into the jungle, the Khmer Rouge installed themselves near the Thai border and
continued to wage guerrilla warfare against the occupation government, supported by an
international community fearful of communist expansionism. It wasn't until Ieng Sary, one of
Pol Pot's trusted inner circle, defected in 1996, causing a split in the Khmer Rouge ranks, that
the tide began to turn. Pol Pot himself was found dead two years later, having been convicted
by his own troops of murder. To this day no one knows for sure how he died.
 
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