CAMBODIA`S LEGACY OF TEARS Cambodia Myanmar Laos China

war.
The Khmer Rouge, Cambodia’s communists, were led by Pol Pot, a ruthless
guerilla leader. In 1975 the Khmer Rouge
took over just as Vietnam fell to the communists.
The Khmer Rouge began a brutal and
diasterous social reorganization, forcing
urban people to relocate to communal
farms. The middle and upper class population, including most of the educated
and government workers, was assassinated. In just four years, two million—20
percent of the population—died from
overwork, malnutrition and disease.
Vietnam invaded Cambodia in 1979
and defeated the Khmer Rouge militarily,
much to the relief of the world. But Pol Pot
and his 35,000 fighters fled to the western
Cambodians learned recently that their
mountains where they continued to carry
government was entertaining two former
on a guerrilla war.
leaders of the Khmer Rouge. This rebel
The Vietnamese established their own
group is blamed for the deaths of two
Cambodian government and left the counmillion Cambodians.
try in 1992. But the government was in
Cambodia, with 69,898 square miles
disarray. Hun Sen, a successor to the ap(181,035 sq. km), is about the size of Mispointed Vietnamese government, lost a
souri. Located in Southeast Asia, it is bornational election in 1993, but refused to
dered by Thailand on the west, Laos to the
step aside. A deal was brokered allowing
north, Vietnam to the east
him to share power with King
and the Gulf of Thailand
Sihanouk’s son. In order to
to the southwest.
consolidate his power durCambodia has an idyling the next four years, howlic tropical setting. Lush
ever, Hun Sen openly
natural vegetation covers
courted the Khmer Rouge,
the mountains that surfinally deposing the Prince
round the country. Much
and becoming prime minisGulf of
of the bowl-shaped lowter. Since then he has been
Tonkin
land is cultivated as rice
accused of executing 40 opVientiane
paddies. Although about
position politicians.
half the year its savanna
Pol Pot died in a jungle
climate is dry, multiple
camp on April 15, 1998. With
M
crops are possible, which
him out of the way, Hun Sen
Andaman
means that Cambodia
negotiated with the Khmer
Sea
should be able to more
Rouge leaders, initially ofthan feed its 11 million
fering them clemency. Two
Anghor
inhabitants.
of the top leaders and their
Wat
Tonle Sap
The mighty Mekong
families came to Phnom Penh
River flows through
and were reportedly enterGulf of
Cambodia, annually
tained royally by Hun Sen.
Thailand Phnom
back-flowing during
Meanwhile, the world
Penh
Ho Chi
flood stage into Tonle
watched in dismay as two
Minh City
Sap, a large shallow lake.
alleged perpetrators of
N
250 Km
The capital, Phnom Penh,
Cambodia’s “killing fields”
is located at the junction
250 Mi.
roamed free across the very
of the Mekong and the
©2000 maps.com countryside where their
tributary connecting Geography in the News # 464
atrocities occurred.
Tonle Sap.
And that is Geography in the News,
Cambodia’s legislature. By summer, PresiBetween A.D. 800 and 1400, the Khmer
Jan. 15, 1999.
dent Nixon had authorized American
empire ruled present-day Vietnam, Laos
planes to bomb suspected communist
(The author is a professor of Geography at
and Thailand and had its capital at Anghor
camps and trails inside Cambodian terriAppalachian State University, Boone,
Wat in northern Cambodia. When the
tory. Within a year, all of Cambodia was
NC)#464
Thais captured Anghor, the Khmers reesinvolved in the expanded Southeast Asian
CAMBODIA’S
LEGACY OF
TEARS
tablished Kampuchea (KAM-poo-CHEah), their kingdom at Phnom Phenh.
Kampuchea, alternately called Cambodia, became a French protectorate in
1863. The Japanese occupied the country
from 1941 through 1945, but after World
War II, Cambodia moved toward independence, achieving it in 1953.
Cambodia’s King Sihanouk stepped
down from his throne in 1955, took the
title of prince and entered politics. The
United States sent the country millions of
aid dollars between 1955 and 1963, as the
Vietnam War was beginning to gear up.
The prince suspected that the United
States was trying to overthrow his government, so he stopped accepting the aid.
Cambodia tried to remain neutral in
conflicts between the communists and
noncommunists in Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, however, Viet Cong from North
Vietnam were using trails and camps inside eastern Cambodia, utilizing its neutral territory to move war materiale to the
south.
As Sihanouk had suspected, a U.S. supported coup led by General Lon Nol overthrew Sihanouk in 1970 and dissolved
China
Myanmar
Vietnam
Laos
Cambodia
© 2000 maps.com
g
ekon
Thailand