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Cambodia History

In: Historical Events

Submitted By Piseykkb02
Words 808
Pages 4
All key players:
-United states: John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon = Stop spread of Communism (Containment)
-North Vietnamese Army/Viet Cong/Viet Minh: Ho Chi Minh wanted Independence/unification/Regional influence.
-King Sihanouk’s Kingdom of Cambodia: King Norodom Sihanouk wanted Consolidate/Retain Power
-Khmer Republic: General Lon Nol = Attain/Maintain Power
-Communist Party of Kampuchea: Pol Pot = Overthrow Khmer Republic
2. Sihanouk Policy (foreign and Domestic)
-Cambodia foreign policy was based on Neutrality (non-alignment) within the region
-Sihanouk received large amounts of aid from the USA
*-Sihanouk maintained strong relations with China and Vietnam
+Did not believe US could win the war, and thus:
-Did not want to align with a loser
-Did not want to upset with eventual winner (vietnam)
+Cambodia Domestic Politics became polarized among classes:

-King Sihanouk Urging to retain power
-Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK – Khmer Rouge) led insurgency against the government.
3. Conference in Bandung:
-29 countries, mostly newly independent, representing 25% of the planet and 1.5 billion people
-the conference’s stated aims were to:
+Promote Afro-Asian economic and cultural cooperation

+Oppose colonialism or neocolonialism by the either the United States or the Soviet Union in the Cold War, or any otherImperialistic nations.
-The conference was an important step toward the formation of the Non-Aligned Movement (Neutrality)
-Event attended by Cambodia’s King Sihanouk

4. Destabilizing force in Cambodia:
A. International:
-US support General Lon Nol
-China support Khmer rough
-US used “strategy bombing” ( Hochiminh Trail)
-Cambodia receives aids from the US.
-Cambodia improves relation with china and north Vietnam.cut ties with The U.S
-Significant quantity of equipment was seized or destroyed by US and South Vietnam forces.
B. Regional:
-North Vietnam determined to regain supply routes and sanctuaries in Cambodia.
-Border clashes led to the Invasion of Vietnam and the overthrow of the Khmer rouge

C. Domestic:
-General Lon Nol and prince Sisowathoverthrow Norodom Sihanouk and monarchy; establish the Khmer rouge and seek greater support from the US.
-CPK (communist party of Kampuchea) expand small scale attacked throughout the country.
- Fall of the Khmer republic, with the rise of the Democratic Kampuchea(DK)
-Mass genocide under the rule of the DK policies (extreme Maoist) lead to an estimate maximum of 3 million deaths.

5. Military Coup and General Lon Nol:
-Prime Minister General Lon Nol and Prince Sisowath overthrow Norodom Sihanouk and monarchy
-Establish the Khmer Republic and seek greater support from the USA
-Request return of 2,000-4,000 Cambodians that went to North Vietnam to fight
-Lost power in 17 April 1975 after their surrender to the CPK

6. Khmer Rough (Domestic and foreign policies)
*Domestic Policies:
-Regime model itself on Maoist China during the Great Leap Forward
-Evacuated all cities, and sent entire population on forced marches to rural work projects
-Modeled economy on 11th century agrarian/agricultural model – banks and currency were destroyed,Religion and medicine discarded.
-Forced starvations, executions and torture centers were established, minorities (non-Khmer) were targeted
-Estimates of dead range from 1.7M to 3M
*Foreign Policies:
-Relations with Vietnam and Thailand hurt by border clashes & ideological differences
-Although communist, CPK was fiercely anti-Vietnamese (due to racism and border with Thai forces over disputed territory further hurt relations
-DK established close ties with China

7. International peace efforts
*Paris Peace Agreements and UN Peacekeeping
-Aug. 1990 – Representatives from 18 countries, four Cambodian parties and the UN Secretary General met.
+Objectives Include:
1. End Vietnamese occupation

2. Prevent return of KR
3. Cambodian self-determination (independence)
-United Nations Oversaw a cease-fire and free elections (1993)
-After national elections in 1998, a coalition government is formed, Hun Sen retains power and general political stability is restored.

End of Cold War
1. Glasnost: (openness) – The principle that every area of the regime/government should be open to public scrutiny
2. Perestroika: (restructuring) – Aimed at restructuring the Soviet economy from production of military hardware to consumer goods
3.”Reagan Victory School”:
*Military Build-up:
- The increase of US military requirement and technology placed heavy strains on the Soviet economy-they were unable to match US strength
- Star Wars Initiative (Militarization of Outer Space) – indicated that the next phase of the arms race would take place in an area where the US held a decisive advantage
-Nuclear Disarmament: Reagan’s willingness to negotiate on nuclear disarmament gave diplomatic space to improve relations, and a true rapprochement to occur

4. Nationalist Movements in Eastern Europe
-Continued deterioration of living standards
-USSR became less involved in the internal affairs of its satellite states
-Perestroika and Glasnost as catalysts for change
-USSR implicit unwillingness to use force to maintain control over satellite states
-7 Dec. 1988 – At the UN, Gorbachev announced SU would cut its commitment of troops to the Warsaw Pact by half million – which repeals the Brezhnev Doctrine
-Revolutions within Soviet Satellite States began

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