On November 9, 1953, France releases Cambodia into independence
and King Norodom Sihanouk returns.
In 1955, in order to free himself from the restrictions set for
the king by the Cambodian constitution, Norodom Sihanouk abdicates
in favour of his father, Norodom Suramarit, and enters
politics. In successive elections, in 1955, 1958, 1962
and 1966, the party of Norodom Sihanouk wins every seat
in parliament.
In March 1969 American planes start bombing Cambodia to
interrupt the supply trails of the Vietcong. The bombardments
last until 1973.
In 1970, while Norodom Sihanouk is in Moscow on a state
visit, Marshal Lon Nol stages a coup d'etat in Phnom Penh.
Lon Nol abolishes the monarchy and declares Cambodia a republic.
Norodom Sihanouk chooses to stay in Peking, presiding over a governmentinexile.
The Khmer Rouge are part of it. During the following years,
the Khmer Rouge conquer more and more regions of Cambodia,
until finally only Phnom Penh remains under the control of the
Lon Nol government.
On April 17, 1975, the Khmer Rouge march into Phnom
Penh. Within a few days, the execute a large number of Cambodians
formerly connected to the Lon Nol regime. More than 2 Million
inhabitants of Phnom Penh are forced out of the city and moved
to provincial labour camps. Phnom Penh becomes a ghost town. The
economy of the entire country is transformed along radical Communist
lines, money is simply abolished. The consequences include
famine and epidemics.
Within the following 44 months more than a Million Cambodians
fall victim to the Khmer Rouge rule of terror. Refugees
who make it to Thailand report atrocities of the worst kind: executions
of children, only because they were not born of peasant families
or of Vietnamese or Chinese origin. Whosoever was suspected of
being educated, or to be a member of a merchant family, was murdered:
clubbed to death, not shot, in order to save ammunition.
On December 25, 1978, after a series of transgressions
at the CambodianVietnamese border, the Vietnamese army
invades Cambodia. On January 7, 1979, Vietnamese troops
occupy Phnom Penh. A Vietnam friendly government is installed,
Heng Samrin, a Khmer Rouge guerrilla who earlier
had fled to Vietnam, is proclaimed president. The new Cambodian
government is not recognized by Western countries.
In 1982, three Cambodian resistance groups, the Khmer
Rouge, the National Front for an Independent, Neutral,
Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC) of Prince Sihanouk,
and the anticommunist Khmer People's National Liberation Front
of former PM Son Sann, form a coalition aiming to expel the Vietnamese
occupation forces.
In 1989 the Vietnamese troops retreat from Cambodia. On
October 23, 1991, the government previously installed in
Phnom Penh by the Vietnamese, together with the resistance coalition,
among them the Khmer Rouge, sign a peace treaty in Paris.
Three weeks later, on November 14, 1991, Prince Sihanouk
returns to Phnom Penh. The population of the capital receives
him enthusiastically.
In 1992 the United Nations Transitory Authority in
Cambodia (UNTAC) take over the government and the administration
of the country. The Khmer Rouge do not adhere to the Paris
agreement which stipulates that warring factions lay down their
arms.
On May 23, 1993, in elections for a constitutional assembly,
supervised by the UN, FUNCINPEC wins 45 % of the votes,
the Cambodian People's Party of the government installed by the
Vietnamese achieves 38 %. FUNCINPEC and CPP agree
to form a coalition government.
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