Civil War Flashcards
Khmer Rouge Discriminatory Ideas
He developed radical political ideas such as jingoism (extreme nationalism) xenophobia (hatred of foreigners) and the persuit of racial purity (ethnic cleasing)
United States contribution
US-Cambodian relations deteriorated as the US involvement in Vietnam increased.
Diem’s assassination confirmed Sihanouk’s belief that the Americans could not be trusted.
In 1964, Sihanouk dispensed American aid
While the rebels were not a great military threat to Sihanouk’s regime, they helped alter his character: the rebellion pushed the government to the right, so that Lon Nol and the Americans had greater influence.
Lavish US financial support kept lon nols govt alive to pursue its sole goal: the defeat of communist insurgents
US bombing
500k + Cambodians died as a result of US aerial bombing. Causing Khmer Rouge following to increase
End of civil war
On 1st of april 1975 lon nol fled cambodia never to return. Sixteen days later the khmer rouge entered phnom penh and captured the city. The civil war was over.
Sides
fought between the forces of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (known as the Khmer Rouge, supported by North Vietnam and the Viet Cong) against the government forces of the Kingdom of Cambodia and, after October 1970, the Khmer Republic, which had succeeded the kingdom (both supported by the United States and South Vietnam).
Sihanouk
After gaining independence from France in 1954, Cambodia was governed by King Sihanouk until 1970. He tried to maintain Cambodian Cold War neutrality, but his country suffered Vietnamese and American attacks/invasions as the war in neighbouring Vietnam spilled over into Cambodia.
Sihanouk was an influential figure in the Non-Aligned Movement, but proved unable to shield Cambodia from Cold War fallout. While undeniably a patriot, his authoritarian rule distorted independent Cambodia’s political development and contrinuted to Pol Pot’s brutal regime.
His government was undemocratic (he rigged elections in 1955) and itermittently repressive.
The peasantry failed to prosper under Sihanouk: over half were chronically in debt and between 1950 and 1970, the proportion of landless farmers rose from 4 to 20 %. Pol Pot subsequntly claimed this was a crucial factor in his rise to power.
END
The murderous regime of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge was overthrown by the Vietnamese in 1978, which elicited international condemnation and prompted a punitive invasion of Vietnam by Pol Pot’s Chinese allies.
Important Dates
Sihanouk (1955-70).
US bombing and the fall of the of the Khmer Republic (1970-5).
Pol Pot and Democratic Kampuchea (1975-8).
The Vietnamese invasion (1978) and its consequences.
Establishment of Political Parties under Sihanouk
Sihanouk grew increasingly interested in politcal participation and his royal status gave him great political influence. Keen to be seen as a moderniser, Sihanouk encouraged the formation of Cambodian political parties.
In 1946 the Democratic party won the first election. However, as a sign of things to come Sihanouk suppressed them as he found them too much to handle.
Creation of KPRP
In 1949, the first significant Vietnamese intervention in Cambodia occured: big units of ‘Viet Minh Troops to Help Cambodia’ brought the total Viet Minh force in Cambodia to 3,000.
The Communists despised Sihanouk, calling him ‘the fascist novice’ because of his young age when put on the throne by the French.
In September 1951, the Cambodian Communists established the KPRP. By December, it had 1,000 Khmer and 3,000 Vietnamese members.
By early 1954, around 5,000 Cambodian Communists were fighting against the colonial government.
Causes of Civil War
- The increasing influence of the anti-Vietnamese Pol Pot and his followers within the Cambodian Communist movement.
- Pol Pot’s more militant stance was encrouaged by China.
- The increasingly obtrusive US involvement in Cambodia.
Why Sihanouk won the Civil War
Although the rebels criticised Sihanouk, telling villagers that he and Lon Nol had ‘sold out their country to the United States’, it proved impossible to overcome Sihanouk’s prestige and nationalist credentials.
- Sihanouk’s response was ruthless: for example, some rebels were beheaded and/or disembowelled, and 40 teachers suspected of subversion were reportedly thrown off a cliff.
- The rebel forces were not numerous: they only numbered between 2,000 and 4,000 in 1969, and around 10,000 by 1970.
Nixon Involvement
Nixon doubled the number of reconnaissance (military observation of a region to locate an enemy) and mine-laying missions in 1969, which caused the Communists to move deeper into Cambodia and further destabilised Sihanouk’s regime.
The North Vietnamese responded by increased support for the Khmer Rouge.
Sihanouks Overthrow
- Cambodian economy was in dire straits: Sihanouk was personally extravagant and his court was expensive.
- While the peasantry still revered Sihanouk as a god-king, the middle class and senior military men disagreed with his policies and sought to fully align Cambodia with the United States.
- Lon Nol knew that the mercurial Sihanouk was likely to turn on him at any time and he was encouraged in his coup by the US military and the right-wing National Assembly, which supported the overthrow by 91 votes to 1.
Lon Nol overthrow
During 1972, the total number of Khmer rebels opposing Lon Nol rose from around 125,000 to 200,000. By 1975, they had overthrown Lon Nol’s regime in a civil war in which both sides had perpetrated atrocities.
The Lon Nol regime was unpopular, corrupt and incompetent military dictatorship.
The Communists were supported By Sihanouk, whom the supersitious peasants still revered as a god-king.
