Section 4. Cambodia's History and Culture
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Part II Chapter 1 Section 4. Cambodia’s History and Culture Section 4. Cambodia’s History and Culture –The quest for the Profound Spirituality of the Khmer Culture– Yoshiaki ISHIZAWA 1. An understanding of the contemporary economic aspects as well. The new economic policy history of Cambodia, disrupted by adopted in Vietnam was reflected in Cambodia’s eco- international politics nomic policy, as for example in Cambodia’s joint group system, which is strongly security-tinted. 1-1 The significance of the ‘liberation’ of The national news agency releases of official an- 1975 nouncements comprised the only source of current in- –The ‘special relationship’ with Vietnam– formation on Cambodia. Activities meant to collect in- formation on the actual situation in the country, such as When Cambodian people are asked to enumerate news coverage and research, were not allowed. Re- their most outstanding characteristics, they may cite the ports, evidence, and articles published under such cir- following: i) They are people who speak the Khmer lan- cumstances had to be treated with a considerable guage, ii) They have had a king since the very begin- amount of circumspection, as the information could be ning, and iii) They are pious believers in Buddhism. manipulated politically. This is the raison d’être of the Cambodian people. In Both the Pol Pot regime (1970), which was derived 1970, Cambodia joined an anti-American struggle for from the National United Front of Kampuchea (FUNK), liberation in connection with the civil wars in Vietnam and the Heng Samrin regime (1978), which was derived and Laos, and in 1975 it achieved the unification of the from the People’s National Liberation Front, came into nation, in the name of ‘liberation.’ The year 1975 was a power with the noble political ideal of liberating the starting point for Cambodia to shift from its traditional people. However, in the actual political process, both framework based on the royal regime, to a new frame- regimes faced various difficulties, including a substan- work based on socialism. In this sense, the year 1975 tial gap between their ideals and the reality. Their noble can be regarded as a turning point in its contemporary ideals and political principles manifested both at home history. and abroad could not be accomplished so easily. Rather, In 1985, Foreign Minister Hun Sen was elected the the reality was quite the opposite of their ideals. Conse- Prime Minister of the Heng Samrin regime. For a pe- quently, the Cambodian people were forced into a ter- riod of ten years or more after the ‘liberation’ of Cam- rible plight, suffering from a series of misfortunes. The bodia, the civil war still smoldered, and the Heng Cambodian people, despite their strong latent antago- Samrin troops along with Vietnamese troops stationed in nism toward Vietnam, were liberated from the abomi- Cambodia captured a base of the Pol Pot troops on Mt. nable Pol Pot regime with the support of Vietnam, re- Malai. Under these circumstances the Cambodian sulting in the establishment of the Heng Samrin regime. people had to endure constant hardships. Moreover, Such an outcome was incomprehensible for the Cambo- horrendous massacres were carried out under the Pol dian people. What made it even more so was the hostil- Pot regime. The Third Indochina War around the Thai ity between Vietnam and China. Although both nations border continued into the Heng Samrin regime. Cam- were involved in Cambodia’s civil war, carrying to- bodia concluded a Friendship Treaty with Vietnam in gether the banner of anti-Americanism to save the na- 1979, and allowed Vietnamese troops to be stationed in tion, their relationship turned hostile from 1975 on- Cambodia. Vietnam thus provided support for Cambo- wards, and finally, in 1977, a military clash occurred. dia in various fields. This political and military ‘special This was therefore a war between family members that relationship’ between Vietnam and Cambodia drew se- had once fought together on the basis of solidarity. vere criticism from around the world, since it gave rise to the opposite of what people’s liberation ought to bring, that is, freedom and independence. This ‘special relationship’ with Vietnam affected the 79 Country Study for Japan’s ODA to the Kingdom of Cambodia 1-2 The Pol Pot faction construct irrigation channels, and increase the produc- –The reality of an ideal society that tion of farm crops. They had to engage in hard labor should be without exploitation– under the burning sun for more than ten hours a day. As a result, many people ruined their health and died of ill- The National United Front of Kampuchea (FUNK) nesses. Government officials were relentless in execut- was launched in Beijing in 1970, under the banner of ing defiant members or those who showed any sign of anti-Americanism in order to save the nation. Various slackness. People were prohibited from moving around factions joined the front, including the Khmer Rouge within the country, and all schools were closed. (the Pol Pot faction), the anti-Khmer faction derived In those days, education was focused on political la- from Khmer Viet Minh, the former People’s Party, and bor. The Pol Pot regime destroyed social facilities and the pro-Sihanouk faction. The FUNK, in opposition to factories that manufactured luxuries, and excluded any the United States and the US-backed Lon Nol regime, imported products. People speaking foreign languages spread war throughout Cambodia, in parallel with the and intellectuals with specialities were treated with hos- progress of the Vietnam War. Meanwhile, the Khmer tility, and many of them ended their life unnaturally. Rouge was engaged in military action on a small scale Moreover, the Pol Pot regime banned Buddhism, claim- in rural areas. Leftist group members who once studied ing that it was an evil religion, and blew up temples, in Paris, such as the Chairman of the Cambodia Com- pagodas, Catholic churches, and Muslim mosques. munist Party Pol Pot (Saloth Sar), Khieu Samhpan, Hu Buddhist priests were forced to return to the state of Nim, and Hou Yuon, led such small-scale military forces being laymen. individually, and commanded a resistance movement in In promoting the system of increasing production, the rural areas. various problems came to the surface. For example, as With the participation of Prince Sihanouk, the FUNK new irrigation channels were constructed without the gained power with the strong support of China, and this involvement of any professional surveyors, the water later became one of the causes of the Third Indochina did not flow properly. The Pol Pot regime rejected the War. On April 17, 1975, the Pol Pot faction occupied market economy, and abolished the currency. In a word, Phnom Penh, to establish the new Democratic Khmer the ideal society without exploitation stated in the con- Government. stitution was nothing more than an illusion, under the It was clearly stated in the constitution that the nation Pol Pot regime. should aim to establish a happy and equal society, with no gap between the rich and the poor. For this purpose, 1-3 International relations between the government destroyed the conventional rural sys- Cambodia, China, and Vietnam tem, and created a new form of cooperative association –Groping for release from the repressive (Sahako), based on collective labor. These cooperative control of Vietnam– associations were somewhat similar to the people’s communes in China, serving as an organizational unit. When viewing the political system in Cambodia, it is Thus, people were controlled in their daily life and obvious that there have always been splits in the fac- forced to carry out production activities, without any tions fighting over power, which then tie themselves to private freedom. Everything (food, clothing, and shel- foreign powers targeting Cambodia. This invites further ter) was placed under collective control. Each member confusion in most cases. The Khmer Rouge was di- of a cooperative association had to do his or her share vided into the following three factions: i) A group led by of the work, under the supervision of government offi- Pol Pot, Ieng Sary, and others, whose base was in the cials (Onkar). In order to sever any psychological at- northeastern mountainous area at the initial stage of the tachment to their traditional lifestyle in their previous struggle. They were under the influence of Maoism. village, farmers were forced to change their domicile. It After they obtained control of the government in 1975, is estimated that about two million residents of urban they were relentless in arresting and purging high offi- areas, including Phnom Penh, were forcibly assigned to cials and their sympathizers, who objected to the poli- become members of cooperative associations through- cies of these factions; ii) A group led by Hu Nim, Hou out the country. These members were then mobilized to Yuon, and others, whose base was in the southern part 80 Part II Chapter 1 Section 4. Cambodia’s History and Culture of Cambodia. These glorified the Cultural Revolution, in March 1949, both nations agreed that Cochin China but were politically purged immediately after the libera- should be relegated to becoming part of South Vietnam. tion; iii) A group led by Heng Samrin and others, who At the Geneva Meeting in 1954, Cambodia insisted on were derived from the Khmer Viet Minh that had occu- its right of sovereignty over Cochin China. Cambodia pied the eastern part of Cambodia on the border be- has been and is consistently demonstrating, that the is- tween Vietnam. These were pro-Vietnamese. Feuding sue of Cochin China has not been settled yet. among these three factions exacerbated the purges. The The third factor was the Cambodian people’s anxiety Pol Pot government bragged of its success in achieving over the Vietnamese quartermaster corps stationed along for the first time real ethnic independence from foreign the Ho Chi Minh route, running through the eastern part control and subordination.