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Cambodia: Background and U.S Order Code RL32986 CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web Cambodia: Background and U.S. Relations July 8, 2005 Thomas Lum Asian Affairs Specialist Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress Cambodia: Background and U.S. Relations Summary Cambodia has made some notable progress, with foreign assistance, in developing its economy, nurturing a civil society, and holding elections that are at least procedurally democratic. A number of significant problems remain, however. Weak legal and financial institutions, corruption, political violence, and the authoritarian tendencies of the Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Sen, have discouraged foreign investment and strained U.S.-Cambodian relations. U.S. interests in Cambodia include human rights, foreign assistance, trade, and counter terrorism. Several current measures by the United States government reflect human rights concerns in Cambodia. Since 1998, foreign operations appropriations legislation has barred assistance to the Central Government of Cambodia in response to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s seizure of power in 1997 and sporadic political violence against the opposition. The United States has also withheld assistance to the Khmer Rouge tribunal unless standards of judicial independence and fairness are met. Despite these restrictions, Cambodia remains the third largest recipient of United States assistance in Southeast Asia after Indonesia and the Philippines. S.Res. 65would call upon the Government of Cambodia to release Member of Parliament Cheam Channy from prison and to restore the immunity from prosecution of opposition parliamentarians. In 2005, the State Department placed Cambodia in Tier 3 as a country that had not made adequate efforts to eliminate trafficking in persons. The United States is the largest overseas market for Cambodian goods, mostly textiles and apparel. With the termination of quotas on textiles for WTO member states in 2005, Cambodian exports are threatened by competition from China. Cambodia and other least developed countries (LDCs) are pressing the United States to grant their garment exports preferential treatment. S. 191 and H.R. 886 would grant trade preferences to certain LDCs, including Cambodia. This report provides historical context, discusses political and economic developments, and raises policy issues in Cambodia that affect U.S.-Cambodian relations. These issues include human rights, bilateral trade, U.S. foreign assistance to Cambodia, terrorism, HIV/AIDS, the Khmer Rouge tribunal, and Cambodia’s relations with its southeast Asian neighbors and China. This report will be updated periodically. Contents Introduction ..................................................1 U.S. Interests .............................................1 Modern History ...............................................2 Political Developments .........................................3 National Elections .........................................3 Political Standoff ..........................................4 Opposition Leaders ........................................4 Political Killings ..........................................4 The Economy .................................................5 Cambodian Textile Exports ..................................5 U.S.-Cambodia Trade ......................................6 Foreign Assistance.............................................6 U.S. Bilateral Aid Restrictions................................7 FY2006 Foreign Operations Appropriations .....................7 Cambodia and Southeast Asia ....................................8 Other Policy Issues.............................................9 Terrorism................................................9 HIV/AIDS ...............................................9 Human Trafficking.........................................9 Khmer Rouge Tribunal ....................................10 The Montagnards of Vietnam ...............................10 Policy Discussion.............................................11 List of Figures Figure 1. Map of Cambodia ........................................3 Cambodia: Background and U.S. Relations Introduction U.S. Interests. Cambodia’s small size belies its importance to Congress. U.S. involvement in modern Cambodia began with the Vietnam War, the U.S. bombardment and invasion of Cambodia between 1969 and 1973 to attack the Vietcong, and support of General Lon Nol in the coup that overthrew Prince Norodom Sihanouk. In recent times, U.S. interests include human rights, foreign assistance, trade, and counter terrorism. Several current measures by the United States government reflect human rights concerns in Cambodia. Since 1998, foreign operations appropriations legislation has barred assistance to the Central Government of Cambodia in response to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s seizure of power in 1997 and sporadic political violence against the opposition. The United States has also withheld assistance to the Khmer Rouge tribunal unless standards of judicial CAMBODIA IN BRIEF independence and fairness are met. Despite these restrictions, Cambodia Population: 13.6 million remains the third largest recipient of Growth rate: 1.8% (2005 est.) United States assistance in Southeast Location: Borders Thailand, Vietnam, and Asia after Indonesia and the Philippines. Laos Area: 181,040 sq. km. (about the size of In February 2005, the Cambodian Missouri) National Assembly revoked the Capital: Phnom Penh parliamentary immunity from Ethnic groups: Khmer 90%; Vietnamese 5%; prosecution of opposition leader Sam Chinese 1%; Other 4% (Chams, Burmese, hill tribes) Rainsy and two other opposition Language: Khmer (official) 95%; French; Members of Parliament. While Sam English Rainsy and MP Chea Poch fled the Religion: Theravada Buddhist 95%; Other 5% country, MP Cheam Channy was Life Expectancy at Birth: female 62 years; arrested and imprisoned. S.Res. 65 male 56 years (2005 est.) Literacy: total 70%; female 60%; male 80% would call upon the Government of (2003) Cambodia to release Cheam Channy and GDP per capita: $2,000 (purchasing power upon the National Assembly to restore parity, 2004) the immunity of the opposition GDP growth: 5.4% (2004) parliamentarians. In 2005, the State Government: Constitutional Monarchy (King Norodom Sihamoni) Department placed Cambodia in the Tier Economic system: market economy since 1989 3 category of countries with problems of trafficking in persons, which Sources: CIA World Factbook; U.S. Department of Commerce authorizes sanctions. The United States is the largest overseas market for Cambodian goods, mostly textiles and apparel. With the termination of quotas on textiles for WTO member states in 2005, Cambodian CRS-2 exports are threatened by competition from China. Cambodia and other least developed countries (LDCs) are pressing the United States to grant their garment exports preferential treatment. S. 191 and H.R. 886 would grant trade preferences to certain LDCs, including Cambodia. Modern History The Kingdom of Cambodia received its independence from France in 1953 under the leadership of the popular king, Norodom Sihanouk. In 1955, Sihanouk abdicated in favor of his father, assuming the post of Prime Minister and head of the ruling party. When his father died in 1960, Sihanouk received the title of Prince. In March 1970, the military forces of pro-American General Lon Nol overthrew the government of Prince Sihanouk in a coup. The Prince fled to Beijing and reluctantly formed an alliance with the Cambodian communists, or Khmer Rouge, against the Lon Nol government. A civil war followed, culminating in the defeat of Lon Nol in April 1975 by the Khmer Rouge. In 1976, the Prince again was forced into exile. During their subsequent three-year brutal reign — which included forced depopulation of the cities and the establishment of rural communes — nearly two million out of a population of eight million Cambodians died through execution, torture, overwork, starvation, and disease. In January 1979, an invasion by Vietnamese forces drove the Khmer Rouge from Phnom Penh and sparked a 13-year civil war. Following the Vietnamese withdrawal from Cambodia in 1989, a United Nations (U.N.)-brokered peace settlement officially ended the war (October 1991) and led to elections for a 120-seat Constituent Assembly in May 1993. Although the royalist FUNCINPEC Party (National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia) won a 58-seat plurality, it agreed to form a coalition government with the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), with 51 seats, after the CPP threatened that it would not accept the election. The establishment of the coalition government with Prince Norodom Ranariddh, head of FUNCINPEC, and Hun Sen, head of the CPP, as co-prime ministers brought fragile political stability to Cambodia.1 In 1997, after rising tensions between the coalition partners, Hun Sen staged an armed takeover of the government. An estimated 80-100 Cambodians, including many FUNCINPEC leaders, were killed, and Ranariddh and other politicians fled Cambodia. In the face of considerable international pressure and the withholding of aid by donors, Hun Sen allowed Ranariddh to return to Cambodia and held new parliamentary elections in July 1998, which the CPP narrowly won. Despite charges of election irregularities and post-election violence, the two parties again agreed to form a coalition government, with Hun Sen as Prime Minister and Prince Ranariddh as President of the National
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