Over a period of 300 years, between 900 and 1200 AD, the Khmer
Kingdom of Angkor produced some of the world's most magnificent
architectural masterpieces on the northern shore of the Tonle Sap,
near the present town of Siem Reap. The Angkor area stretches 15
miles east to west and 5 miles north to south. Some 72 major temples
or other buildings dot the area. Suryavarman II built the principal
temple, Angkor Wat, between 1112 and 1150. With walls nearly
one-half mile on each side, Angkor Wat portrays the Hindu cosmology
with the central towers representing Mount Meru, home of the gods;
the outer walls, the mountains enclosing the world; and the moat,
the oceans beyond. Angkor Thom, the capital city built after the
Cham sack of 1177, is surrounded by a 300-foot wide moat.
Construction of Angkor Thom coincided with a change from Hinduism to
Buddhism. Temples were altered to display images of the Buddha, and
Angkor Wat became a major Buddhist shrine.
During the 15th century, nearly all of Angkor was abandoned after
Siamese attacks. The exception was Angkor Wat, which remained a
shrine for Buddhist pilgrims. The great city and temples remained
largely cloaked by the forest until the late 19th century when
French archaeologists began a long restoration process. Concerned
about further destruction and dilapidation of the Angkor complex and
cultural heritage, the Cambodian Government in 1995 established the
Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region
of Siem Reap (APSARA) to protect, maintain, conserve, and improve
the value of the archaeological park. In December 1995 the World
Heritage Committee confirmed Angkor's permanent inscription on the
World Heritage List. Tourism is now the second-largest foreign
currency earner in Cambodia's economy.
MODERN HISTORY
Although Cambodia had a rich and powerful past under the Hindu state
of Funan and the Kingdom of Angkor, by the mid-19th century the
country was on the verge of dissolution. After repeated requests for
French assistance, a protectorate was established in 1863. By 1884,
Cambodia was a virtual colony; soon after it was made part of the
Indochina Union with Annam, Tonkin, Cochin-China, and Laos. France
continued to control the country even after the start of World War
II through its Vichy government. In 1945, the Japanese dissolved the
colonial administration, and King Norodom Sihanouk declared an
independent, anti-colonial government under Prime Minister Son Ngoc
Thanh in March 1945. The Allies deposed this government in October.
In January 1953, Sihanouk named his father as regent and went into
self-imposed exile, refusing to return until Cambodia gained genuine
independence.
Full Independence
Sihanouk's actions hastened the French Government's July 4, 1953
announcement of its readiness to grant independence, which came on
November 9, 1953. The situation remained uncertain until a 1954
conference was held in Geneva to settle the French-Indochina war.
All participants, except the United States and the State of Vietnam,
associated themselves (by voice) with the final declaration. The
Cambodian delegation agreed to the neutrality of the three
Indochinese states but insisted on a provision in the cease-fire
agreement that left the Cambodian Government free to call for
outside military assistance should the Viet Minh or others threaten
its territory.
Neutral Cambodia
Neutrality was the central element of Cambodian foreign policy
during the 1950s and 1960s. By the mid-1960s, parts of Cambodia's
eastern provinces were serving as bases for North Vietnamese Army
and Viet Cong (NVA/VC) forces operating against South Vietnam, and
the port of Sihanoukville was being used to supply them. As NVA/VC
activity grew, the United States and South Vietnam became concerned,
and in 1969, the United States began a series of air raids against
NVA/VC base areas inside Cambodia.
Throughout the 1960s, domestic politics polarized. Opposition grew
within the middle class and among leftists, including Paris-educated
leaders such as Son Sen, Ieng Sary, and Saloth Sar (later known as
Pol Pot), who led an insurgency under the clandestine Communist
Party of Kampuchea (CPK).
The Khmer Republic and the War
In March 1970, Gen. Lon Nol deposed Prince Sihanouk and assumed
power. On October 9, the Cambodian monarchy was abolished, and the
country was renamed the Khmer Republic. Hanoi rejected the new
republic's request for the withdrawal of NVA/VC troops and began to
re-infiltrate some of the 2,000-4,000 Cambodians who had gone to
North Vietnam in 1954. They became a cadre in the insurgency. The
United States moved to provide material assistance to the new
government's armed forces, which were engaged against both the Khmer
Rouge insurgents and NVA/VC forces. In April 1970, U.S. and South
Vietnamese forces entered Cambodia in a campaign aimed at destroying
NVA/VC base areas. Although a considerable quantity of equipment was
seized or destroyed, NVA/VC forces proved elusive and moved deeper
into Cambodia. NVA/VC units overran many Cambodian Army positions
while the Khmer Rouge expanded their small scale attacks on lines of
communication.
The Khmer Republic's leadership was plagued by disunity among its
members, the problems of transforming a 30,000-man army into a
national combat force of more than 200,000 men, and spreading
corruption. The insurgency continued to grow, with supplies and
military support provided by North Vietnam. But inside Cambodia, Pol
Pot and Ieng Sary asserted their dominance over the
Vietnamese-trained communists, many of whom were purged. At the same
time, the Khmer Rouge forces became stronger and more independent of
their Vietnamese patrons. By 1974, Lon Nol's control was reduced to
small enclaves around the cities and main transportation routes.
More than 2 million refugees from the war lived in Phnom Penh and
other cities.
On New Year's Day 1975, communist troops launched an offensive that,
in 117 days of the hardest fighting of the war, destroyed the Khmer
Republic. Simultaneous attacks around the perimeter of Phnom Penh
pinned down Republican forces, while other Khmer Rouge units overran
fire bases controlling the vital lower Mekong resupply route. A
U.S.-funded airlift of ammunition and rice ended when Congress
refused additional aid for Cambodia. Phnom Penh surrendered on April
17, 1975--5 days after the U.S. mission evacuated Cambodia. |
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