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Cambodia has had a pretty bad run of
luck for the last half-millennium or
so. Ever since the fall of Angkor in
1431, the once mighty Khmer Empire
has been plundered by all its
neighbors, plus colonial France as
well. After a false dawn of
independence in 1953, Cambodia
promptly plunged back into the
horrors of civil war in 1970 to
suffer the Khmer Rouge's incredibly
brutal reign of terror, and only
after UN-sponsored elections in 1993
did the country begin to totter back
onto its feet.
Much of the population still
subsists on less than US$1 a day,
the provision of even basic services
remains spotty, and political
intrigue remains as complex and
opaque as ever; but the security
situation has improved immeasurably,
and increasing numbers of visitors
are rediscovering Cambodia's temples
and beaches. Siem Reap, the gateway
to Angkor, now sports luxury hotels,
chic nightspots, ATMs, and an
airport fielding flights from all
over the region, while Sihanoukville
is getting good press as an
up-and-coming beach destination.
However travel beyond the most
popular tourist destinations is
still an adventure.
History
It is important to remember that
Cambodian history did not begin with
the Khmer Rouge. Pol Pot's
incredibly harsh regime has garnered
most attention, but the Cambodians
enjoy a long and often triumphant
history. Anybody who witnesses the
magnificence of the temples at Ankor
will be able to see that the Khmer
Empire was once wealthy, and a major
force in the region. Its zenith came
under Jayavarman VII (1181-ca.
1218), where the Empire made
significant territorial gains from
the Vietnamese and Cham.
The period following the demise of
the Khmer Empire has been described
as Cambodia's dark ages.
French colonial expansion in the
area known then as Indochina
included coming to dominate Cambodia
as a protectorate under French
political control. However, the
French were always more concerned
with their possessions in Vietnam.
Education of Cambodians was
neglected for all but the
established Elite. It was from this
elite that many "Red Khmers" would
emerge. Japan's hold on Southeast
Asia during the Second world War
undermined French prestige and
following the Allied victory Prince
Sihanouk soon declared independence.
This was a relatively peaceful
transition; France was too absorbed
with its struggle in Vietnam, which
it saw as more important to its
conception of L'Indochine Francaise.
Prince Sihanouk was the main power
figure in the country after this. He
was noted for making very strange
movies in which he starred, wrote
and directed. His rule was
characterized at this point with a
Buddhist revival and an emphasis on
education. This was a mixed blessing
however. He succeeded in making an
educated elite who became
increasingly disenchanted with the
lack of jobs available. As the
economic situation in Cambodia
deteriorated, many of these young
people were attracted to the
Indochinese Communist Party, and
later the Khmer Rouge.
As the Second Indochina War spread
to Cambodia's border (an important
part of the "Ho Chi Minh trail"),
the USA became increasingly
concerned with events in the
country. While traveling to Moscow
and Beinjing, Sihanouk was
overthrown by Lon Nol and other
generals who were looked upon
favorably by the United States.
Sihanouk then put his support behind
the Khmer Rouge. This change
influenced many to follow suit; he
was after all considered a
Boddhisatva. Meanwhile the Khmer
Rouge followed the Vietnamese
example and began to engender
themselves to the rural poor.
Following a five-year struggle,
Communist Khmer Rouge forces
captured Phnom Penh in 1975 and
ordered the evacuation of all cities
and towns. Over 1 million people
(and possibly many more) died from
execution or enforced hardships.
Those from the cities were known as
"new" people and suffered worst at
first. The rural peasantry were
regarded as "base" people and fared
better. However, the Khmer Rouge's
cruelty was enacted on both groups.
It also depended much upon where you
were from. For example, people in
the East generally got it worse. It
is debated whether or not the Khmer
Rouge began "crimes against
humanity" or a protracted
"genocide". What is clear, as Ben
Kiernan argues, there was a
disproportionate number of ethnic
Chams killed, and the ethnically
Vietnamese also suffered
persecution. Nonetheless, being
Khmer did not save you from the
often indescriminate mass killings.
A 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the
Khmer Rouge into the countryside and
ended 13 years of fighting (but the
fighting would continue for some
time in in border areas). As a
result of the devastating politics
of the Khmer Rouge regime, there was
virtually no infrastructure left.
Institutions of higher education,
money, and all forms of commerce
industries were destroyed in 1978,
so the country had to be built up
from scratch. UN-sponsored elections
in 1993 helped restore some
semblance of normalcy, as did the
rapid diminution of the Khmer Rouge
in the mid-1990s. A coalition
government, formed after national
elections in 1998, brought renewed
political stability and the
surrender of remaining Khmer Rouge
forces.
The International Criminal Court is
currently putting Leng Sary, Pol
Pot's brother in law, on trial for
'crimes against humanity'.
Economy
The two pillars of Cambodia's
newly-stable economy are textiles
and tourism. The latter has grown
rapidly with over 1.7 million
visitors arriving in 2006. The
long-term development of the economy
after decades of war remains a
daunting challenge, as the
population (more than half under 27
years of age) lacks education and
productive skills, particularly in
the poverty-ridden countryside,
which suffers from an almost total
lack of basic infrastructure. 80% of
the population still gets by on
subsistence farming. On the brighter
side, the government is addressing
these issues - plus government
corruption - with assistance from
bilateral and multilateral donors.
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