Ah Cambodia... The Kingdom of Water, home to the splendor of Angkor Wat and the brutality of the Khmer Rouge. I am fortunate enough to have lived there as a child from 2003-2005, but this place will be new to Ben, and the rapid changes the country has seen from development in the last 10 years means it will be quite new again to me too. So here's a little run down of Cambodia..
Basic Information
Area: 181,035 sq. Km
Population: Over 15 million
Capital: Phnom Penh
Government: Liberal democracy under a constitutional monarchy
Provinces: 21
Language: Khmer, French, Chinese, Vietnamese, English and a variety of minority languages
Currency: Dual currency system: Cambodian Riel and American Dollars
Neighboring Countries: Thailand-N and W, Laos-NE, Vietnam - E
Religion: Buddhism, Muslim (Cham people group) minority
Ethnic Background: Cambodian (Khmer)-80%, Vietnamese-12%, Chinese-5%, Tribal groups-2.5%
Rivers and Lakes:
Rivers and Lakes:
The Mekong River runs from the Laos border in the north to the Vietnam border in the south. Tonle Sap runs from the Mekong in central Phnom Penh north to the lake, claimed to be the largest freshwater fish breeding and production area in the world. Tonle Bassak also runs from the Mekong, in central Phnom Penh to the southern border with Vietnam.
Mountains:
Elephant and Cardamom mountains - southwest
Dangkrek Mountains - northern border with Thailand Eastern Highlands-northeast corner
Former Colonial Status:
French protectorate (18 63-1949)
Associated State within the French Union (1949-1955)
Independence Date: 25th September 1955
National Flag: A centre of red with an ancient temple of Angkor Wat motif, with dark blue bands across the top and bottom.
Brief History
Cambodia was once the most powerful nations in the region, with the Khmer arriving from India in prehistoric times. By the 1st century, they had built a mighty Hindu state with the country’s power continuing to grow through the 13th century until the empire extended from the Bay of Bengal to the South of China Sea. This is the period in which the great temples of Angkor were built.
In the 1500s to the 1800s, foreign powers sought greater influence in the area, and the state declined. The French arrived in the mid-19th century, and offered Cambodia protection from her powerful neighbors, this however, quickly turned into control, and France ruled Cambodia until 1954.
During the Vietnam War the country tried to steer a neutral course, but neither side respected its neutrality: the North Vietnamese Ho Chi Minh trail ran through Cambodian territory, while the U.S. bombed and raided the eastern half of Cambodia from 1969 until 1973. In the 1970 General Lon Nol took over but fought a civil war against the Khmer Rouge up until two weeks before the fall of South Vietnam in 1975, when the murderous Pol Pot regime came to power. The following four years saw genocide on a horrific scale, with estimates of at least two million Cambodians dying as a result of the policies of the Khmer Rouge.
Vietnam invaded and overthrew the Pol Pot regime on 7th January 1979, but the Vietnamese were Cambodia’s traditional enemy, thus, when Vietnam reduced its military presence in the late 1980s, guerrilla warfare again broke out, with several groups, including the Khmer Rouge, competing for domination. The United Nations finally brokered a peace settlement, and elections were held in 1993. The royalist party (FUNCINPEC), led by Prince Norodom Rannariddh won the elections but was forced to hold power with the Cambodian People’s party led by Hun Sen. This fragile coalition fell apart in 1997 following a successful coup by Hun Sen.
1998 saw a further set of elections which Hun Sen won, though not with an adequate majority to call parliament, so another coalition government was created. With the death of Pol Pot earlier in the year and the subsequent disintegration of the Khmer Rouge, the conditions may have been laid for stability, with an opportunity for a new start for the country after 30 years of conflict.
In the 1500s to the 1800s, foreign powers sought greater influence in the area, and the state declined. The French arrived in the mid-19th century, and offered Cambodia protection from her powerful neighbors, this however, quickly turned into control, and France ruled Cambodia until 1954.
During the Vietnam War the country tried to steer a neutral course, but neither side respected its neutrality: the North Vietnamese Ho Chi Minh trail ran through Cambodian territory, while the U.S. bombed and raided the eastern half of Cambodia from 1969 until 1973. In the 1970 General Lon Nol took over but fought a civil war against the Khmer Rouge up until two weeks before the fall of South Vietnam in 1975, when the murderous Pol Pot regime came to power. The following four years saw genocide on a horrific scale, with estimates of at least two million Cambodians dying as a result of the policies of the Khmer Rouge.
Vietnam invaded and overthrew the Pol Pot regime on 7th January 1979, but the Vietnamese were Cambodia’s traditional enemy, thus, when Vietnam reduced its military presence in the late 1980s, guerrilla warfare again broke out, with several groups, including the Khmer Rouge, competing for domination. The United Nations finally brokered a peace settlement, and elections were held in 1993. The royalist party (FUNCINPEC), led by Prince Norodom Rannariddh won the elections but was forced to hold power with the Cambodian People’s party led by Hun Sen. This fragile coalition fell apart in 1997 following a successful coup by Hun Sen.
1998 saw a further set of elections which Hun Sen won, though not with an adequate majority to call parliament, so another coalition government was created. With the death of Pol Pot earlier in the year and the subsequent disintegration of the Khmer Rouge, the conditions may have been laid for stability, with an opportunity for a new start for the country after 30 years of conflict.
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