Cambodia or Kampuchea, republic (69,898 sq mi/181,035 sq km; 1990 estimated population 8,100,000; 2004 estimated population 13,363,421), SE Asia; (cap.) Phnom Penh; 13°00'N 105°00'E.
Geography
Cambodia is bordered by Laos on the N, by Vietnam on the E, by the Gulf of Thailand (Gulf of Siam) on the S, and by Thailand on the W and N. Administratively, the country is divided into nineteen provinces (khett): Banteay Mean Cheay, Battambang, Kampot, Kandal, Koh Kong, Kompong Cham, Kompong Chhnang, Kompong Speu, Kompong Thom, Kratie, Mondolkiri, Preah Vihear, Prey Veng, Pursat, Ratanakiri, Siem Reap, Stung Treng, Svay Rieng, and Takeo; in addition, Phnom Penh and Kompong Som (aka Sihanoukville) are self-governing entities. The heart of the country is a saucer-shaped, gently rolling alluvial plain drained by the Mekong River and shut off by mountain ranges; the Dangrek Mountains form the frontier with Thailand in the NW and the Cardamom and the Elephant Ranges are in the SW. About half the land remains under tropical forest, but deforestation resulting from shifting cultivation and timber extraction is still a major problem. In general, Cambodia has a tropical monsoon climate, with the wet SW monsoon occurring between November and April and the dry NE monsoon the remainder of the year. During the rainy season the Mekong swells and backs into the Tonlé Sap (Great Lake), increasing the size of the lake almost threefold. The seasonal rise of the Mekong floods almost 400,000 acres/161,880 ha around the lake, leaving rich silt when the waters recede.
Population
One of the few underpopulated countries of SE Asia, Cambodia is inhabited by Cambodians (or Khmers), who make up about 90% of the population. There are large minorities of Vietnamese and Chinese; other ethnic groups include the Chams (of Malay or Austronesian stock) and hill tribesmen (Budong, Mnong Preh, Kuy, Chong, Jarai, and other groups). Theravada Buddhism is the state religion and about 90% of the people are Buddhists; the Chams are Muslims. Khmer is the national language, but French and English are widely used in cities and towns.
Economy
Conditions are ideal for the cultivation of rice, by far the country’s chief crop. Livestock raising (cattle, buffalo, poultry, and hogs) and extensive fishing supplement the diet. Corn, vegetables, fruits, peanuts, tobacco, cotton, and sugar palms are widely cultivated. There is also rubber and seafood processing. In the early 1970s, however, heavy fighting in the countryside put almost all of the rubber plantations out of operation. Rice and rubber are traditionally the principal exports of Cambodia, but exports fell sharply after the onset (1970) of the civil war. Until recently, inadequate transportation hampered exploitation of the country’s vast forests. Mineral resources are not abundant, but phosphate rock, limestone, semiprecious stones, and salt have still generated important local mining operations. The country’s industries are based primarily on the processing of agricultural, fish, and timber products. Cambodia is connected by road systems with Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam; waterways are an important supplement to the roads. The country has two railroad lines, one extending from Phnom Penh to the Thai border and the other from Phnom Penh to Kompong Som.
History to 1900
The Funan empire was established in what is now Cambodiain the 1st century A.D. By the 3rd century the Funanese, under the leadership of Fan Shih-man (reigned 205–225), had conquered their neighbors and extended their sway to the lower Mekong River. In the 4th century, according to Chinese records, an Indian Brahman named Kaundinya (or Kaundinya I) extended his rule over Funan, introducing Hindu customs, the Indian legal code, S Asian architectural traditions, and the alphabet of central India. In the 6th century Khmers from the upstart Chen-la state to the N overran Funan. With the rise of the Khmer Empire, Cambodia became a dominant state in mainland SE Asia. Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire, was one of the world’s great architectural achievements. After the fall of the empire (15th century), however, Cambodia became the prey of stronger neighbors. To pressure from Siam on the western frontier was added in the 17th century pressure from Annam on the E; the kings of Siam and the lords of Hue alike asserted overlordship and claims to tribute. In the 18th century Cambodia lost three western provinces to Siam, and the region of Cochin China focused on the Mekong Delta to the Annamese. Intrigue and wars on Cambodian soil continued into the 19th century, and in 1854 the king of Cambodia appealed for French intervention. A French protectorate was formally established in 1863, and French influence was consolidated by a treaty in 1884. Cambodia became part of the Union of Indochina in 1887.
History - 1900 to 1960
In 1907 a French-Siamese treaty restored Cambodia’s W provinces. During World War II, under Japanese occupation, Cambodia again briefly lost those provinces to Siam. In January 1946, France granted Cambodia self-government within the French Union; a constitution was promulgated in May 1947. A treaty signed in 1949 raised the country’s status to that of an associated state in the French Union, but limitations on the country’s sovereignty persisted. King Norodom Sihanouk campaigned for complete independence, which was finally granted in 1953. Early in 1954, Communist Viet Minh troops from Vietnam invaded Cambodia. The Geneva Conference of 1954 led to an armistice providing for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Cambodia. An agreement between France and Cambodia (December 1954) severed the last vestige of French control over Cambodian policy. Cambodia withdrew from the French Union in 1955 and was admitted into the UN later that year. King Norodom Sihanouk abdicated in March 1955, in order to enter politics; his father, Norodom Suramarit, succeeded him as monarch. Sihanouk subsequently formed the Popular Socialist party and served as premier.
History - 1960 to 1970
After Suramarit’s death in 1960, the monarchy was represented by Sihanouk’s mother, Queen Kossamak Nearireak. Sihanouk was installed in the new office of chief of state. Throughout the 1960s, Sihanouk struggled to keep Cambodia neutral as the neighboring countries of Laos and South Vietnam came under increasing Communist attack. Sihanouk permitted the use of Cambodian territory as a supply base and refuge by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops while accepting military aid from the U.S. to strengthen his forces against Communist infiltration. In 1963, Sihanouk accused the U.S. of supporting antigovernment activities and renounced all U.S. aid. Following a series of border incidents involving South Vietnamese troops, Cambodia in 1965 severed diplomatic relations with the U.S. Sihanouk remained on friendly terms with the Communist countries, especially China, and established close relations with France. Economic conditions deteriorated after the renunciation of U.S. aid, and North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops continued to infiltrate the borderlands. In the spring of 1969 the U.S. instituted aerial attacks against Communist strongholds in Cambodia; these bombings, carefully kept secret from the American people, later became an important issue in U.S. politics. As Communist infiltration increased, Sihanouk began to turn more toward the West, and in July 1969, diplomatic ties with the U.S. were restored. Relations with South Vietnam and Thailand, after years of border disputes and incidents, began to improve. In August 1969, Lt. General Lon Nol, the defense minister and supreme commander of the army, became premier, with Sihanouk delegating considerable power to him. Sihanouk began negotiating for the removal of Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops, who now numbered over 50,000 and occupied large areas of Cambodia. His actions, however, were not enough to ease the growing concern of many army leaders. Discontent with Sihanouk’s rule was further heightened by rising inflation, ruinous financial policies, and governmental corruption and mismanagement.
History - 1970 to 1975
On March 18, 1970, while Sihanouk was in Moscow seeking help against further North Vietnamese incursions, premier Lon Nol led a right-wing coup deposing Sihanouk as chief of state. Sihanouk subsequently set up a government-in-exile in Peking. Soon after the coup, Cambodian troops began engaging North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces on Cambodian soil. In April 1970, U.S. and South Vietnamese troops entered Cambodia to attack Communist bases and supply lines. U.S. ground forces were withdrawn by June 30, but South Vietnamese troops remained, occupying heavily populated areas. The actions of the South Vietnamese troops in Cambodia and the resumption of heavy U.S. air bombings in their support, with the inevitable destruction of villages and killing of civilians, alienated many Cambodians and generated considerable sympathy for the Communists. The number of Cambodian Communists (known as the Khmer Rouge) increased from about 3,000 (in March 1970) to over 30,000 within a few years. Most of the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops were able to withdraw, leaving in progress a raging civil war fought by Cambodians but financed by the U.S., North Vietnam, and Communist China. On October 9, 1970, the national assembly declared Cambodia a republic and changed the country’s name to the Khmer Republic. By that time, however, the national government controlled less than one-third of Cambodia’s total land area: Phnom Penh, most of the provincial capitals, and the central plain S of Tonlé Sap. Despite extensive U.S. military aid, the Khmer Rouge retained firm control of the NE provinces and most of the countryside. Eventually, more and more territory fell into Communist hands, despite intensive U.S. bombing attacks, which persisted until the halt imposed by the U.S. Congress in August 1973. Subsequently the government’s military position became desperate, with government forces concentrating primarily on keeping communications open with an increasingly beleaguered Phnom Penh. In Sept. 1972, severe food shortages in Phnom Penh sparked two days of rioting and large-scale looting, in which government troops participated. Lon Nol, aided by his brother Lon Non, exerted an increasingly oppressive rule, with massive political arrests and newspaper seizures. The Khmer Rouge insurgents launched a large-scale attack against Cambodia’s third largest city, Kompong Cham, in September 1973, and shelled Phnom Penh in 1974 and 1975, inflicting heavy casualties.
History - 1975 to Present
In 1975, the Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, seized control of Phnom Penh and overthrew the U.S.-backed government of Lon Nol. The Khmer Rouge renamed the country the Kampuchean People’s Republic, and installed Pol Pot as the premier. Immediately following the takeover, Phnom Penh was evacuated, and the entire population of the country’s urban areas was forced to move to rural areas and work in agriculture. Most of the country’s vehicles and machines were destroyed because the new regime wanted to reject completely all modern technology and W influence. It is estimated that over two million people (about 33% of the entire population of the nation) were executed by the Khmer Rouge over the next four years. Anyone from the upper, middle, or educated classes, as well as all suspected enemies of the Khmer Rouge, were victims of the genocide. Committing more than 200,000 troops, along with civilian support, Vietnam invaded in 1978 and challenged the Khmer Rouge. In 1979 Vietnamese forces seized Phnom Penh, and the Khmer Rouge were driven into the W countryside. However, the Kampuchean People’s Republic, led by Pol Pot, still enjoyed recognition by the UN as the country’s legitimate government. Throughout the 1980s various guerrilla factions formed and skirmished with the Vietnamese and the Khmer Rouge. One group was a coalition force led by Prince Sihanouk, who had remained popular among Cambodians as the country’s greatest patriot. In 1987 talks began in Paris to try to settle the civil war, and in 1989 Vietnam announced plans to withdraw its occupying troops from Cambodia. A peace treaty was signed by all of Cambodia’s warring factions (including the Khmer Rouge, the Khmer People’s National Liberation Front, and Prince Sihanouk’s faction) on October 23, 1991. As agreed in the treaty, the UN assumed (1992) the government’s administrative functions and began to work with representatives of the Cambodian factions in the supreme national council. A coalition government took power after the 1993 elections. Ongoing tensions among the different government factions, particularly over the Khmer Rouge, and widespread corruption hampered long-term government stability. The Khmer Rouge were estimated to control about 20% of Cambodian territory still, with strongholds in the N and W parts of the country (particularly at Anlong Veng, a village near the Thai border). However, in 1996 the Khmer Rouge split into two factions, one of which made an accord with the government. Pol Pot was captured in 1997, and the Khmer Rouge has subsequently surrended all power in 1999. Suspicions that Thailand had supported the Khmer Rouge even during its decline strained relations between the Thai and Cambodian governments. Cambodia has been granted observer status in ASEAN and is soon expected to become a full member.
Government
Fighting in 1997 ended the first coalition government, but another round of national elections in 1998 led to the formation of a new coalition and renewed political stability. Elections in July 2003 were peaceful, but it took one year before a coalition government was formed. In a surprise move (October 2004) the chief of state King Norodom Sihanouk abdicated in favor of his son Prince Norodom Ranariddh. The head of government is Prime Minister Hun Sen.
