Democratic Kampuchea

Democratic Kampuchea (in Khmer, កម្ពុជា ប្រជាផិបតេយ្យ) was the official name of Cambodia under the government of Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge party from 1975 until 1979. The period saw the death of approximately 1.7 million Cambodians as a combined result of political executions, starvation, and overwork. A 1984 movie, The Killing Fields, dramatized the horrors of Khmer Rouge rule.

The Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea

China, the U.S., and other Western countries opposed an expansion of Vietnamese and Soviet influence in Indochina, and refused to recognize the People's Republic of Kampuchea as the legitimate government of Cambodia, claiming that it was a puppet state propped up by Vietnamese forces. China funneled military aid to the Khmer Rouge, which in the '80s proved to be the most capable insurgent force, while the U.S. sought to support a non-Communist alternative to the PRK; in 1985, the Reagan administration approved $5 million in aid to the republican KPNLF, led by former prime minister Son Sann, and the ANS, the armed wing of the pro-Sihanouk FUNCINPEC party. The KPNLF, while lacking in military strength compared to the Khmer Rouge, commanded a sizable civilian following (up to 250,000) amongst refugees near the Thai-Cambodian border that had fled the KR regime. Funcinpec had the benefit of traditional peasant Khmer loyalty to the crown and Sihanouk's widespread popularity in the countryside.

Related Topics:
People's Republic of Kampuchea - Reagan administration - KPNLF - Son Sann - ANS - FUNCINPEC

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Critics such as Human Rights Watch alleged that U.S. policy was contradictory; while claiming to not support the Khmer Rouge, the U.S. continually supported UN recognition of the shadow Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK, formed in 1982) as the legitimate Cambodian government, despite the fact that the tripartite alliance included the Khmer Rouge. The U.S. government, for its part, claimed that in spite of the alliance it was attempting to bolster the position of the non-Communist forces through humanitarian and military aid. http://www.country-studies.com/cambodia/coalition-government-of-democratic-kampuchea.html http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa074.html http://www.hrw.org/reports/1989/WR89/Cambodia.htm

Related Topics:
Human Rights Watch - Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea - 1982

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