Le blog de Sangha OP

Presse de Son Excellence Sim Var, Institute of Southeast Asian Conference on November 3, 1987

Ladies and representatives of the press, welcoming you in this room of the Institute of Asian Southeast, central Committee of the movement for the support of Khmer freedom (Moulkhmer) you contact more thanks for having kindly accept to attend this Conference press on the occasion of its tenth anniversary.

These thanks are even more sincere than many apprehensions darkening the future of Cambodia where raging since 9 years an unjust war... And we say: an unfair, because it is the resultant of a tension between the R.P.C and U.R.S.S global hegemony in Southeast Asia fighting war.

Instead of directly battle between them, these two major powers have preferred fighting indirectly, home, small inlets country: one side is the NVN (supported by the Soviet Union) that has held since January 1979 our territory, the other Cambodian resistance movements supported by the R.P.C.

To help you understand the imbroglio Cambodian, that let me remind you here, briefly, the historical facts dating back to the year 1953: at this time, France had given its return to national independence in Cambodia. The following year was the Geneva Conference in which participated the five members of the UN Security Council powers. On this occasion, the King of Cambodia had urged this Conference for obtaining a status of neutrality to Cambodia "like Switzerland", said it. To repeat the people as neutral Cambodia would be untouchable.

These members of the Conference were more that amazed by demand of Norodom Sihanouk, because they didn't the Cambodia would be able to follow the example of Switzerland, their King himself ignoring all of this country and its system of defence. This does not prevented them surrender, having taken however the precautionary appoint an international control Commission, chaired by the delegate of India, assisted by the Canadian delegate, and the Polish delegate.

To 1963, Norodom Sihanouk authorized Nord-Vietnamiennes troops in the American Expeditionary combat to settle in sanctuaries in Cambodian territory. This is in flagrant violation of Cambodian neutrality claimed by same Norodom Sihanouk a few years earlier.

At the same time, gave the order to his army to carry weapons and munitions delivered by the R.P.C. maritime port of Kompong Som, for Vietnamese, which not happy to shelter us, moved up to commit abuses to the prejudice of the living near the border of Vietnam, Cambodia not soon to show their discontent.

Made aware of these facts, Norodom Sihanouk tried to oppose, but in vain, and Vietnamese troops continued to requisition harvests, Buffalo, or porters coolies oxen.

In 1969 he took fear; but this does not prevented him leaving, in 1970, abroad, on the pretext that he wanted to deal with valuable health.

In France, he then met the Prime Minister, General Lon Nol, who was in treatment at the American Hospital of Neuilly from an auto accident, and asked him to return to Cambodia to ameuter then abuse by the troops of the N.VN dissatisfied people.

LON Nol, despite his injuries, agreed to return to Cambodia to execute the order of the prince. At that time, it was to be the right arm of Sihanouk. Lon Nol therefore made on the spot to investigate concerned people who believed he found, in him, finally, a saviour.

Prince's goal was to show the world that the Cambodian people was exceeded by the behavior of the Vietnamese troops without having to enter the United Nations. Why is it so? Because at that time, facilitating the entry of the troops in question, he had returned the international control Commission who became an annoying witness. Therefore, Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia in January 1970, his spirit of immediate return, leaving it to others to solve this insoluble problem that he had created.

The crowd of disgruntled, after having demonstrated on-site frontier, rendered in Phnom Penh, whose inhabitants made common cause with it, to express his dissatisfaction of Parliament where their representatives were.

The service order, quickly overwhelmed, the crowd is transformed into riot, loot the North and South Vietnam, embassies and slaughtered Vietnamese residents wherever they are, in the street or at home.

Made aware of these facts, Norodom Sihanouk sent to Phnom-Penh telegram on telegram to condemn Government of Lon Nol and the National Assembly, whose members reacted by calling the testimony of the prince Sihanouk in his position as head of State, but Lon Nol resisted that pressure until the last minute, i.e. up to 18 March 1970.

Lon Nol put more nothing to save the position of the prince in the moment where the refusal to receive the two emissaries that he sent him to keep it informed of the exact situation. And yet, have decided really to cede only after having been threatened to arrest!

During this time, the prince, sacrificing his cure, was in Moscow to be overprotective, unsuccessfully, for his personal, prior to travel to Beijing where Chou En Lai helped him conclude, with Pham Van Dong, a Pact to enable it to regain, with the help of the Vietnamese troops and the Khmer Rouge, his power he had voluntarily abandon defense weapons.

Beijing, Pham Van Dong made strong destroy the Cambodian army in less than a week, but in reality, it took more time that provided, since in 1973, the delegate of North Vietnam took the Paris Conference to require, probably with the Cambodia Sihanouk is neutral. What Kissinger was not disturb, because the USA were so eager to withdraw their troops from Indochina. And what had to happen arrived : Cambodia, not have an alliance with any, isolated, stripped, couls fall to a greater enemy in men and material. The collapse made 17 April 1975 with the entry of the Khmer Rouge in Phnom Penh: today there are finished really long week of Phan Van Dong, a week that had lasted five years!

Why this return back? To point out the logical circumstances degradation of Cambodia. This is why we allow us to use the mass-média to hear our cry of distress to world opinion, with the desire that UN think at a Conference in the spirit of that which was held in Geneva in 1954.

In the meantime, whereas the khmer-red peril has changed in nature, and that consequently the grounds raised by the Vietnamese to keep troops in Cambodia does more. We allow us to seek the immediate withdrawal of troops and their replacement by the forces of the United Nations, as in Germany Federal.