Historical background People's Republic of Kampuchea

1 historical background

1.1 khmer rouge directs hostility against vietnam
1.2 salvation front
1.3 vietnamese invasion

historical background

the prk established in january 1979 result of process began khmer rouge belligerence.

khmer rouge directs hostility against vietnam

initially, communist north vietnam strong ally of khmer rouge while fighting against lon nol s khmer republic during 1970–1975 civil war. after khmer rouge took power things began turn sour, when on 1 may 1975 (the day after saigon fell), khmer rouge soldiers raided islands of phu quoc , tho chau, killing more 5 hundred vietnamese civilians; following attack, islands, famous providing best mắm tai anchovies, swiftly recaptured hanoi. then, first reactions of vietnamese ambiguous, , took vietnam long time react force, first impulse arrange matters within family sphere .

massacres of ethnic vietnamese , of sympathisers, destruction of vietnamese catholic churches, khmer rouge took place sporadically in cambodia under democratic kampuchea regime, in eastern zone after may 1978. 1978 vietnamese leadership decided support internal resistance pol pot , eastern zone of cambodia became focus of insurrection. in meantime, 1978 wore on, khmer rouge bellicosity in border areas surpassed hanoi s threshold of tolerance. war hysteria against vietnam reached bizarre levels within democratic kampuchea pol pot tried distract attention bloody inner purges. in may 1978, on eve of phim s eastern zone uprising, radio phnom penh declared if each cambodian soldier killed thirty vietnamese, 2 million troops needed eliminate entire vietnamese population of 50 million. appears leadership in phnom penh seized immense territorial ambitions, i.e., recover kampuchea krom, mekong delta region regarded khmer territory. in november, pro-vietnamese khmer rouge leader vorn vet led unsuccessful coup d état , subsequently arrested, tortured , executed. incidents escalated along of cambodia s borders. there tens of thousands of cambodian , vietnamese exiles on vietnamese territory, , hanoi s response half-hearted.

salvation front

the kampuchean united front national salvation (kufns or funsk) organisation pivotal in overthrowing khmer rouge , establishing prk/soc state. salvation front heterogeneous group of communist , non-communist exiles determined fight against pol pot , rebuild cambodia. led heng samrin , pen sovann, both khmer rouge defectors, in zone liberated khmer rouge after purge of eastern zone, front s foundation announced radio hanoi on 3 december 1978. of salvation front s fourteen central committee members, top 2 leaders —heng samrin, president, , joran pollie, vice-president— had been former kampuchean communist party (kcp) officials; others former khmer issarak khmer viet minh members had lived in exile in vietnam. ros samay, secretary general of kufns, former kcp staff assistant in military unit.

the government of democratic kampuchea lost no time in denouncing kufns, vietnamese political organisation khmer name, because several of key members had been affiliated kcp. despite being dependent on vietnamese protection , backing of soviet union behind scenes, kufns had immediate success among exiled cambodians. organisation provided much-needed rallying point cambodian leftists opposed khmer rouge rule, channelling efforts towards positive action instead of empty denunciations of genocidal regime. kufns provided framework of legitimacy ensuing invasion of democratic kampuchea vietnam , subsequent establishment of pro-hanoi regime in phnom penh.

vietnamese invasion

vietnamese policymakers opted military solution and, on 22 december 1978, vietnam launched offensive intent of overthrowing democratic kampuchea. invasion force of 120,000, consisting of combined armour , infantry units strong artillery support, drove west level countryside of cambodia s southeastern provinces. after seventeen-day blitzkrieg, phnom penh fell advancing vietnamese on 7 january 1979. retreating armed forces of democratic kampuchea (rak) , khmer rouge cadres burnt rice granaries, which, along other causes, provoked severe famine on cambodia beginning in last half of 1979 , lasted until mid-1980.

on 1 january 1979, salvation front s central committee proclaimed set of immediate policies applied in areas liberated khmer rouge. first communal kitchens abolished , buddhist monks brought every community reassure people. of these policies establish people s self-management committees in localities. these committees form basic administrative structure kampuchean people s revolutionary council (kprc), decreed on 8 january 1979, central administrative body prk. kprc served ruling body of heng samrin regime until 27 june 1981, when new constitution required replaced newly elected council of ministers. pen sovann became new prime minister. assisted 3 deputy prime ministers – hun sen, chan sy, , chea soth.