A short biography of the author and a brief history of Cambodia
By Mr. Aki Ra |
The article that follows is from a packet that Mr. Aki Ra wrote.
I am not sure of the exact date of my birth but I have recently had information from an old teacher telling me that I was born in 1973 making me now 27 years of age (as of 2000). I have always lived in the Siem Reap province in North West Cambodia and have spent most of my young life surrounded by guns artillery and most of all the horror of the landmine.
My parents were both killed by the Khmer Rouge for committing very simple crimes when I was only five years old and since that age I was brought by them to work in their army. I was taught to lay mines, fire guns, rocket launchers and make simple bombs. I had my first gun at the age of ten.
At the age of thirteen our village was overthrown by the Vietnamese and I was given the option of joining them or I would be killed. I was then conscripted into the Vietnamese army and went on to fight against the Khmer Rouge.
I stayed with them until 1990 when they eventually pulled their troops out of Cambodia and I went on to join the Cambodian Army still fighting against the Khmer Rouge who had strongholds around the Siem Reap area.
In 1993, the United Nations had peace keeping forces in this province and I went to work for them helping them clear the many mines that had been laid over the years by the various fighting forces.
I now work soley for the people of Cambodia and I go regularly into the rural areas to help clear the remaining mines of which there are estimated to be over 1,000,000. I have found many relics of the war as I have been clearing the mines and exhibit them at the Siem Reap landmine museum of which I am the director.
The aim of this small book is to highlight the horror of the landmine which is still prevelent in Cambodia and also share some of my experiences with its readers.
SHORT HISTORY OF CAMBODIA
The following historical account of Cambodia has been passed down to me by word of mouth.
In 1866, the French colonised Cambodia. In 1942 the Japanese invaded Cambodia and defeated the French who left to fight in Europe. In 1945, the U.S. bombed Nagasaki and Hiroshima forcing the Japanese to retreat from Cambodia. In 1946 the French returned to Cambodia to rule again. The following year saw The Ho Chi Minh, and Viet Minh armies fight the French in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos.
In 1953 Prince Sihanouk introduced the civil service for all Khmer students and by 1954 Cambodia declared independence.
Meanwhile, the Viet Minh were still prevalent in Cambodia. Dep Choun, leader of the Cambodian army was determined to overthrow Sihanouk but failed and instead Sihanouk granted Dep Choun power over Siem Reap province, Kam Phun Tom province and Battambong province.
For the next 10 years, Cambodia remained relatively peaceful under the reign of Prince Sihanouk.
In 1969, the U.S. began anti Communist bombing raids in Cambodia and Laos alongside the war in Vietnam. In 1970, General Lonol, leader of the Cambodian Army, held a successful military coup against Prince Sihanouk and he then retreated to China. From there, Sihanouk broadcasted to the Cambodian people to fight Lonols army with the support of the Viet Kong and Chinese troops. Lonol, however, had the support of powerful allies from Thailand, South Vietnam and the U.S. and by 1973 defeated the Viet Kong.
Meanwhile, in Cambodia a force called the Khmer Rouge, comprising of mainly jungle rebels were becoming a stronger army and wanted to gain power of cambodia.
Fighting continued between the Khmer Rouge and Lonols armies until the U.S. and the Southern Vietnamese along with the Thai forces pulled out of Cambodia in 1975 leaving Lonols army to fall to the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge took Phnom Penh on the 17th of April 1975 victoriously marching through the streets promising peace for Cambodia. For the next four years, the Cambodian people would suffer greatly under the leadership of a Communist dictator and Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot. His idea was to creat an Agrarian system that had everybody working in the fields in a way that took them back in time 400 years. By way of implementing this system, the Khmer Rouge took a census of every citizens job, family and possessions in order to re-organize the society. Even the calendar was turned back to the year zero. Educated people were considered the enemy and were mercilessly tortured and killed in the many killing fields around Cambodia.
The Cambodian army were forced to hand over their weapons and possessions with the promise of a new way of life. Instead they were herded onto trucks, taken into the jungles and brutally murdered. Between the years 1975 and 1979, it is estimated that over three million people died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge.
The Vietnamese once again came into Cambodia in 1979 and eventually took Phnom Penh. Life slowly returned to semi-normality for some Cambodian people but the Khmer Rouge still had many strongholds in the North Western provinces and had many camps in the jungles. There was still a lot of fighting in Cambodia until 1989 when the Vietnamese pulled out and the Cambodian army, led by Huan Sen and Sihanouk, continued to oppose the Khmer Rouge.
In 1992 the peace keeping U.N. forces arrived although fighting still continued. Also at this time there was an election which also brought on the inevitable problems in a country suffering from so much confusion and unrest. Funsenpex was eventually voted in as the new President.
It was not until 1998 that all fighting finished mainly because of the death of Pol Pot and the surrender of his right hand man Mr Tamok who surrendered under the Amnesty offered by the Cambodian government. |
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