Though he cajoled and joked his way through these talks - Sihanouk occasionally brought his poodle to the negotiations - his performance was judged by many to be a triumph of diplomacy. In , Sihanouk was appointed president, then two years later, amid the numerous twists and turns of Cambodian politics, he was, for the second time, crowned King, a position he retained until his abdication in October due to ill health.
Sihanouk did an about face on the Khmer Rouge, roundly condemning them as murderers, calling for their leaders to face trial and seeking to exclude them from any role in government. In his later years, often absent from his country to undergo medical treatment for cancer and a series of mild strokes, Sihanouk was seen less and less by his people.
But to the end he maintained their loyalty and was a vital force for unity in a turbulent part of the world. He once said it would take a Shakespeare to do literary justice to his reign. Cambodia's brutal Khmer Rouge regime. Image source, AFP. Norodom Sihanouk was vital force for unity in Cambodia. Image source, AP. Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge brought death and starvation to millions of Cambodians.
His life and public career encompassed the transition from colonial rule to independence in the s, the regional conflict in neighboring Vietnam in the s, Cambodia's subjugation under the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime in the later s, and its subsequent re-emergence as a fragile democracy in the s.
He once told his Mongolian hosts in Ulan Bator that the danger for Cambodia was not China, but Vietnam, which later invaded Cambodia and occupied it for 10 years.
Born in Phnom Penh in , Sihanouk ascended to Cambodia's throne in , when the country was still part of French Indochina, and led his country to independence from France in Two years later, Sihanouk abdicated in favor of his father, and instead served as Prime Minister. Determined to maintain his country's neutrality during the later '50s and '60s, Sihanouk pursued a series of alliances with North Vietnam and the People's Republic of China before being ousted by Prime Minister Lon Nol in a coup.
The coup led him to cast his lot with the Khmer Rouge, the radical leftist guerilla movement led by Pol Pot which seized power in and is commonly held to be responsible for the deaths of more than a million and a half Cambodians. Initially a figurehead for the Khmer Rouge, Sihanouk later effectively became their prisoner, living under house arrest in his palace until the Vietnamese invasion drove the regime from power.
Cyberattackers are caught hacking key Cambodian government institutions in what is strongly believed to be a coordinated Chinese government assault ahead of the July 29 national elections, according to an investigation by FireEye, a U.
Electioneering kicks off for the July 29 national elections. Twenty political parties are registered to participate. At the U. It includes a ban on asking detailed questions about results.
The U. Sam Rainsy said the movement's plan includes ensuring free and fair elections in Cambodia in July. Opposition leader Kem Sokha is arrested at his Phnom Penh home for alleged treason. The government accuses him of conspiring with the U. The Cambodian government forces the U. The National Assembly passes bill barring political parties from having any formal affiliation with convicted criminals. Sam Rainsy, the self-exiled leader of the CNRP, resigns in an attempt to save the party from dissolution after Prime Minister Hun Sen threatens to change the law to enable the government to dissolve parties with officials who have committed criminal offenses.
Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentences Kem Sokha to five months in prison over a case involving prostitution charges that are believed to be politically motivated. Kem Sokha does not appear in court. Kem Ley, a well-known political activist and government critic, is shot dead in broad daylight at a petrol station in central Phnom Penh, in what police say is a personal dispute over money, a claim his wife denies.
Kem Sokha goes into hiding at the CNRP headquarters to avoid arrest after being accused of procuring a prostitute. Four officials with the human rights group Adhoc, as well as the deputy secretary-general of the National Election Committee, are arrested for involvement with the alleged prostitution case against Kem Sokha. The government strips Sam Rainsy of his lawmaker status and immunity while the opposition leader is traveling outside Cambodia.
The move paves the way for arresting him in connection with a defamation case. Cambodia's National Assembly approves a controversial law that critics say gives authorities sweeping power to crack down on civil society groups challenging the government. An overhauled National Election Committee, created by bipartisan agreement, moves to spearhead electoral reform.
Military police crack down on CNRP and garment worker protest, ending months of street demonstrations that leave at least four people dead. The CPP wins the remaining 68 seats. The CNRP rejects the results and launches a high-profile boycott of parliament. King Norodom Sihanouk dies of a heart attack. He was 89 years old, and had spent most of his time after abdicating in outside Cambodia, favoring Beijing and Pyongyang. Cambodia holds its second commune elections.
The CPP wins Ranariddh flees to France. The king agrees to sign the treaty.
0コメント