Cambodia History

Cambodia - national flag

In 1993, Cambodia reintroduced its old flag, which was in use from 1948-70. The flag is based on older flags and shows in the middle the temple Angkor Vat. Between 1970 and 1993, Cambodia was communist-ruled and had alternating red (and blue) flags, as well as the temple in the center. In 1993, the country became a kingdom again. The blue color symbolizes the king's power, the white belief in the king and the red residents' willingness to die for king and country.

• Countryaah: What does the flag of Cambodia look like? Follow this link, then you will see the image in PNG format and flag meaning description about this country.

Cambodia - history

Already in the 1st century AD. Funan was founded, located in present-day Cambodia. This kingdom, which consisted of approximately 550 AD, is the earliest known state formation in Southeast Asia. Funan was a thriving kingdom with well-developed irrigation agriculture and a lively trade with China and India. After inheritance disputes had destroyed Funan and the subsequent Zhenlar kingdom, was established in the early 800-t. a new Khmer kingdom led by Jayavarman 2. He moved his capital to the Angkor area, where he and his successors had grandiose monuments built, the most famous of which is the Hindu temple Angkor Vat. Like Funan, the power of the Angkori was based on a well-developed irrigation system with rice as the main crop. A large bureaucracy controlled the population, which reached approximately 1 mio. people. I 1300-t. Angkorriget began to fall apart, presumably because the irrigation system could not cope with the population pressure, while the power of the ruling Brahmins was undermined by the population's conversion to Buddhism. These internal problems made Angkor an easy prey for invading armies from the Thai Ayutthaya kingdom. After repeated invasions in the 1300's. the capital was moved in 1431 to the Phnom Penh area. For the next four centuries there was pressure the Khmers hard between stronger Thais from the west and Vietnamese from the east. It was a period of decay and decline, and the Khmer rulers were reduced to vassals during various Thai and Vietnamese dynasties.

• AbbreviationFinder: Check three-letter abbreviation for each country in the world, such as KHM which represents the official name of Cambodia.

In 1860, Cambodia came under French rule and in 1863 became a French protectorate. During World War II, the country was occupied by the Japanese in 1941, but after the end of the war, the French tried to restore the colony. However, this met with strong opposition from, above all, the pro-communist Khmer Issarak guerrilla. The popular resistance was politically exploited by King Norodom Sihanouk, who on 9.11.1953 led the country to independence. Just over two years later, Sihanouk abdicated and became prime minister in September 1955. As such, he sought to pursue a neutral foreign policy, but the increasingly intensified war in Vietnam made these ambitions impossible. Sihanouk was overthrown in a coup in March 1970 by General Lon Nol, which struck a pro-American line. The United States invaded the country immediately after the coup in hopes of crushing the bases and supply lines of the South Vietnamese Liberation Front FNL. Although the troops were later withdrawn, heavy bombardments wreaked havoc throughout the war. Due to this development, support for a communist guerrilla known as the Khmer Rouge, the Khmer Rouge, grew. In April 1975, the guerrillas conquered Phnom Penh and established themselves as the country's new rulers.

According to a2zgov, the purpose of the Khmer Rouge was to create an egalitarian and self-sufficient peasant society, cleansed of all pernicious Western influence. To achieve this goal, it was necessary to purge all "modern" institutions and direct the population out to the villages in order for them to begin the construction of the new ideal society. This policy was carried out with great brutality; many were forcibly evacuated from the towns and suffered greatly in the newly renovated villages. Political opponents and intellectuals were persecuted and executed. Against Vietnam, the regime tried to assert Cambodia's national interests, leading to conflicts and provoking a Vietnamese invasion.

At the turn of the year 1978-79, Vietnamese troops captured Phnom Penh and deployed a puppet government led by Heng Samrin, while the Khmer Rouge was driven to the western part of the country. With this area as a base, a guerrilla war began again. In 1982, a government in exile was formed in collaboration with Sihanouk and Son Sann, who both established smaller guerrilla armies inside Cambodia. This government was officially recognized by the UN as Cambodia's legal. In the 1980's, fighting continued until a UN-sponsored conference in Paris in 1991 succeeded in mediating a ceasefire. This was followed by UN-monitored elections in 1993, but before the elections could be held, the Khmer Rouge had broken the ceasefire and resumed fighting. After the election, Prince Ranariddh becamePrime Minister and former Prime Minister Hun Sen Deputy Prime Minister. Cambodia became a monarchy again, and Sihanouk re-entered as king.

In 1994, an amnesty was introduced for Khmer Rouge guerrillas, and thousands surrendered. She Sen carried out a coup in 1997; the following year, an arrangement was reached with Ranariddh, who became chairman of the National Assembly. In 2003, there were violent anti-Thai demonstrations that cooled the relationship between the two countries; there has been sustained cool air in the following years, in 2008, when both countries moved troops to a disputed border area.

In 2004, Sihanouk chose to abdicate; he was succeeded by his son Norodom Sihamoni. She Sen has been increasingly criticized for authoritarian governance, but his government has been re-elected several times. Attempts at a showdown with leading Khmer Rouge politicians have only slowly come to fruition. The UN-backed court, which is to handle the court settlement, has had ongoing problems with obstruction from official teams. In 2007, Noun Chea, Pol Pot's deputy commander, was arrested; he was put on trial along with other Khmer Rouge leaders in 2011.