Chronology
of Cambodian History, 1985-1989
1985
Chronology Of Cambodian History
Abbreviations
on
this page
Jan. 3,
1985
Vietnam's ambassador to the UN said his country intended
to conduct war against Cambodian resistance year-round, not just in the
dry season as in the past years.
Jan. 6, 1985
Vietnamese forces captured the Khmer Rouge's camps of Nam Yun and
Chong Bok.
Jan. 7-8, 1985
KPNLF headquarters
captured. A 4000-strong Vietnamese force backed by tanks and artilleries
began their attack on Jan. 7 and overran Ampil camp, the following day
forcing 4000-5000 of its defenders to flee into
Thailand.
Jan. 9,
1985
US issue a Directive 158 concerning its
policy toward Southeast Asia (The Kampuchea Problem).
Jan. 10,
1985
Thailand and Vietnam agreed to establish a demilitarized
zone along part of Cambodia-Thai border to avoid further clashes between
the two forces. Vietnamese forces occupying Cambodia frequently cross into
Thailand in pursuit of Cambodian rebels.
Jan. 11,
1985
After losing a series of bases along Cambodia-Thai
border, Son Sann, leader of KPNLF, said at a news conference that his
forces would turn to hit-and-run guerrilla tactics against the Vietnamese
because they were not strong enough to fight a conventional
war.
Jan. 14,
1985
The 8th PRK National Assembly end its
4-days session in Phnom Penh.
Hun Sen is formally elected prime minister.
Jan. 21,
1985
Soviet Party delegation led by Ivan Kovalenko, deputy
head of International Department of USSR Party Central Committee, left
Phnom Penh after 7-days visit.
The delegation met with Premier Hun Sen and Yos Por, head of
PRK-USSR Friendship Association.
Jan. 23, 1985
China
warned that it would teach Vietnam a "second lesson" if it continue the
fighting in Cambodia. Speaking at a news conference in Bangkok, Chinese FM
Wu Xuequian said China would not stand by and permits Vietnam to continue
provoking Thailand.
Jan. 31,
1985
PRK and French Red Cross associations signed a
cooperation agreement on restoration of Anti-tuberculosis Institute, in
which the French would help construct a new 90-bed building for the
institute and send laboratory equipment and medical workers.
Feb. 3,
1985
CGDK held
its fifth cabinet meeting under chairmanship of Prince Sihanouk with Son
Sann and Khieu Samphan also participated. The meeting was held at the Khmer
Rouge’s stronghold of Phnom Malai.
Feb. 6, 1985
Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand asked
the Soviet Union to stop supporting Vietnamese forces occupying
Cambodia.
Feb. 9,
1985
Prince Sihanouk received the credentials of
ambassadors from Senegal, North Korea, Bangladesh and Mauritania in Phnom
Malai.
Feb. 11, 1985
ASEAN foreign ministers,
meeting in Bangkok, appealed to international community for military aid
for the Cambodian resistance. It was the first time that the organization
had collectively appeal for such aid for all three resistances groups in
the CGDK.
Prince Sihanouk disclosed that the Chinese leader Deng
Xiaoping had assured him China would invade Vietnam if the CGDK face
military defeat.
Feb. 12-15, 1985
Vietnamese force
captured a series of Khmer Rouge bases along Cambodia-Thai border in a
large Vietnamese offensive to push out rebels off Cambodia territory. The
base at Phnom Malai was seized on Feb. 12, Khao Din on Feb. 14 and Phum
Thmei, which had served as the capital for the coalition government, the
following day.
Feb. 19, 1985
Thailand filed a
protest with the UN accuse Vietnam of using poison gas against Cambodian
resistance forces and charged that four rockets containing phosgene gas
and hydrogen cyanide had landed on Thai territory.
Feb. 26,
1985
Prince Sihanouk proposed an international conference on
Cambodia, which he hoped would lead to the eventual formation of a
democratic government of national conciliation. The Prince made his
propose while he was in Australia for talks with Australian FM Bill
Hayden.
March 5, 1985
Vietnamese forces launched an
offensive against the last major resistance base, Tatum that was
headquarters of guerrillas loyal to Prince Sihanouk, and captured it a
week later. By capturing Tatum, Vietnamese forces occupying Cambodia
completed their sweeping of Cambodian resistance bases along the border
with Thailand.
March 6, 1985
China rejected Prince
Sihanouk's proposal for an international conference on Cambodia without
precondition, and reiterated its position that Vietnam must withdraw from
Cambodia before any talks could be held.
March 8, 1985
Vietnam agreed to an international conference on Cambodia, which
was proposed by Prince Sihanouk on Feb. 26, but on condition that the
Khmer Rouge must be excluded.
March 9,
1985
Phnom Penh news agency SPK announced the reshuffling
of cabinet: Finance Minister Chan Phin was named to serve concurrently as
minister for local and foreign trade, while the departing Minister Tang
Saroem would head the Ministry for Economic and Cultural Cooperation with
Foreign Countries; Ma Sabun was named to head the Ministry for Social
Action and Invalids; Deputy Defense Minister Tea Banh became minister of
Communications, Transport and Posts, replacing Khun Chhy who was named
designate minister attached to the offices of the Council of
Ministers.
March
12, 1985
Chinese President Li Xiannian, on his visit to
Thailand, pledged to continue support for the CGDK in struggling against
the Vietnamese's occupation of Cambodia.
PRK PM Hun Sen outlines six requirement for
Kampuchean settlement: (1) Elimination of Pol Pot forces by political and
military fields; (2) withdrawal of Vietnamese troops after Pol Pot is
eliminated; (3) free and supervised elections can be held immediately if
certain individuals and groups join PRK against Pol Pot gang; (4) creation
of peaceful coexistence and stability among SE Asian countries with
different social and political regimes; (5) cessation of all interference
by countries outside the region; and (6) creation of international
guarantees and supervision of above agreements.
March 20,
1985
The U.S. House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Asian and
Pacific affairs voted to provide aid to two non-communist Cambodian rebels
led by Prince Sihanouk and former PM Son Sann. The fund of $5 million,
which channel through Thailand, could be used for military
purchases.
March 28,
1985
PRK Ministry of Defense and Vietnam announced a
partial withdrawal of some of 15,000 Vietnamese troops from Kampuchea
beginning early April.
April 3,
1985
CGDK announced in Bangkok it had decided to form a
joint permanent body to improve coordination among the three resistance
groups.
April 23,
1985
PRK announced a bounty program for defectors from the
resistance groups. The
payment for individual was 200-1000 Riels, documents 500-1000 Riels,
weapons 200-1000 Riels.
Prince Sihanouk, who was in Pyongyang, said he had
decided to resign as president of the CGDK, citing poor
health.
April 24,
1985
The UN special envoy in charge of coordination
humanitarian aid to Kampuchea departed Phnom Penh after 6-days visit to
assess the country food situation.
May 2,
1985
Japan appointed Shintaro Yamashita, official in the
Japanese embassy to Bangkok, as charge d’affairs ad interim for CGDK. Cambodian resistance had urged
Japan to name an ambassador to its government.
May 6,
1985
PRK delegation led by Bou Thang departed Phnom Penh
for Moscow to attend the 40th anniversary of the defeat of
Germany in World War II. The
day was also celebrated in Phnom Penh.
May 15, 1985
US Sen. Murkowski introduces S.AMDT.123;
Sen. Dole introduces S.AMDT.143
May 19,
1985
A USSR military
delegation headed by Lt. Gen. V.S. Nechayev arrived in Phnom Penh for a
visit.
May 21,
1985
Sierra Leone granted diplomatic recognition to the
CGDK.
May 30,
1985
UN Economic and Social Council passed a draft
resolution on violation of human rights in Kampuchea and other
countries. Vietnam UN
Ambassador Le Kim Chung denounced the vote as a gross interference in the
internal affairs of a sovereign country.
June 1,
1985
A Vietnam Party-State delegation headed by Truong
Chinh arrived in Phnom Penh for a 5-days goodwill visit.
June 27,
1985
A CGDK official, Gen. Dien Del, announced plan for
the creation of a single command for the ANS and KPNLAF, which had a
combined force of about 25,000.
July 1,
1985
The second annual Indochina Planning Conference
opened in Phnom Penh to work out a Five Year Plan (1986-90). Kampuchea represented by Chea
Soth, Vietnam by Vo Van Kiet and Laos by Sali Vongkhamsao.
July 3,
1985
Prince Sihanouk, in Beijing, expressed strong support
for the Thai’s proposal of indirect talks to settle Kampuchea
problem. He said the proposal
was similar to the formula used with the Viet Minh at the 1954 Geneva
Conference.
July 8,
1985
ASEAN, at its 18th ministerial meeting in
Kuala Lumpur, issued a joint statement reaffirm its 4-pionts position for
settling Kampuchea problem: (1) withdrawal of foreign forces from
Kampuchea; (2) establish a UN supervisor and control commission; (3)
national reconciliation base on self-determination; and (4) UN supervised
elections.
U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz met with top
CGDK leaders in Bangkok and condemned Vietnamese occupation of
Kampuchea. Present at the
meeting were Prince Ranariddh, representing Prince Sihanouk; Gen. Sak
Sutsakhan, KPNLAF Commander-in-Chief; and Dr. Abdul Gaffar, a senior KPNLF
official.
July 9,
1985
The U.S. House of Representatives, in vote of
288-122, approved amendment authorizing $10 million for FY 1986 and 1987
for military and economic aid to the non-communist resistance in
Kampuchea.
July 12-13, 1985
Japan proposed peace for
Cambodia. At a ministerial meeting of ASEAN in Jakarta, Indonesia,
Japanese FM Shintaro Abe announced his country's three-point peace plan
for Cambodia: 1-Japan would support peacekeeping forces in the area after
a phased Vietnamese withdrawal. 2-Democratic nations would dispatch
personnel to supervise elections in an independent Cambodia. 3-Japan would
provide economic cooperation and technical assistance for reconstruction
in the Indochinese countries.
July 18,
1985
CGDK official Ieng Thirith and delegation arrived in
Nairobi to attend Conference on UN Decade for Women. PRK FM Hun Sen sent message to UN
Secretary General Perez de Cuellar protesting the presence of CGDK
delegation.
Vietnam Ambassador to Thailand Tran Quan Co dismissed
idea of a direct of indirect meeting between Vietnamese and Prince
Sihanouk.
Aug. 1,
1985
Malaysian Deputy FM abdul Kadir Shiekh said the
Soviet Union ruled out any direct role for itself in settlement of the
Kampuchean problem.
Aug. 3,
1985
Prince Ranariddh told journalists he had just spent
four days in the resistance held area and was encouraged by the spirit
even though medical and other services in the pro-Sihanouk villages were
very poor.
Aug. 16,
1985
The 11th Indochinese Foreign Ministers
Conference ended its 2-days session in Phnom Penh. On Kampuchea issue, the ministers
said they find acceptable to the idea of Hanoi and Jakarta acting as
respective “interlocutors” to get negotiations started.
Aug. 20,
1985
Prince Sihanouk said he would not meet with Heng
Samrin or anyone from the PRK to discuss peace in Kampuchea, and Son Sann
also rejected face-to-face talks with Hun Sen. Both said they must deal with the
Vietnamese if a meaningful political settlement was to be
reached.
Aug. 24,
1985
Gen. Sak Sutsakhan, KPNLAF Commander-in-Chief, was
named commander-in-chief of the newly formed Joint Military Command with
Gen. Teap Ben of the National Sihanoukist Army (NSA), as his deputy. Gen. Toan Chay (NSA) was named JMC
Chief of Staff with Dr. Abdul Gaffar (KPNLF) as his deputy.
Khmer Rouge issued an announcement saying, (1)
National Army of Democratic Kampuchea High Military Committee was
abolished; (2) Defense chief Son Sen had been named chairman of the High
Command of the NADK; and (3) Pol Pot had retired from his military duties,
and he was taking a position of Chairman of the High Institute for
National Defense, a research and development organ.
Aug. 28,
1985
Prince Sihanouk chaired the CGDK Council of Ministers
meeting in Kampuchea; and received the credentials of new envoys from
China and Bangladesh.
Sept. 23,
1985
PRK Council of State decreed compulsory military
service in Kampuchea. Five
years of service was required for all males between 18 and 30 years of
age.
Oct. 5,
1985
PRK launched an ambitious effort to expand and
develop the Kampuchean People’s Army, political commissar Cheang Am told
an interviewer. The officer
corps would be drawn from the remaining Issarak army.
Oct. 10,
1985
Phnom Penh’s new shopping center (former central
market) officially opened, offering food, art objects, household articles,
and other consumer goods.
Oct. 13, 1985
The fifth congress of the Kampuchean People's
Revolutionary Party (KPRP) was held in Phnom Penh with 250 delegates
representing 7,500 Party members in 22 regional branches, and also
representatives and observers from about 15 socialist countries and
foreign communist parties. Heng Samrin was re-elected as party general
secretary.
Oct. 17,
1985
PRACHEACHON, KPRP official newspaper, began its
publication in Phnom Penh, editing by Mme. Som Kimsuor - a Party Central
Committee member.
Oct. 18,
1985
Lon Nol, the former president of the Khmer Republic,
died in a Fullerton, Calif., hospital at age 72. He had been in poor health since
suffering a stroke in 1971.
Nov. 5, 1985
The UN
General Assembly adopted a resolution A/RES/40/7, by
vote of 114-21 with 16 abstentions, calling for the immediate withdrawal
of all foreign forces from Cambodia.
Nov. 6,
1985
Vietnamese forces were reported move a large number
of troops toward Thai-Kampuchean border in anticipation of the start of
another dry season offensive against resistance forces.
Nov. 10,
1985
Italian PM Bettino Craxi assured Prince Sihanouk, on
tour in Europe, that his government would continue to support the CGDK as
the sole legal government of Kampuchea.
Nov. 15,
1985
PRK State Council named Tep Hen as new ambassador to
Vietnam and Sok An as ambassador to India.
CGDK VP Khieu Samphan, in an interview upon his
return from UNGA meeting in New York, predicted heavy Vietnamese dry
season offensive against resistance forces.
Dec. 7,
1985
CGDK top leaderships, Prince Sihanouk, Khieu Samphan
and Son Sann, arrived in Beijing for a 4-days official consultations with
Chinese officials, including Deng Xiaoping.
Dec. 27,
1985
Son Sann, CGDK prime minister and KPNLF president,
said the factional dispute within the coalition government would be
resolved very soon. Intensive
maneuvering and political infighting within the resistance organization
had embroiled for sometimes, with which much of it was blamed on Son
Sann.
PRK and Vietnam signed a “treaty on principles for
settling border problems” between the two countries. NA Chairman Chea Sim signed for
Kampuchea and FM Nguyen Co Thach for Vietnam.
Dec. 28,
1985
CGDK issued a statement denouncing the border treaty
concluded by the PRK and Vietnam, saying the agreement in fact abolishes
the border between Kampuchea and Vietnam and that it was signed by the PRK
under duress.
1986
Chronology Of Cambodian History
Abbreviations
on this page
Jan. 2,
1986
The Khmer Rouge radio reported Pol Pot as saying that
he would withdraw from all military and political activities if Vietnamese
troops were withdrawn from Kampuchea.
Jan. 13,
1986
U.S. authorized $3.5 million in non-lethal aid for
two non-communist resistance forces, KPNLF and FUNCINPEC.
PRK and USSR signed in Phnom Penh a protocol on
economic aid and trade cooperation for 1986-90.
Jan. 29,
1986
CGDK ambassador to the UN Ngo Hac Team, in a new
conference in Geneva, claimed that Vietnam had sent 700,000 of its citizen
to settle in Kampuchea, and the newcomers were moving into the best areas
of the country.
Feb. 3,
1986
Phnom Penh observed 56th anniversary of
Indochinese Communist Party and 7th anniversary of
Kampuchea-Vietnam Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation.
Feb. 21,
1986
PRK President Heng Samrin departed Phnom Penh for
Moscow to attend the 27th CPSU Congress and meet with CPSU Gen.
Sec. Mikhail Gorbachev.
March 5,
1986
CGDK Minister of Health Thiounn Thoeun issued a
statement charging Vietnamese forces of employing chemical warfare in
Kampuchea.
March 10,
1986
UN Human Rights Commission, at its 42nd
session, adopted resolution calling for withdrawal of foreign forces from
Kampuchea.
March 17-19, 1986
CGDK, at a conference
in Beijing, on March 17 issued an eight-point peace proposal calling for:
(1) CGDK and Vietnam negotiate two-phase withdrawal of Vietnamese troops
from Kampuchea; (2) cease-fire during the withdrawal; (3) withdrawal must
be supervised by UN observers; (4) CGDK and PRK to set up a coalition
government with Prince Sihanouk as President and Son Sann as prime
minister, and full political rights being extended to all Kampucheans; (5)
free elections under UN supervision; (6) Kampuchea’s sovereignty and
neutrality to be guaranteed by UN for two-three years. Government to be
neutral, non-aligned, with no foreign troops present; (7) reconstruction
aid to be accepted from all nations; (8) Kampuchea and Vietnam to sign
non-aggression, peaceful coexistence treaty. On March 19, Vietnam rejected the
proposal calling it "unjust" and "hostile".
March 18,
1986
PRK Council of State announced several high level
reassignments and appointments: former Interior Minister Khang Sarin was
appointed president of People’s Supreme Court; former Deputy Minister of
Education Chan Min to be chief judge of PSC; Deputy Minister of Interior
Ney Pena was promoted to Minister of Interior; First Deputy Minister of
Finance Chhay Than was promoted to minister; Central Committee member Say
Chhum became Minister of Agriculture; and former Agriculture Minister Kong
Sam Ol to became cabinet member in charge of agriculture and rubber
plantation.
April 7,
1986
Prince Sihanouk and Prince Monique left Beijing for
Pyongyang. (FAB
#3)
April 10,
1986
Prince Sihanouk met with North Korean President Kim
Il Sung, who assured the Korea’s full support of the Prince’s 8 Point
Peace Proposal. (FAB
#3)
April 29, 1986
ASEAN ministers endorsed the peace plan proposed on March 17 by
the CGDK, calling it a reasonable attempt to find a just and durable
solution to the war in Cambodia.
July 1,
1986
Prince Sihanouk left Pyongyang for Beijing to begin
his latest diplomatic rounds.
July 7,
1986
Indian charge d’affairs in Phnom Penh said his
government had signed an agreement to help restore Angkor Wat, which would
began in October.
July 10,
1986
The new DK ambassador to Pakistan, Chan Youran,
presented his credentials to President Mohammed Ziaul Haq.
PRK announced the death of Le Duan and declared a
5-days mourning. President
Heng Samrin would lead a delegation to Duan’s funeral on July 13. In Beijing, Prince Sihanouk
expressed condolences on Duan’s death but said it would not bring any
change in Vietnam’s policy toward Kampuchea.
July 11,
1986
European Parliament adopted a resolution supporting
CGDK 8-points peace proposal and condemned human rights violations in
Kampuchea.
July 16,
1986
The Third Plenum of the fifth KPRP Central Committee
Congress concluded its 7-days session in Phnom Penh.
July 22,
1986
ASEAN countries launched their annual campaign for UN
support for their position on Kampuchea, with special delegations visited
Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.
July 24,
1986
CGDK Vice-President Khieu Samphan ended a 7-days
visit to Zambia.
July 30,
1986
PRK Minister of Agriculture Kong Sam Ol made an
urgent appeal for aid to alleviate food shortages cause by a 6-week long
food.
A Nicaraguan delegation led by Henry Ruiz concluded a
2-days friendship visit to Phnom Penh. The delegation met with Heng
Samrin and Say Phuthang.
Aug. 2,
1986
Prince Sihanouk arrived in Singapore for meeting with
FM Dhanabalan and other officials.
Dhanabalan proposed additions to the CGDK 8-point proposal, in
which all fighting forces must be disarmed and peacekeeping forces be
stationed in Kampuchea after Vietnamese withdrawal.
Aug. 5,
1986
Prince Sihanouk said China supports plan to reduce
Khmer Rouge forces to the size of ANS and KPNLF forces.
Aug. 8,
1986
Indonesia FM Mokhatar Kusumaatmaja endorsed Australia
FM Bill Hayden’s proposal to put Pol Pot on trial.
Aug. 16,
1986
Prince Sihanouk addressed Foreign Correspondents Club
in Bangkok, expressing pessimism on possibilities for a negotiated
settlement or that next generation of Vietnamese leaders would be more
reasonable about Kampuchea.
Aug. 19,
1986
PRK National Assembly delegation led by Chairman Chea
Sim arrived in Moscow for a friendship visit.
Prince Sihanouk arrived in Jakarta for a 4-days
visit.
Aug. 27,
1986
Prince Sihanouk, in Bangkok, told news reporters
Khmer Rouge earlier in the month attached an ANS-controlled village in
Siem Reap province, killing 2 villagers, 2 ANS and 5 KPNLF soldiers and
evacuated the entire village.
The PRK Education Ministry concluded a 5-days
conference at Kampuchean-Soviet Friendship Institute of Technology at
which three documents were studied: vocational training in general
education; ideology, politics and revolutionary ethics training; and
education management at the provincial and municipal level.
Sept. 6,
1986
Prince Sihanouk, Khieu Samphan and Son Sann arrived
in Beijing for high level CGDK meeting.
Sept. 17,
1986
Hun Sen sent message to UN reiterating his government
opposition to CGDK 8-points proposal, calling for international trial of
“Polpotists” and unseating the CGDK delegation.
KUFNCD National Council issued directive on Phchum
Ben and Kathen festivals, urging they be occasions to remember victims of
Pol Pot.
Sept. 26,
1986
Delegates from news agencies in 14 socialist
countries arrived in Phnom Penh on tour. They were received by PM Hun Sen
and visited the Tuol Sleng museum and Angkor Wat.
Thai Supreme Command Information Office said the
situation along the Thai-Kampuchea border had become more violent, and
claimed that more than half million land-mines were being planted by the
PRK and Vietnamese troops.
Oct. 3,
1986
PRK President Heng Samrin met with Andrei Gromyko in
Moscow to discuss foreign policy and Soviet economic development
assistance to the PRK.
Oct. 21, 1986
The UN General
Assembly adopted a resolution A/RES/41/6, by vote of
116-21 with 13 abstentions, calling for a withdrawal of Vietnamese forces
from Cambodia.
Nov. 2,
1986
ASEAN sent Canberra an official letter expressing its
dissatisfaction over the opening of an Australian office in Phnom Penh to
oversee Australian humanitarian aid to Kampuchea.
Nov. 4,
1986
PRK and USSR signed a two-year agreement, in which
USSR would help develop the PRK’s institutions of education, publishing,
television and radio broadcasting, information dissemination, and
culture.
Nov. 8,
1986
PRK PM Hun Sen said the CGDK still caused real
difficulties for the Phnom Penh regime but no longer threatens its
existence, and that he hoped but not expect any political settlement to
Kampuchea conflict in the near future.
Nov. 11,
1986
Khmer Rouge and ANS announced plans to launch their
first joint military operation inside Kampuchea. Prince Sisowath Sirirath said the
agreement was reached between Prince Sihanouk and Khieu Samphan during
their stay in New York.
Nov. 27,
1986
PRK PM Hun Sen told journalist in Moscow that his
government position on the settlement of Kampuchea conflict remains
unchanged; it should be pursued in negotiations between the Indochinese
and ASEAN states.
Dec. 3,
1986
UN announced the closing of its special office to
coordinate Kampuchea humanitarian aid, citing the lack of
fund.
Dec. 10, 1986
Phnom Penh radio announced a major PRK cabinet reshuffle, saying
as of Dec. 3 Premier Hun Sen had been stripped of his positions as foreign
minister and chairman of the party's foreign affairs commission, and two
ministers had been dropped from the cabinet. The two ministers were
Defense Minister Bou Thang and Planning Minister Chea Soth. Both were also
deputy prime minister. Bou Thang was replaced as defense minister by his
deputy, Koy Buntha, who was also the army chief of staff. Chea Soth was
replaced by Chea Chanto, a former deputy director of the national bank and
foreign trade bank. Deputy FM Kong Korm would take over Hun Sen's post as
foreign minister, and Yos Son was named the new chairman of the KPRP
Central Committee's foreign relations panel.
Dec. 16,
1986
PRK President Heng Samrin met with a top Kremlin
official, Yegor Ligachov, in Hanoi where the two were attending the CPV
Sixth Congress.
1987
Chronology Of Cambodian History
Abbreviations
on this page
Jan. 12,
1987
CGDK President Prince Sihanouk met with Romanian
President Nicolae Ceausescu in Bucharest where Prince Sihanouk made a
week-long visit.
Jan. 22,
1987
Heng Samrin told a Cuban journalist that the PRK
ready to establish a demilitarized zone along the Thai-Kampuchean border
under international supervision and control but Thailand consistently had
rejected the idea.
Jan. 28,
1987
An East German delegation arrived in Phnom Penh for
an official visit; the delegation signed a number of documents with the
PRK.
Soviet Committee for Television and Radio
Broadcasting delegation concluded a 9-days visit with signing of a
cooperation protocol with its PRK counterpart in Phnom Penh.
Jan. 30,
1987
ASEAN protested the invitation of PRK to participate
in a UNESCO congress by the UNESCO Commission for Geologic Map of the
World due to be held Feb. 9-13 in Paris. ASEAN representatives to UNESCO
met with the CGMW Sec. Gen., who apologized for the error and said CGMW
would not invite the PRK to the coming or future meeting.
Feb. 3,
1987
USSR embassy in Beijing released a statement
rejecting Prince Sihanouk’s call for direct talks between CGDK, USSR and
Vietnam on Kampuchea. The
statement said proposed talks should be put to the PRK government in Phnom
Penh.
Feb. 8,
1987
The top political commissars of the three Indochinese
armies - PAVN’s Lt. Gen. Nguyen Quyet, LPA’s Lt. Gen. Osaken and KPRAF’s
El Vansarat - concluded a 3-days meeting in Phnom Penh on the Party’s role
in the military.
Feb. 16,
1987
PRK Ministry of Education formally opened a branch of
the Moscow-based Pushkin Russian Language Institute at the PRK-USSR
Friendship Institute of Technology in Phnom Penh.
Feb. 18,
1987
PRK and Poland signed a 1987 trade agreement in Phnom
Penh, in which Kampuchea was to export rubber, timber, furniture,
soybeans, sesame and other farm products in exchange for anti-rust paint,
soldering-rods, sewing machines, boat engines, raw materials for medicine
and other consumer goods.
Feb. 24,
1987
Four Thai fishing boats and 80 crewmembers were
seized by PRK soldiers near Chao Island off Kampuchean coast.
March 14, 1987
Indonesian FM Mokhtar Kusumaatmaja said ASEAN had
received no new official peace initiatives from Vietnam during the past
few months. He said the
sticking point in solving the Kampuchea conflict remain getting Vietnam to
agree to discuss peace with all elements of the CGDK.
March 17,
1987
PRK and USSR signed in Phnom Penh a protocol on the
dispatching of Soviet specialists and materials to Kampuchea. The specialists would assist
Kampuchea in geological research and in improving various branches of the
industry.
March 27,
1987
Son Sann and Gen Sak Sutsakhan, in a show of unity,
paid a visit to a border refugee camp together, and issued a statement
saying their year-long rift was now over.
April 3,
1987
PRK protested the agreement signed in Bangkok on
March 25 between CGDK, ASEAN nations, Japan and China to establish a
coordinating committee to develop Kampuchea offshore oil
resources.
April 6,
1987
PRK National Assembly issued a statement endorsing
Syria’s protest of alleged atrocities committed by Israel in the Golan
Heights.
April 8,
1987
The third Indochinese Civil Aviation Conference
concluded its 3-days session in Phnom Penh.
April 12,
1987
Son Sann criticized Vietnam for violating human
rights, destroying Buddhism and national tradition of
Kampuchea.
April 19,
1987
PRK Foreign Trade Bank issued a communiqué
authorizing overseas Cambodian and foreigners to transfer money to their
relatives and friends in Cambodia.
April 24,
1987
Prince Ranariddh claimed he received a letter from
PRK PM Hun Sen proposing direct talks with him anywhere; however, the
prince said he cannot agree to such talk because the problem was not just
Cambodians by between Cambodia and Vietnam.
April 25,
1987
A delegation of the Cuban Commission for Economic,
Scientific and Technical Cooperation arrived in Phnom Penh for the third
session with its Kampuchean counterpart. An agreement on cooperation for
1987-88 was signed, under which Cuba would send more technical experts and
doctors to Kampuchea and train Kampuchean students.
May 5,
1987
A KPNLF communiqué conceded for the first time that
the rebel organization had only 8004 armed combatants in contrast to a
previous statement claiming more than 20,000 soldiers.
May 7,
1987
Prince Sihanouk announced he was taking a leave of
absence for one year in reaction to an April 26 Khmer Rouge attack on ANS
forces, killing 2 and wounding 12 others, and he would extend it for
another year or indefinitely if the Khmer Rouge continue to violate human
rights in their camps as reported by international human rights
groups.
May 12,
1987
A delegation of Vietnam Ministry of Supply departed
Kampuchea after a 5-days visit.
An agreement was signed in which Vietnam would help Kampuchea in
transporting gasoline and expanding a fuel station at Russei Keo capable
of holding 6,500 cubic meters of fuel.
May 13,
1987
CGDK PM Son Sann concluded his 3-days visit to Site 2
camp. He expressed support
for Indonesian proposal of unofficial meeting of all four Kampuchean
factions by said Vietnam must talk with the CGDK first.
June 3,
1987
Amnesty International released a report detailing
brutal and systematic torture of political prisoners in PRK prisons and
human rights abuses in camps controlled by the Khmer Rouge and
KPNLF.
June
12, 1987
PRK and USSR signed an
agreement on economic cooperation, under which the USSR would assist
Kampuchea in establishing three maintenance stations for tractors and
other agricultural machines and provide nine mobile repair shops. The agreement also calls for 45
Kampucheans to be sent to the USSR for professional and technical training
over a three-months period.
July 1,
1987
PRK PM Hun Sen met with USSR FM Eduard Shevardnadze
in Moscow. Both discussed
Soviet-Kampuchea relations and related issues.
July 3,
1987
Indian FM Natwar Singh arrived in Phnom Penh for a
4-days and met with his PRK counterpart Kong Korm and President Heng
Samrin, who told Indian correspondent that India could play a crucial role
in a Kampuchea settlement.
July 19,
1987
U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, in Singapore,
said the selection of Pham Hung as Vietnam PM and Vo Chi Cong as president
seemed to snuff out hope for Hanoi flexibility in solving Cambodian
problem and added that U.S. and ASEAN would continue the strategy of
supporting Cambodian non-communist resistance forces and isolating Vietnam
economically and diplomatically.
July 28,
1987
PRK President Heng Samrin met with Soviet leader
Michail Gorbachev in Moscow.
Both discussed Soviet-Kampuchean relations and related
issues.
Aug. 27,
1987
PRK announced a Declaration of National
Reconciliation Policy, which calling for an independent, non-aligned,
prosperous Kampuchea without the threat of Pol Pot genocide. It was seen an overture to the
resistance forces.
Aug. 29,
1987
CGDK leaders, Prince Sihanouk, Son Sann and Khieu
Samphan, arrived in Beijing for a 5-days visit.
Oct. 8,
1987
PRK issued a “Declaration on a Political Solution to
the Kampuchean Problem”, calling for: (1) a PRK-Sihanouk meeting; (2)
complete withdrawal of Vietnamese troops from Kampuchea simultaneously
with the halt of aid and sanctuary for the resistance forces; (3) general
election with foreign observers in order to establish a coalition
government; (4) negotiations with Thailand to establish a secure and
peaceful border between the two country; and (5) an international
conference to guarantee the agreement reached. [Statement in Cambodian and
English]
Oct. 14, 1987
The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution A/RES/42/3 calling for
the immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops from Cambodia.
Oct. 21,
1987
PRK government devalued the Riel against the U.S.
dollar from R30-$1 to R100-$1.
Oct. 28,
1987
PRK President Heng Samrin, PM Hun Sen and other
officials departed Phnom Penh for Moscow to attend the 70th
anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution.
Nov. 17,
1987
PRK and USSR signed a 1988 trade and payment
agreement.
Nov. 28,
1987
Three PRK cabinet ministers were elevated to the rank
of vice premier: Say Chhum of Agriculture, Tea Banh of Communication,
Transportation and Posts, Kong Sam Ol - minister attached to the Council
of Ministers.
Dec. 4, 1987
Prince Sihanouk and PRK PM Hun Sen ended a three-days of talks in
Fere-En-Tardenois, France, and issued a joint communiqué stating that the
Kampuchean problem required a political not military solution, the problem
must be solved by the Kampucheans through negotiations, international
conference to guarantee agreement reached, and the two sides would met
again in January 1988.
Dec. 5,
1987
The first national congress of Kampuchean Journalists
Associations concluded a 3-days session in Phnom Penh. The KJA elected Som Kimsuor
(editor of Pracheachon) as its president, Khieu Kanharit (editor of
Kampuchea) and Em Sam An (director of SPK) as vice-presidents. It also selected a 17-person
executive committee.
Dec. 24,
1987
The People’s National Bank of Kampuchea put into
circulation a new five and ten Riel bank notes, in an effort to deal with
an increasingly serious problem of counterfeit currency circulating in the
country.
Dec. 30,
1987
PRK FM Kong Korm was relieved of his post and
appointed Minister for Social Development and Culture. PM Hun Sen assumed the vacated
post.
Dec. 31,
1987
PRK and Afghanistan signed a treaty of friendship and
cooperation in Phnom Penh.
1988
Chronology Of Cambodian History
Abbreviations
on this page
Jan. 2,
1988
PRK PM Hun Sen telegram to Prince Sihanouk in Paris
“…I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of Samdech’s telegram dated
December 30th 1987….I am ready to pay a visit to Samdech and to
pursue our dialogue in France before Samdech’s departure.” Prince Sihanouk replied to the
Premier’s telegram “….your telegram dated January 2nd 1988, I
have the honor to let you know that I will received you in France for a
second round of talks on Cambodia on a date that you would like to
choose.” (FAB
#27)
Jan. 3,
1988
Prince Sihanouk, in Paris, said he would meet with PM
Hun Sen this month in France, not in Pyongyang as previously announced,
citing the request by French PM Jacques Chirac for him (Prince Sihanouk)
to remain in France until the end of the month. (FAB
#27)
Jan. 5,
1988
CGDK PM Son Sann appealed to the Kampuchean people to
pray for Vietnamese troops withdrawal from Kampuchea on the ninth
anniversary of the Vietnamese capture of Phnom Penh.
Prince Sihanouk’s aid, in Paris, said the second
round of talks between the Prince and PM Hun Sen would start around
January 20th.
Jan. 11,
1988
SPK announced the departure of PM Hun Sen from Phnom
Penh for a second round of talks with Prince Sihanouk. (FAB
#27)
Jan. 14,
1988
Thai PM Prem Tinsulanonda, in the opening statement
at the ASEAN summit in Manila, urged Vietnam “to take ASEAN’s proffered
solution seriously and get down to genuine exploration with Prince
Sihanouk of the terms of a political settlement to the Kampuchean
problem. It is unrealistic
for Vietnam to avoid talking directly with Prince Sihanouk if it is truly
seeking a political solution.” (FAB
#27)
Jan. 16,
1988
CGDK PM Son Sann appealed “to all supporters of the
Kampuchean cause to continue their sanctions against the Vietnamese
aggressors to prevent the subjugation of the Kampuchea people, as these
measure are essential to our present struggle for survival.” (FAB
#27)
Jan. 19,
1988
Prince Sihanouk and Son Sann met in Paris to discuss
their differences, especially, Son Sann’s refusal to negotiate with PRK
without Vietnam’s participation and Vietnamese promise in writing to
withdraw its troops from Cambodia.
Vietnamese FM Nguyen Co Thach, in Ho Chi Minh City,
said that talks between opposing Kampuchean leaders starting in Paris
tomorrow could “create conditions for a breakthrough.” He also said the resistance group
did not control a single district of Kampuchea and that their attacks were
“just a skin disease, not a cancer.” (FAB
#27)
Jan. 20,
1988
Prince Sihanouk and PRK PM Hun Sen met for second
round of talks in Saint Germain-en-Laye, France.
Jan. 23,
1988
Thai FM Siddhi Savetsila, talking to the Nation
Review, said that he had not seen any real sign of Hanoi’s readiness to
accept a political solution to the Kampuchean conflict.
Jan. 24,
1988
PRK, for the first time, officially said it was
willing to deal with Khmer Rouge leaders Khieu Samphan. Vice-premier Chea Soth, however,
said the offer did not extend to Pol Pot or to other certain unnamed Khmer
Rouge figures, and his government would have no objection to Prince
Sihanouk as the chief of state in some new coalition
government.
Jan. 25,
1988
PRK PM Hun Sen, in Phnom Penh, said he and Prince
Sihanouk would meet in Pyongyang in April, again in Paris at the end of
1988, and for the fifth time in New Delhi in 1989.
Jan. 26,
1988
KPNLF’s Bangkok office, in a statement to news
agencies, said “the KPNLF views the formation of a two-party government
envisaged at the second round of talks between Prince Sihanouk and PM Hun
Sen in France, if realized without negotiations with the CGDK and all
parties concerned, as falling within the Vietnamese ploy.” Prince Sihanouk, however, said his
latest idea of a new governing system in Kampuchea would be a
quadripartite rather than a bipartite one, and it would be an interim
government. (FAB
#27)
Jan. 27,
1988
Thai FM Siddhi, in his address to the Foreign
Correspondents Club of Thailand, said on the Kampuchean problem “so far,
there seems to be no sign yet of the light at the end of the tunnel…. the talks probably will continue
to drag on without any significant breakthrough.” (FAB
#27)
Jan. 28,
1988
PRK PM Hun Sen arrived in Hanoi from Moscow for
meetings with Vietnam FM Nguyen Co Thach and to report on session with
Prince Sihanouk in France.
Jan. 30,
1988
Prince Sihanouk, in Beijing, announced his
resignation as president of CGDK, citing Son Sann and KPNLF’s hostility
“the KPNLF and its President have not hesitated to unjustly accuse me of
‘national treason’ by playing the games of the Vietnamese colonialists”,
and named his son Prince Ranariddh as his representative to the CGDK. Prince Sihanouk also cancelled his
upcoming meeting in Pyongyang with PRK Premier Hun Sen. (FAB
#27)
Feb. 1,
1988
Khieu Samphan and Son Sann, according to Xinhua News
Agency, sent an appeal to Prince Sihanouk in Beijing urging him “to
continue his post as president of Democratic Kampuchea and continue to
lead the CGDK.” (FAB
#28)
Feb. 2,
1988
Indonesian FM, Mochtar Kusumaatmadja, said the
meeting between Prince Sihanouk and PRK PM, Hun Sen, in France did not
produce great results, but the two leaders did allow the two opposing
sides to discuss their own affairs for the first time. (FAB#28)
Feb. 3,
1988
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Li Jinhau, at a
weekly briefing, expressed her government support of Prince Sihanouk’s
effort to open a dialogue with Vietnam, “as a major party on the question
of Kampuchea, Vietnamese should talk with Prince Sihanouk and the relevant
parties concerned in Kampuchea,” asked about proposals that the Khmer
Rouge be disarmed as part of a peace process, the spokeswoman said, “while
Vietnam still persists in its aggression and occupation of Kampuchea, how
could the patriotic troops and people of Kampuchea lay down their
arm?” In an interview
with the Nation Review in Bangkok, Son Sann said that Prince Sihanouk
would go to France again to meet the Vietnamese after the Prince meeting
in Beijing with Chinese leaders.
Son Sann also said Hanoi would propose a two-party government
between the Vietnamese-backed PRK and the Sihanoukist faction, with the
Prince as Head of State, but Prince Sihanouk would reject the offer and
would instead suggest a four-party government to include the other Khmer
resistance factions.
Feb. 4,
1988
Radio Hanoi quoted spokesman Trinh Xuan Lang as
saying that Vietnam welcomed Prince Sihanouk’s resignation from his post
of President of CGDK. But
Lang added that despite Prince Sihanouk’s appeal for Vietnam to join
future peace talks, Hanoi would not participate until Cambodians warring
factions had reached an agreement among themselves.
Feb. 5,
1988
The Soviet official news agency Tass reported that
USSR leader, Mikhail Gorvachev, met with Indonesian FM, Machtar
Kusumaatmadja, in Moscow to discuss international issues including the
Kampuchea conflict.
Feb. 6,
1988
Khmer Rouge leader, Khieu Samphan, arrived in Beijing
to ask Prince Sihanouk to reverse his decision of resigning from the
presidency of CGDK.
Feb. 8,
1988
Prince Sihanouk met in Beijing with Khieu Samphan,
who later said he expected the Prince to resume his leadership position in
the CGDK.
Feb. 11,
1988
The CGDK held it cabinet meeting attend by Son Sann,
Khieu Samphan, Prince Ranarridh and other officials; the meeting issued a
communiqué refusing to acknowledge Prince Sihanouk’s
resignation.
Feb. 10,
1988
Prince Sihanouk, in a statement to the French
newspaper Le Monde, said China was unhappy over his peace talks with the
Vietnam-backed government of PM Hun Sen and hoped his bid to seek a
solution through negotiation would fail.
Feb. 17,
1988
Prince Sihanouk issued a statement denying the rumor,
which he blamed on the anti-Sihanouk Khmer Bleu in Paris, that he received
$50,000 from Hun Sen and Vietnam, accepted the post as PRK president and
would return to Phnom Penh soon. (FAB
#44)
Feb. 22,
1988
PRK PM Hun Sen, in an interview with a journalist in
Phnom Penh, said it would not matter at all if the KPNLF does not
participate in future peace talks or in a future coalition
government. He also added
that Son Sann’s KPNLF faction does not even deserve consideration; the
group is self-destructing and would dissolve itself.
Sponsored by 22 Non-Aligned countries and introduced
by Pakistan, the UN Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva passed a
resolution demanding for the ninth successive year that foreign troops get
out of Cambodia and Afghanistan.
The Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Belarussia, Ethiopia, and East Germany
voted against the resolution, while Algeria, Cyprus, India, Iraq,
Nicaragua and Nigeria abstained.
Feb. 25,
1988
Prince Sihanouk again, in Beijing, denied rumor that
he had signed a secret agreement with the PRK to return to Phnom Penh to
serve as Head of State. (FAB
#44)
Feb. 26,
1988
Indonesian FM, Mochtar Kusumaatmadja, told
journalists in Jakarta that Prince Sihanouk would again lead the CGDK but
would not formally take the title of President, which enable the Prince to
have more room to maneuver to meet with Vietnam, which refused to talk
with the leadership of the CGDK.
Feb. 29,
1988
Prince Sihanouk issued a statement announcing his
resumption of the presidency of the CGDK.
March 10,
1988
The Bangkok Post published a report obtained from
resistance’s sources, saying two KPNLAF commanders, Chea Chhut and Liv Ne,
would be relieved from their duties at the request of the U.S., who
accused the two of human rights violations. (FAB
#29)
March 11,
1988
PRK PM Hun Sen sent a telegram to Prince Sihanouk
expressing his satisfaction at the Prince’s decision to resume talks and
his intention for the next meeting with Prince Sihanouk. (FAB
#29)
PRK announced plans to establish the University of
Phnom Penh which consists of 11 facilities: mathematics, physics,
chemistry, biology, geography, history, philosophy, education, Cambodian
literature, Russian/Occidental language and literature, and
Vietnamese/Oriental language and literature.
March 16,
1988
Speaking to Singaporean reporters in New Delhi,
India, the visiting Singapore PM, Lee Kuan Yew, said with the Cambodian
conflict were on the course towards the Vietnamese withdrawal, the next
major problem was how to prevent the Khmer Rouge from returning to a
dominant position in the next Cambodian government. (FAB
#29)
March 18,
1988
Prince Ranariddh, ANS Commander-in-Chief, accompanied
by Princess Marie Ranariddh and two officials paid a friendly visit to
Singapore as guest of Singapore second Minister of Defense Brigadier
General Lee Hsien Loong. (FAB
#28)
March 29,
1988
Vietnamese FM Nguyen Co Thach, in an interview, ruled
out a meeting with Prince Sihanouk but said he would correspond with the
Prince if necessary. Thach
also said half of the original Vietnamese forces in Kampuchea had left the
country and that the remaining would leave in the next three
years.
April 2,
1988
The Bangkok Post reported that international relief
workers at “SITE TWO CAPM” were to have armed escorts following a
shoot-out in which 2 persons were killed and 3 relief workers were held at
gunpoint.
Prince Sihanouk wrote a letter to PM Hun Sen
explaining his refusal to meet for third round of talks saying, “the
government of PRK cannot do anything without authorization of Hanoi. [Text
of the letter]
April 5,
1988
The new Indonesian FM, Ali Alatas, assured Thailand
and other Asean countries that the planned informal meeting in Jakarta to
solve the Cambodian problem had not lost its relevance. (FAB
#30)
April 11,
1988
The 44th session of ESCAP was held in
Jakarta, Indonesia; CGDK sent a 7-members delegation to the conference:
Chak Sarik and Truong Mealy (FUNCINPEC); Pech Bun Ret and Kheang Khaon
(Khmer Rouge); and Bou Say, Son Soubert and Ok Sereisopheak (KPNLF).
(FAB
#29)
April 12,
1988
Prince Sihanouk announced that he had turned down a
personal appeal from the PRK PM Hun Sen to resume peace talks.
(FAB
#30)
April 13,
1988
A DK delegation to the 44th session of
ESCAP, in Jakarta, led by Bun Say, was received by the new Indonesian FM,
Ali Alatas, whom informed the delegation that Indonesia, despite the
change of foreign minister, would continue to promote the Cocktail party
idea, in order to settle the Cambodian problems. (FAB
#30)
April 16,
1988
The Soviet Deputy FM, Igor Rogachev, said his country
couldn’t pressure Vietnam to withdraw its troops from Cambodia because
Vietnam is a sovereign country and nobody can dictate to it. (FAB
#30)
April 18,
1988
The Press Trust of India reported that Vietnamese
leaders have suggested to Indian PM, Rajiv Gandhi, that a round of talks
on the war in Cambodia be held in New Delhi. (FAB
#30)
April 28,
1988
Vietnamese Deputy FM, Tran Quang Co, said that his
country refused to discuss peace with Prince Sihanouk. (FAB
#30)
April 29,
1988
Soviet Deputy FM, Igor Rogachev, said that the
quickest way to end nine years of conflict in Cambodia would be for
Cambodian warring factions to start direct talks. (FAB
#30)
May 6,
1988
Vietnam’s proclaimed withdrawal of 20,000 troops from
Cambodia last year was genuine and not a simple troop rotation according
to Major Timothy Pfister, spokesman for the U.S. Pacific
Commander-in-Chief. (FAB
#31)
May 16,
1988
Thai Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs M.R.
Kasemsamosorn Kasemsri, in a TV interview, said Thailand would not ask the
USSR to pressure Vietnam to pull out its forces from Cambodia. He added that the forthcoming trip
to the USSR of Thai PM Prem Tinsulanonda was aimed at finding a peaceful
solution to the Cambodian conflict which had threatened Thailand’s
security for more than nine years. (FAB
#31)
May 18,
1988
A Conference on Cambodia, organized by the Center for
the study of the European Reality, was held in Rome, Italy. Attended the Conference were
Prince Sirivudh, representing FUNCINPEC-France, and Ek Sereywath,
representing the Office of the Personal Representative of Prince Sihanouk
in Cambodia and Asia. (FAB
#29)
Thai PM Prem Tinsulanonda urged the Soviet Union to
play a “constructive role” in solving the Cambodian conflict, which had
“violently destabilized” the Southeast Asian region in the last nine
years. (FAB #31)
June 27,
1988
CGDK President Prince Sihanouk, in the area
controlled by ANS, received credentials from six ambassadors: (1) Taki
Ould Sidi of Mauritania; (2) Dzon Siroka of Yugoslavia; (3) Mohammed Magdi
Sabri El Gheriany of Egypt; (4) Abdorahamane Sow of Guinea; (5) Farooq
Sobhan of Bangladesh; and (6) Akran M. Saki of Pakistan. (FAB
#30)
July 10,
1988
Prince Sihanouk, in Bangsaen, Thailand, issued a
statement announcing his resignation as President of DK. [Text of the
statement] (FAB
#31)
July 25,
1988
The Jakarta Informal Meeting (JIM) was held in the
City of Bogor, Indonesia, from July 25-28. The purpose of JIM was to provide
a framework for informal discussions among the parties directly involved
and other concerned countries in the search for a comprehensive solution
to the Cambodian conflict. (FAB
#31)
July 27,
1988
The four Cambodian
parties representative, Prince Ranariddh of FUNCINPEC, Son Sann of KPNLF,
Khieu Samphan of DK and Hun Sen of PRK, met with Prince Sihanouk.
(FAB
#31)
Aug. 8,
1988
U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution
H.J.RES.602 declaring that all parties seeking a settlement of the
conflict in Cambodia, including the U.S., should have among their highest
priorities the restoration of an independent Cambodia and the protection
of the Cambodian people from a return to power by the Khmer Rouge. Calls on Vietnam to withdraw its
forces from Cambodia and deny haven to the Khmer Rouge. Declare that the U.S. and the
international community should use all means available to prevent a return
to power of Pol Pot.
Oct. 6,
1988
U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution H.CON.RES.303,
among others, urging the Vietnamese government to cease its occupation of
Cambodia.
Oct. 11, 1988
President Ronald Reagan met
with Prince Sihanouk at the White House.
Nov. 3, 1988
The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution A/RES/43/19
reiterating its call for the immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops
from Cambodia.
Nov. 14,
1988
Directive Number 319 concerning U.S. policy toward
Indochina. [---]
1989
Chronology Of Cambodian History
Abbreviations
on this page
Jan. 23,
1989
A 10-member Thai parliamentary delegation arrived in
Phnom Penh for the first visit of Thai legislators. The delegation met with Dep. PM
Chea Soth, NA Chairman Chea Sim and NA Vice-Chairman Mat Ly.
Jan. 25,
1989
PRK PM Hun Sen arrived in Bangkok for a 2-days
unofficial visit with top Thai officials.
Feb. 10,
1989
Thai PM Chatchai Chunhavan announced that his
government would legalize import of logs from Kampuchea to help alleviate
Thai shortage resulting from a nation-wide logging ban.
Feb. 14,
1989
PRK Council of Ministers approved the creation of an
11-member Khmer-Thai economic cooperation commission chair by Defense
Minister Tea Banh.
Feb. 18,
1989
PRK National Assembly amended Articles 15, 16 and 17
of its Constitution on property tenure and the inheritance of landed
property distributed by the state.
It was interpreted as the legalization of private land
ownership.
Feb. 21, 1989
Talks on a Cambodian peace
agreement among Indochinese and ASEAN representatives ended
inconclusively.
Feb. 26, 1989
U.S. President George Bush meets with
Prince Sihanouk in Beijing.
March 1,
1989
PRK Sec. Gen. Of Kampuchea Red Cross, My Samedy,
arrived in the U.S. for a 3-weeks visit.
March 23,
1989
The PRK State Council created the Commission for
Amending the Constitution chair by NA Chairman Chea Sim.
March 29,
1989
A U.S. Congressional delegation headed by Stephen
Solarz, Chairman of House Sub Committee on Asia and Pacific, arrived in
Phnom Penh. They met with PRK
PM Hun Sen to discuss JIM II talks.
April 5, 1989
Vietnam announced that all its troops would leave Cambodia by Sept
30.
April 13,
1989
A relic of the Buddha, reputed to be one of his
bones, was enshrined in the stupa in front of the Phnom Penh railway
station. The ceremony was
attended by Heng Samrin, Hun Sen and other high-ranking
officials.
April 18,
1989
The CGDK was banned from the Southeast Asian Game in
Malaysia next August, following rejection of its appeal to the
International Olympic Committee.
The ASEAN countries were warned of reprisals if they allow the CGDK
to participate.
April 21,
1989
A 25-member Thai parliamentary delegation arrived in
Phnom Penh for a 4-days visit.
The delegation met with PRK Defense Minister Tea Banh and PM Hun
Sen, who said general elections would be held in November and asked
Thailand not to aid the CGDK after Vietnamese troops
withdrawal.
April 30,
1989
PRK National Assembly ratified the revised
constitution; the country was renamed from People’s Republic of Kampuchea
to THE STATE OF CAMBODIA
(SOC). The new national anthem and a new
flag were adopted; and the death penalty was abolished.
May 1,
1989
U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle met with Prince Sihanouk
in Indonesia.
May 3, 1989
Prince Sihanouk and Son Sann held talks with
Phnom Penh Premier Hun Sen.
May 6,
1989
SOC PM Hun Sen met with Thai PM Chatchai Chunhawan in
Bangkok following the JIM II talks in Jakarta.
Phnom Penh residents celebrated the lifting of city’s
10 pm curfew, which was in effect since 1979.
May 18,
1989
The Sino-Soviet summit in Beijing concluded and
issued communiqué declaring “on the Cambodian issue, the two sides
recalled the decision on the total withdrawal of Vietnamese troops from
Cambodia by September this year,…..the countries concerned should
gradually reduce and end all military aid to any Cambodian warring
faction. The China and USSR
affirmed that they will make every effort for an early, fair, and suitable
solution to the Cambodian issue by political move….”
May 22,
1989
Romanian Amb. Angelo Miculescu is invited by the
Chinese Foreign Ministry to discuss issues including Cambodia, in which
the Chinese made its position clear in order to solve Cambodia's problem.
[Read
more]
May 23,
1989
A delegation of Vietnam Ministry of Finance concluded
its 8-days Cambodia visit, after holding working sessions on financial
cooperation between the two countries.
May 27,
1989
Im Tam, former Khmer Republic prime minister, visited
Kampuchea. He met with
President Heng Samrin and NA Chairman Chea Sim during his 4-weeks
stay.
June 1, 1989
U.S.
President George Bush remarks following discussions with British PM
Margaret Thatcher in London, Cambodia problem was discussed. [The
remark]
June 9,
1989
U.S. Press
Secretary Fitzwater issues statement on President Bush's meeting with
Indonesia President Soeharto; situation in Cambodia was discussed. [Statement]
June 20, 1989
The first squadron of MIG-21 jet fighters pilot by
Cambodian landed at Pochentong airfield. They were greeted by President
Heng Samrin and Deputy Defense Minister Pol Saroeun in a
ceremony.
June 28,
1989
CGDK PM Son
Sann warmed the SOC and foreign oil companies that the announced agreement
on exploration and exploitation of offshore oil sites was considered null
and void by the CGDK.
July 3,
1989
A 5-months
course on administration and judiciary for 178 cadres ended in Phnom
Penh. The school had trained
2,300 cadres in administration and judiciary since first established in
1982.
July 5,
1989
The KPRP
Central Committee week-long 9th Plenum, chaired by General
Secretary Heng Samrin, concluded in Phnom Penh.
July 6,
1989
SOC Dep. FM
Bo Rasi ended a 3-days visit to Uganda.
July 10,
1989
SOC PM Hun
Sen received in Phnom Penh Chhang Song, Chairman of Samakom Khemarak
Sangkruos and former Khmer Republic minister of information. The premier commended Chhang Song
for his opposition to U.S. military aid to Cambodian non-communist
resistance groups.
July 11,
1989
The American
Civil Liberties Union filed suit in Washington court against the U.S.
State Department for denial of a nonimmigrant visa to Khieu Kanharith,
editor of Kampuchea newspaper.
U.S.
Assistance Sec. Of State for East Asia and the Pacific Richard Solomon
arrived in Bangkok and met with Thai PM Chatchai Chunhawan. The two discussed U.S. lethal aid
to Prince Sihanouk and Son Sann, and Thailand’s new business approach to
Indochina.
July 20,
1989
US
Sent. Murkowski, Pell, Robb introduce S.AMDT.380,
S.AMDT.381,
S.AMDT.382
amememnt to establish policy concerning the provision of assistance to
free and modern Cambodia.
July 21,
1989
The U.S.
Senate approved the idea of the Bush administration providing arms to
Cambodian non-communist resistance forces. It also called for a coalition
government in Cambodia with Prince Sihanouk and Son Sann factions assuming
a leading role.
U.S.
President George Bush remarks at a Ceremony Commemorating Captive Nations
Week. [The
remark]
July 23,
1989
A 5-days
international seminar on the “phenomenon of genocide and the prevention of
the genocidal Pol Potist’s return to power in Cambodia” concluded in Phnom
Penh, attended by some 130 foreign observers and specialists.
July 25,
1989
Prince Sihanouk and Hun Sen meet again in Paris.
July 28,
1989
U.S.
President George Bush remarks on the Signing of National POW/MIA
Recognition Day Proclamation. [The
remark]
July 29,
1989
Costa Rica
Deputy FM Rivera concluded a 4-days visit to Cambodia during which the two
countries established formal diplomatic relations. Rivera called on Thailand to stop
providing sanctuary to Cambodian resistance forces and advocated an empty
seat for Cambodia in the U.N. until a new government was established
through elections.
Aug. 4, 1989
SOC PM Hun
Sen stopped in Moscow en route to Phnom Penh from Paris and met with USSR
Dep. FM Anatolity Adamishin.
“THE KILLING
FIELDS” film premiered in Phnom Penh attended by 600 diplomats and
government officials, the film’s director Roland Joffe, journalist Sydney
Schanberg, Dith Pran and Haing Ngor.
Aug. 5,
1989
The Killing
Fields movies open in Phnom Penh.
Aug. 7,
1989
A 15-member
UN fact-finding team arrives in Phnom Penh in preparation for a possible
UN peace-monitoring mission in Cambodia.
Aug. 27,
1989
FUNCINPEC
announces the resignation of Prince Sihanouk as the head of the
organization.
Aug. 30,
1989
An
International Conference on Cambodia (Paris Conference), held in Paris
from July 30-Aug. 30, is suspended. The conference fails in bridging
differences among the Cambodian warring factions and their backers over a
peace agreement.
Sept. 1,
1989
U.S.
President George Bush remarks following discussions with Japanese PM
Toshiki Kaifu, in which Cambodia issue is discussed. [The
remark]
Sept. 3,
1989
KPNLF
launches a major recruitment campaign at Site II refugee camp in
anticipation of future increased fighting.
Oct. 10,
1989
A group of
Americans leads by Edmund Muskie, former U.S. Secretary of State and
Senator, visit Phnom Penh and meet with PM Hun Sen.
Oct. 12,
1989
US Rep.
Richardson introduces H.AMDT.276
Oct. 13,
1989
U.S.
President George Bush remarks at a White House briefing for members of the
Asian-American Voters Coalition. [The
remark]
Oct. 16,
1989
Soviet
economic aid officials arrived in Phnom Penh for a 9-days of discussions
with SOC officials, including Soviet assistance in the fields of
communication, radio, television, water supply and health care.
Oct. 23,
1989
Kampuchean
People’s Revolutionary Armed Forces (KPRAF) renamed to Cambodian People’s Armed
Forces (CPAF).
A delegation
from the Washington based Indochina Policy Forum Institute, let by former
U.S. Senator Dick Clark, visited Phnom Penh and met with SOC PM Hun
Sen.
Oct. 30,
1989
A dusk to
dawn curfew (9pm-5am) was ordered for Phnom Penh in an effort to tighten
security in the city following the fall of Pailin to the Khmer Rouge.
Nov. 1,
1989
A leading
Thai newspaper, The Nation, opens its news bureau in Phnom Penh, first
Asian newspaper to do so.
Nov. 6,
1989
U.S. Press
Secretary Fitzwater issues statement on President George Bush's meeting
with Gen. John W. Vessey on POW/MIA Affairs. [Statement]
Nov.
16, 1989
UN General
Assembly passed resolution A/RES/44/22, by the
vote of 124-17 with 12 abstentions, calling for, among others, a
comprehensive settlement of the Cambodian problem, no return to power of
the Khmer Rouge.
Nov. 22,
1989
Cambodian
and Sweden Red Cross signed an agreement, under which the Sweden would
assist the Kompong Chhnang provincial hospital, by sending doctors,
provide medicine, construct and restore buildings; and provided medical
books to newly graduated doctors and pharmacists.
Nov. 24,
1989
U.S. Press
Secretary Fitzwater issues statement on President George Bush's meeting
with British PM Margaret Thatcher; Cambodia issue is discussed. [Statement]
Nov. 28,
1989
SOC
Ambassador to Moscow Hor Namhong and USSR FM Eduard Shevardnadze signed a
1990 trade and payments protocol in Moscow.
Dec. 2,
1989
Prince
Sihanouk endorsed efforts to establish a Cambodian UN trusteeship as a
means of restoring peace and order to the country.
Dec. 7,
1989
British
diplomat Andrew George arrived in Phnom Penh for a 10-days visit, despite
U.S. objections that it would send the wrong signals.
Dec. 9,
1989
Text of a
new proposed Constitution for Cambodia was released by the CGDK in
Bangkok. It was written in
Paris and officially endorsed last June by Prince Sihanouk, Son Sann and
Khieu Samphan.
Dec. 12,
1989
A Japanese
“peace boat” arrived in Kompong Som port. Its 350 passengers visited Phnom
Penh and Angkor Wat.
Dec. 25,
1989
CGDK
denounced Vietnam Embassy in Phnom Penh efforts to register Vietnamese
citizens in Cambodia as part of a conspiratorial effort to keep track of
all Vietnamese in the country.
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