18 March 1970, a page in Cambodia's history: The coup d'état removing Prince Sihanouk from power by General Lon Nol and Prince Sirik Matak

Cambodian coup of 1970
Source: Wikipedia.org

United States President Richard Nixon's administration secretly contacted Prime Minister Lon Nol and Prince Sirik Matak if they would be interested in proclaiming a Republic in Cambodia in exchange for economic and military aid to protect itself from the Khmer Rouge and in exchange they would also allow the United States and South Vietnam military to enter Cambodian territory to conduct a series of military operations called the "Cambodian Incursion", to attack any North Vietnamese weapon routes and military bases in Cambodia.

On March 18, 1970, while Norodom Sihanouk was on a trip abroad in Beijing, China, Sirik Matak assisted Prime Minister Lon Nol in organzing a vote of the National Assembly to depose Sihanouk as head of state. The measure passed easily in parliament and they declared a new government under a democracy named the Khmer Republic. Sihanouk realigned himself with the communist Khmer Rouge rebels who had been slowly gaining territory in the remote mountain regions and urged his followers to help in overthowing the government of Lon Nol, hastening the onset of civil war.

Leaders of the Coup d'Etat

General Lon Nol's background


Born in Prey Veng Province on November 13, 1913, Lon Nol was educated by the French for the civil service. He became a provincial governor in 1946, and he rose to become the first leader of the Cambodian police and then held a series of important military posts. He became chief of staff, in 1955, and, by 1960, he held the dual position of supreme commander of the military and minister of defense. In 1966 and 1967, he served as prime minister. In 1969, after the Cambodian left went underground, he became prime minister a second time. He is the only head of state whose name is a palindrome.

Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak's background


Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak (January 22, 1914 — April 21, 1975) was born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and was a prince of the Cambodian royal family.

In 1941, he was passed over by the French government in favor of his cousin Norodom Sihanouk as King, despite this decision he continued to serve the country as a minister in the government of his cousin to show his solidarity under a Constitutional Monarchy.

In 1955, Sihanouk abdicated in favor of his father in order to be elected as Prime Minister. Upon his father's death in 1960, Sihanouk again became head of state, taking the title of Prince. As the Vietnam War progressed, Sihanouk adopted what he called a policy of neutrality but in reality made agreements with China and North Vietnam allowing Vietnamese bases to be built inside Cambodia and opening Cambodian ports such as Sihanoukville to weapons shipments. This angered the United States and the South Vietnamese because the bases and weapons were used to attack military and civilian areas of South Vietnam. While Sihanouk claimed that his so-called neutrality would protect Cambodia, by 1968 the Khmer Rouge were operating an insurgency against the government sheltered within Vietnamese base areas on Cambodian soil.