Op-Ed by PIERRE-YVES CLAIS
Reading the English-language press in Bangkok one is frequently surprised by the lack of objective reporting regarding the dispute over the Preah Vihear temple.
As a matter of fact, this Thai press is immensely unbalanced and will even go as far as to say that the Cambodians are the true troublemakers as well as the first to shoot.
A personal fondness I have for truth as well as the friendship I have for Cambodia both urge me to clarify some historic points between these two countries.
Toward the end of the ninth century people coming from Southern China started to establish themselves inside the Khmer Empire to the north of the Dangrek mountain range. They would be known as the Siamese and later on, the Thais.
They progressively strengthened themselves until the area they inhabited became the Thai Kingdom of Ayuthaya.
This Kingdom would destroy Angkor in two waves: Once in 1351 and another time in 1431, each time deporting a large part of the Khmer population and imposing its sovereignty over Cambodia, from which it annexed entire provinces in the years to come.
Like an "Atlantis in waiting," swallowed to the northwest by Siam and to the east by Vietnam, Cambodia was on its way to complete extinction.
Aware of the situation, King Ang Duong solicited in 1853 the intervention of France, which was at that time ruled by Napoleon III.
The Siamese were informed of the alliance about to be made between France and Cambodia and succeeded in making it fail. But in 1863, King Norodom eventually signed a protectorate treaty with France.
The English influence was strong in Siam, but the Franco-British agreement of July 14, 1884 had already recognized the Mekong Basin as a French-owned zone. This would not prevent the Siamese from cutting off the basin and advancing toward Laos.
In 1893, the French had had enough of these gradual advances and sent their warships up the Menam River to Bangkok. France thus blocked any trade from reaching the shores, which obliged the Siamese court to renounce all of their claims to the left bank of the Mekong River. Meanwhile, France kept the provinces of Chantaboun and Paknam as hostages. Some French naval troops occupied these regions until the Convention of 1904 gave back the Province of Koh Kong and Steung Treng to Cambodia. Other areas included Melou Prei and Tonle Repou, which were left by Siam to Laos and finally given back to Cambodia by France.
The Convention of 1904 led to the Treaty of 1907, which was drawn up by France and Siam, where in exchange for the return of the provinces of Trat, Chantaboun and the territory of Dan Sai, which is in the current province of Loei, King Chulalongkorn of Siam (Rama V) left the provinces of Battambang, Sisophon and Siem Reap to France, who gave them back to Cambodia.
When King Sisowath was finally able to go to Angkor and repossess a land that had always been undoubtedly Khmer, he declared that this was the biggest glory of his reign.
But the Siamese would not give up.
Taking advantage of the French defeat against Germany during World War II, the Siamese immediately violated the pact of non-aggression signed with France on June 12, 1940.
The Thai Prime Minister, Field Marshall Phibun Songkhram, organized a series of nationalist and anti-French demonstrations in Bangkok. Then, the border disputes multiplied in number along the banks of the Mekong. During daytime, the Thai air force, superior in number, bombed Vientiane, Sisophon and Battambang without any objection from abroad. The French air force attempted to strike back, but the damage inflicted was minimal.
In December 1940, Thailand then occupied the provinces of Pak-Lay and Bassac. At the beginning of January 1941, Bangkok men launched an offensive on Laos and Cambodia. The Franco-Indochinese resistance was in place, but the majority of the military units were overwhelmed by the better-equipped Thai forces (20 French tanks vs. 134 Thai tanks.)
The Thais quickly occupied Laos.
However, French resistance in Cambodia was more resilient. By Jan 16, France launched a large counter attack led by the 5th REI (a regiment belonging to the French Foreign Legion) on the villages of Yang Dang Khum and Phum Preav, where the fiercest fighting of the war took place.
The French counterattack was blocked and ended in a retreat, but the Thais could no longer pursue the French forces as their tanks had been nailed to the ground by the French anti-tank canons. For lack of means, these very canons had been pulled by buffaloes to the battlefield.
As the ground situation was critical for France, Admiral Decoux gave the green light to execute an operation against the Thai Navy. The order was given to the available French navy to attack the Gulf of Thailand. On the morning of Jan 17, 1941, "the Provisional Group" (a force assembled for that very occasion) attacked the Thai Navy at Koh Chang. Although the Thai ships were far superior in number, the operation of the French navy managed to bring home a comprehensive victory.
After the battle, a large part of the Thai navy was destroyed. But on January 24, the final air battle took place while a Thai air raid attacked Siem Reap Airport.
Japan intervened quickly in the conflict in favor of the Thais and imposed an armistice followed by a peace treaty causing France to relinquish the Cambodian provinces of Battambang, Siem Reap as well as the Lao provinces of Champassak and Sayaburi on May 9. These territories were more than 50,000 km squared in size and inhabited by 420,000 people.
These territories annexed from Cambodia were, however, handed back by Thailand on November 1947 under international pressure (Treaty of Washington).
But from 1953, although Cambodia had only just achieved its independence from France, Thai troops invaded Preah Vihear and hoisted their national flag above the temple. Nine years later in 1962, the clever mind of then-Prince Norodom Sihanouk paved the way for obtaining an international decision at the International Court of Justice in The Hague and the Thais were obliged to retreat from the Khmer temple.
Unfortunately, the respite would be short lived: War broke out shortly after and Preah Vihear was again in the mix, the temple being occupied by successive armies fighting each other.
A little while after the defeat of the Khmer Rouge in 1979, Thailand was submerged with Cambodian refugees and, to show to the world that it couldn't cope without international aid Thailand planned what could be considered a staged atrocity.
On the morning of Friday June 8, 1979,110 trucks parked in front of the Nong Chan Refugee Camp, which housed tens of thousands of Cambodian refugees.
Thai officials told the refugees that they were going to be transferred to another, better equipped camp. In reality, these survivors of the Khmer Rouge genocide were being sent back to hell.
Far away from Nong Chan, the site of Preah Vihear had been chosen with a precise goal: To seek revenge for the loss of the temple in 1962. With a high cliff covered in jungle and thousands of land mines laid around the temple, the outcome of the forced expulsion of those thousands of Cambodian refugees could be guessed easily.
The unfortunate refugees were taken out of the trucks under the constant threat of weapons. Horrible scenes took place. All night long, truckloads after truckload of Cambodians were pushed – after first being despoiled of all their possessions – like livestock between two rows of soldiers through a narrow passage. The soldiers used their weapons as sticks and shot at those who refused to file down the narrow passage.
Terrorized by the thought of stepping on one of the many mines, laid previously there by the Khmer Rouge, the refugees desperately attempted to stay on the track. But the Thais continuously pushed more refugees along the path and people were forced to walk through the minefields.
Both thirsty and hungry, the survivors of this atrocity needed three days to cross the immense mine field filled with decaying corpses and injured victims squirming in pain.
One estimates that over 45,000 Cambodians were forced out of Thailand in this manner. For several days, the refugees were transported into hell by a huge number of trucks that dumped them at Preah Vihear. It is still impossible to evaluate the number of casualties from this expulsion, as the Khmer Rouge who waited to greet the refugees did not keep records.
All too often this awful page of history is ignored, one retains only this "Amazing Thailand" image in today's tourist brochures.
The wrongdoings of the Thais against the Khmers should be remembered, not to set the two populations against each other but so that justice can at last be achieved.
Let it be said that Cambodians don't attack anyone. They know too well that the balance of power is not in their favor. Still they vow to defend their country through courage and determination-they have no other choice.
But Thailand has too many internal political problems not to try and exploit the myth of a "sacred national alliance" against its barbaric neighbors, and the deaths of the past will change nothing in it.
This historical tragedy is unfortunately far from over and there is no happy ending in sight.
The Americans dislike Prime Minister Hun Sen too much to pressure their Thai partners into a peaceful solution. And it is unlikely that the French will send their warships against Bangkok again...
Pierre-Yves Clais was a former UN peacekeeper in Cambodia (1992). He currently owns Terre Rouge Lodge with his wife in the Ratanakiri.
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Mardi, 23 Juin 2009
À la lecture de la presse anglophone de Bangkok, on est fréquemment surpris d’un manque patent de neutralité quant à l’affaire du temple de Préah Vihear.
Le parti de la Thaïlande y est pris sans nuance et l’on va jusqu’à affirmer que les Cambodgiens seraient les véritables fauteurs de troubles, tout comme les premiers à tirer…
Le souci de vérité tout comme l’amitié que j’ai pour le Cambodge me forcent ici à tenter de clarifier quelques points d’histoire concernant les rapports entre les deux pays.
Provenant de Chine méridionale, c’est vers la fin du IXe siècle que ceux qui allaient devenir les Siamois, puis les Thais, commencent à s’établir sur les marches septentrionales de l’empire khmer, au nord de la chaîne des Dangreks.Ils se renforcent progressivement jusqu’à devenir le Royaume Thaï d’Ayuthaya qui saccagera Angkor à deux reprises en 1351 et 1431, déportant chaque fois une grande partie de la population khmère et imposant sa suzeraineté sur le Cambodge, dont il annexera au fil du temps des provinces entières.
« Atlantide en sursis », avalé au Nord Ouest par le Siam et à l’Est par le Vietnam, le Cambodge allait tout bonnement disparaître. Conscient de cela, le roi Ang Duong sollicita en 1853 l'intervention de la France de Napoléon III. Mis au courant, les Siamois firent échouer ce traité d'alliance et c’est le fils d’Ang Duong, le Roi Norodom, qui signera finalement en 1863 ce traité de Protectorat avec la France.
L’influence des Anglais était forte sur le Siam, mais l’accord franco-britannique du 14 juillet 1884, avait reconnu comme « zone française » le bassin du Mékong, ce qui n’empêcha pas les Siamois de couper ledit bassin et de s’avancer à travers le Laos. Ces empiètements répétés conduisirent, en juillet 1893, une flottille française à remonter le Ménam jusqu’à Bangkok. La France fit alors le blocus des côtes, ce qui obligea la cour du Siam à renoncer à toute revendication sur la rive gauche du Mékong tandis que nous gardions en otage les provinces de Chantaboun et de Paknam. Des troupes de la marine occupèrent ces régions jusqu’à la Convention de 1904 qui rendait au Cambodge la province côtière de Koh Kong ainsi que celle de Steung Treng, assorties des régions de Melou Preï et Tonle Repou, territoires cédés par le Siam au Laos et réintégrés au Cambodge par la France.
Cette Convention de 1904 conduisit au Traité de 1907, où, contre retour au Siam des provinces de Trat, Chantaboun et du territoire de Dan Sai dans l’actuelle province de Loei, le Roi Chulalongkorn (Rama V) abandonnait à la France, qui les rétrocédait au Cambodge, les provinces de Battambang, de Sisophon et de Siem Reap.
Lorsque le Roi Sisowath pu finalement se rendre à Angkor reprendre possession de ces terres indubitablement khmères il déclara que c’était là « la plus grande gloire de son règne ».
Mais les Siamois ne renoncèrent jamais, profitant de la défaite française face à l’Allemagne lors de la seconde guerre mondiale, ils violent immédiatement le pacte de non-agression signé avec la France le 12 juin 1940.
Le Premier ministre thaïlandais Phibun organise alors une série de manifestations nationalistes et anti-françaises à Bangkok, puis des escarmouches frontalières se succèdent le long du Mékong. L’aviation thaïlandaise, supérieure en nombre, bombarde de jour Vientiane, Sisophon, et Battambang en toute impunité. Les forces aériennes françaises tentent des raids en représailles, mais les dégâts causés sont bien moindres. En décembre 1940, la Thaïlande occupe Pak-Lay et le Bassac.
Début janvier 1941, Bangkok lance une offensive sur le Laos et le Cambodge. La résistance franco-indochinoise est en place, mais la plupart des unités sont surpassées par les forces thaïlandaises, mieux équipées (20 chars côté français, 134 côté siamois). Les Thaïlandais occupent rapidement le Laos, alors qu’au Cambodge la résistance française est meilleure.
Le 16 janvier, la France lance une large contre-offensive menée par le 5e REI (Régiment Etranger d’Infanterie) sur les villages de Yang Dang Khum et de Phum Préav, où se déroulent les plus féroces combats de la guerre. La contre-attaque est bloquée et s’achève par une retraite, mais les Thaïlandais ne peuvent poursuivre les forces françaises, leurs blindés ayant été cloués au sol par les canons anti-char français (qui, faute de moyens adéquats, avaient été tractés sur place par des bœufs). Alors que la situation à terre est critique pour la France, l’amiral Decoux donne le feu vert pour exécuter une opération contre la marine thaïlandaise. L'ordre est donné aux navires de guerre disponibles d’attaquer dans le golfe de Thaïlande. Au matin du 17 janvier 1941, le « groupe occasionnel » attaque les navires thaïlandais à Koh Chang. Bien que la flotte ennemie la surclasse largement en nombre, l'opération de la marine française, s'achève par une victoire complète. À l'issue du combat, une bonne partie de la flotte de guerre thaïlandaise est détruite. Mais, le 24 janvier, la bataille aérienne finale a lieu lorsque l’aéroport de Siem Reap est atteint par un raid des bombardiers thaïlandais.
Le Japon intervient rapidement dans le conflit au profit des Thaïs, impose un armistice, puis un traité de paix, le 9 mai, par lequel la France abandonne les provinces cambodgiennes de Battambang et Siem Reap, ainsi que les provinces laotiennes de Champassak et Sayaburi, soit un territoire de plus de 50 000 km2 habité par 420 000 personnes.
Les territoires annexés au Cambodge ne seront restitués par la Thaïlande, sous pression internationale (traité de Washington), qu'en novembre 1947.
Mais dès 1953, alors que le Cambodge accède à peine à l’indépendance, des troupes thaïes investissent Préah Vihear, en chassent les fonctionnaires khmers et hissent leur drapeau national. Neuf ans plus tard, en 1962, l’habileté consommée du prince Sihanouk permit d’obtenir une décision internationale de justice et les Thaïs durent faire marche arrière, mais le répit allait être de courte durée, la guerre arrivait et Préah Vihear y serait engouffré.
Passons sur les occupations successives du site par les armées en conflit, la reddition des dernières troupes de Lon Nol aux Khmers rouges en mai 1975, le pire moment de son histoire fut un effroyable holocauste orchestré il y a trente ans par l’armée thaïlandaise elle-même !
Peu après la défaite des Khmers rouges en 1979, la Thaïlande fut submergée de réfugiés cambodgiens et pour démontrer au monde qu’elle ne pouvait seule sans argent gérer ce phénomène, elle planifia une atroce mise en scène. Au matin du vendredi 8 juin 1979, 110 bus se rangèrent devant le camp de Nong Chan qui abritait des dizaines de milliers de réfugiés cambodgiens. On leur déclara qu’ils allaient être transférés dans un camp plus à même de les recevoir et tous ces survivants du génocide Khmer rouge furent renvoyés en enfer…
Fort éloigné de Nong Chan, le site de Préah Vihear avait été choisi à dessein, on se vengeait de la perte du temple en 1962. Une falaise abrupte couverte de jungle, des mines par milliers, l’issue ne faisait pas de doute…
Comprenant ce qui allait se passer, les malheureux réfugiés durent être sortis des bus sous la menace des armes. Des scènes horribles eurent lieu : arrivés de nuit, bus après bus, les Cambodgiens furent poussés comme du bétail entre deux rangées de militaires sur un étroit chemin, non sans avoir été dépouillé de tout l’argent qu’ils possédaient. Les militaires maniaient leurs armes comme des bâtons et tiraient sur ceux qui refusaient de descendre le chemin. Terrorisés à l’idée de sauter sur les mines innombrables (posées par les Khmers rouges quatre ans auparavant), les réfugiés tentaient par tous les moyens de rester sur le chemin, mais plus haut, on poussait sans cesse de nouveaux malheureux et les gens étaient finalement forcés de marcher dans le champ de mines. Il fallut trois jours aux survivants pour traverser cette étendue de mort, de soif et de faim au milieu des cadavres en putréfaction et des blessés se tordant de douleur. On estime à quarante-cinq mille le nombre de Cambodgiens ainsi expulsés. Pendant plusieurs jours, ils furent convoyés en enfer par une noria de bus, mais il est impossible d’estimer le nombre des victimes, les Khmers rouges n’ont pas tenu de registre…
On ignore trop cette affreuse page d’histoire pour ne retenir que cette « Amazing Thailand » des brochures touristiques. Les torts des Thaïs à l’encontre des Khmers doivent être rappelés, non pour dresser à nouveau les peuples les uns contre les autres, mais pour que justice soit enfin rendue.
Les Cambodgiens n’agressent personne, ils sont trop conscients du déséquilibre des forces en présence, il n’y a de leur part que du courage et de la détermination à défendre leur pays, mais la Thaïlande a trop de problèmes intérieurs pour ne pas tenter d’exploiter le mythe de l’Union Sacrée contre la barbarie du voisin, les morts du passé n’y changeront rien.
Cette tragédie est malheureusement loin d’un heureux dénouement, les Américains détestent trop Hun Sen pour raisonner leurs partenaires thaïs, et quant aux Français, il est peu probable qu’ils enverront une fois de plus des canonnières devant Bangkok…
Pierre-Yves Clais
Ancien Casque Bleu au Cambodge (1992)
La version francaise se trouve en fin du texte anglais
Reading the English-language press in Bangkok one is frequently surprised by the lack of objective reporting regarding the dispute over the Preah Vihear temple.
As a matter of fact, this Thai press is immensely unbalanced and will even go as far as to say that the Cambodians are the true troublemakers as well as the first to shoot.
A personal fondness I have for truth as well as the friendship I have for Cambodia both urge me to clarify some historic points between these two countries.
Toward the end of the ninth century people coming from Southern China started to establish themselves inside the Khmer Empire to the north of the Dangrek mountain range. They would be known as the Siamese and later on, the Thais.
They progressively strengthened themselves until the area they inhabited became the Thai Kingdom of Ayuthaya.
This Kingdom would destroy Angkor in two waves: Once in 1351 and another time in 1431, each time deporting a large part of the Khmer population and imposing its sovereignty over Cambodia, from which it annexed entire provinces in the years to come.
Like an "Atlantis in waiting," swallowed to the northwest by Siam and to the east by Vietnam, Cambodia was on its way to complete extinction.
Aware of the situation, King Ang Duong solicited in 1853 the intervention of France, which was at that time ruled by Napoleon III.
The Siamese were informed of the alliance about to be made between France and Cambodia and succeeded in making it fail. But in 1863, King Norodom eventually signed a protectorate treaty with France.
The English influence was strong in Siam, but the Franco-British agreement of July 14, 1884 had already recognized the Mekong Basin as a French-owned zone. This would not prevent the Siamese from cutting off the basin and advancing toward Laos.
In 1893, the French had had enough of these gradual advances and sent their warships up the Menam River to Bangkok. France thus blocked any trade from reaching the shores, which obliged the Siamese court to renounce all of their claims to the left bank of the Mekong River. Meanwhile, France kept the provinces of Chantaboun and Paknam as hostages. Some French naval troops occupied these regions until the Convention of 1904 gave back the Province of Koh Kong and Steung Treng to Cambodia. Other areas included Melou Prei and Tonle Repou, which were left by Siam to Laos and finally given back to Cambodia by France.
The Convention of 1904 led to the Treaty of 1907, which was drawn up by France and Siam, where in exchange for the return of the provinces of Trat, Chantaboun and the territory of Dan Sai, which is in the current province of Loei, King Chulalongkorn of Siam (Rama V) left the provinces of Battambang, Sisophon and Siem Reap to France, who gave them back to Cambodia.
When King Sisowath was finally able to go to Angkor and repossess a land that had always been undoubtedly Khmer, he declared that this was the biggest glory of his reign.
But the Siamese would not give up.
Taking advantage of the French defeat against Germany during World War II, the Siamese immediately violated the pact of non-aggression signed with France on June 12, 1940.
The Thai Prime Minister, Field Marshall Phibun Songkhram, organized a series of nationalist and anti-French demonstrations in Bangkok. Then, the border disputes multiplied in number along the banks of the Mekong. During daytime, the Thai air force, superior in number, bombed Vientiane, Sisophon and Battambang without any objection from abroad. The French air force attempted to strike back, but the damage inflicted was minimal.
In December 1940, Thailand then occupied the provinces of Pak-Lay and Bassac. At the beginning of January 1941, Bangkok men launched an offensive on Laos and Cambodia. The Franco-Indochinese resistance was in place, but the majority of the military units were overwhelmed by the better-equipped Thai forces (20 French tanks vs. 134 Thai tanks.)
The Thais quickly occupied Laos.
However, French resistance in Cambodia was more resilient. By Jan 16, France launched a large counter attack led by the 5th REI (a regiment belonging to the French Foreign Legion) on the villages of Yang Dang Khum and Phum Preav, where the fiercest fighting of the war took place.
The French counterattack was blocked and ended in a retreat, but the Thais could no longer pursue the French forces as their tanks had been nailed to the ground by the French anti-tank canons. For lack of means, these very canons had been pulled by buffaloes to the battlefield.
As the ground situation was critical for France, Admiral Decoux gave the green light to execute an operation against the Thai Navy. The order was given to the available French navy to attack the Gulf of Thailand. On the morning of Jan 17, 1941, "the Provisional Group" (a force assembled for that very occasion) attacked the Thai Navy at Koh Chang. Although the Thai ships were far superior in number, the operation of the French navy managed to bring home a comprehensive victory.
After the battle, a large part of the Thai navy was destroyed. But on January 24, the final air battle took place while a Thai air raid attacked Siem Reap Airport.
Japan intervened quickly in the conflict in favor of the Thais and imposed an armistice followed by a peace treaty causing France to relinquish the Cambodian provinces of Battambang, Siem Reap as well as the Lao provinces of Champassak and Sayaburi on May 9. These territories were more than 50,000 km squared in size and inhabited by 420,000 people.
These territories annexed from Cambodia were, however, handed back by Thailand on November 1947 under international pressure (Treaty of Washington).
But from 1953, although Cambodia had only just achieved its independence from France, Thai troops invaded Preah Vihear and hoisted their national flag above the temple. Nine years later in 1962, the clever mind of then-Prince Norodom Sihanouk paved the way for obtaining an international decision at the International Court of Justice in The Hague and the Thais were obliged to retreat from the Khmer temple.
Unfortunately, the respite would be short lived: War broke out shortly after and Preah Vihear was again in the mix, the temple being occupied by successive armies fighting each other.
A little while after the defeat of the Khmer Rouge in 1979, Thailand was submerged with Cambodian refugees and, to show to the world that it couldn't cope without international aid Thailand planned what could be considered a staged atrocity.
On the morning of Friday June 8, 1979,110 trucks parked in front of the Nong Chan Refugee Camp, which housed tens of thousands of Cambodian refugees.
Thai officials told the refugees that they were going to be transferred to another, better equipped camp. In reality, these survivors of the Khmer Rouge genocide were being sent back to hell.
Far away from Nong Chan, the site of Preah Vihear had been chosen with a precise goal: To seek revenge for the loss of the temple in 1962. With a high cliff covered in jungle and thousands of land mines laid around the temple, the outcome of the forced expulsion of those thousands of Cambodian refugees could be guessed easily.
The unfortunate refugees were taken out of the trucks under the constant threat of weapons. Horrible scenes took place. All night long, truckloads after truckload of Cambodians were pushed – after first being despoiled of all their possessions – like livestock between two rows of soldiers through a narrow passage. The soldiers used their weapons as sticks and shot at those who refused to file down the narrow passage.
Terrorized by the thought of stepping on one of the many mines, laid previously there by the Khmer Rouge, the refugees desperately attempted to stay on the track. But the Thais continuously pushed more refugees along the path and people were forced to walk through the minefields.
Both thirsty and hungry, the survivors of this atrocity needed three days to cross the immense mine field filled with decaying corpses and injured victims squirming in pain.
One estimates that over 45,000 Cambodians were forced out of Thailand in this manner. For several days, the refugees were transported into hell by a huge number of trucks that dumped them at Preah Vihear. It is still impossible to evaluate the number of casualties from this expulsion, as the Khmer Rouge who waited to greet the refugees did not keep records.
All too often this awful page of history is ignored, one retains only this "Amazing Thailand" image in today's tourist brochures.
The wrongdoings of the Thais against the Khmers should be remembered, not to set the two populations against each other but so that justice can at last be achieved.
Let it be said that Cambodians don't attack anyone. They know too well that the balance of power is not in their favor. Still they vow to defend their country through courage and determination-they have no other choice.
But Thailand has too many internal political problems not to try and exploit the myth of a "sacred national alliance" against its barbaric neighbors, and the deaths of the past will change nothing in it.
This historical tragedy is unfortunately far from over and there is no happy ending in sight.
The Americans dislike Prime Minister Hun Sen too much to pressure their Thai partners into a peaceful solution. And it is unlikely that the French will send their warships against Bangkok again...
Pierre-Yves Clais was a former UN peacekeeper in Cambodia (1992). He currently owns Terre Rouge Lodge with his wife in the Ratanakiri.
------------
Preah Vihear, le conflit au regard de l’Histoire.
Mardi, 23 Juin 2009
À la lecture de la presse anglophone de Bangkok, on est fréquemment surpris d’un manque patent de neutralité quant à l’affaire du temple de Préah Vihear.
Le parti de la Thaïlande y est pris sans nuance et l’on va jusqu’à affirmer que les Cambodgiens seraient les véritables fauteurs de troubles, tout comme les premiers à tirer…
Le souci de vérité tout comme l’amitié que j’ai pour le Cambodge me forcent ici à tenter de clarifier quelques points d’histoire concernant les rapports entre les deux pays.
Provenant de Chine méridionale, c’est vers la fin du IXe siècle que ceux qui allaient devenir les Siamois, puis les Thais, commencent à s’établir sur les marches septentrionales de l’empire khmer, au nord de la chaîne des Dangreks.Ils se renforcent progressivement jusqu’à devenir le Royaume Thaï d’Ayuthaya qui saccagera Angkor à deux reprises en 1351 et 1431, déportant chaque fois une grande partie de la population khmère et imposant sa suzeraineté sur le Cambodge, dont il annexera au fil du temps des provinces entières.
« Atlantide en sursis », avalé au Nord Ouest par le Siam et à l’Est par le Vietnam, le Cambodge allait tout bonnement disparaître. Conscient de cela, le roi Ang Duong sollicita en 1853 l'intervention de la France de Napoléon III. Mis au courant, les Siamois firent échouer ce traité d'alliance et c’est le fils d’Ang Duong, le Roi Norodom, qui signera finalement en 1863 ce traité de Protectorat avec la France.
L’influence des Anglais était forte sur le Siam, mais l’accord franco-britannique du 14 juillet 1884, avait reconnu comme « zone française » le bassin du Mékong, ce qui n’empêcha pas les Siamois de couper ledit bassin et de s’avancer à travers le Laos. Ces empiètements répétés conduisirent, en juillet 1893, une flottille française à remonter le Ménam jusqu’à Bangkok. La France fit alors le blocus des côtes, ce qui obligea la cour du Siam à renoncer à toute revendication sur la rive gauche du Mékong tandis que nous gardions en otage les provinces de Chantaboun et de Paknam. Des troupes de la marine occupèrent ces régions jusqu’à la Convention de 1904 qui rendait au Cambodge la province côtière de Koh Kong ainsi que celle de Steung Treng, assorties des régions de Melou Preï et Tonle Repou, territoires cédés par le Siam au Laos et réintégrés au Cambodge par la France.
Cette Convention de 1904 conduisit au Traité de 1907, où, contre retour au Siam des provinces de Trat, Chantaboun et du territoire de Dan Sai dans l’actuelle province de Loei, le Roi Chulalongkorn (Rama V) abandonnait à la France, qui les rétrocédait au Cambodge, les provinces de Battambang, de Sisophon et de Siem Reap.
Lorsque le Roi Sisowath pu finalement se rendre à Angkor reprendre possession de ces terres indubitablement khmères il déclara que c’était là « la plus grande gloire de son règne ».
Mais les Siamois ne renoncèrent jamais, profitant de la défaite française face à l’Allemagne lors de la seconde guerre mondiale, ils violent immédiatement le pacte de non-agression signé avec la France le 12 juin 1940.
Le Premier ministre thaïlandais Phibun organise alors une série de manifestations nationalistes et anti-françaises à Bangkok, puis des escarmouches frontalières se succèdent le long du Mékong. L’aviation thaïlandaise, supérieure en nombre, bombarde de jour Vientiane, Sisophon, et Battambang en toute impunité. Les forces aériennes françaises tentent des raids en représailles, mais les dégâts causés sont bien moindres. En décembre 1940, la Thaïlande occupe Pak-Lay et le Bassac.
Début janvier 1941, Bangkok lance une offensive sur le Laos et le Cambodge. La résistance franco-indochinoise est en place, mais la plupart des unités sont surpassées par les forces thaïlandaises, mieux équipées (20 chars côté français, 134 côté siamois). Les Thaïlandais occupent rapidement le Laos, alors qu’au Cambodge la résistance française est meilleure.
Le 16 janvier, la France lance une large contre-offensive menée par le 5e REI (Régiment Etranger d’Infanterie) sur les villages de Yang Dang Khum et de Phum Préav, où se déroulent les plus féroces combats de la guerre. La contre-attaque est bloquée et s’achève par une retraite, mais les Thaïlandais ne peuvent poursuivre les forces françaises, leurs blindés ayant été cloués au sol par les canons anti-char français (qui, faute de moyens adéquats, avaient été tractés sur place par des bœufs). Alors que la situation à terre est critique pour la France, l’amiral Decoux donne le feu vert pour exécuter une opération contre la marine thaïlandaise. L'ordre est donné aux navires de guerre disponibles d’attaquer dans le golfe de Thaïlande. Au matin du 17 janvier 1941, le « groupe occasionnel » attaque les navires thaïlandais à Koh Chang. Bien que la flotte ennemie la surclasse largement en nombre, l'opération de la marine française, s'achève par une victoire complète. À l'issue du combat, une bonne partie de la flotte de guerre thaïlandaise est détruite. Mais, le 24 janvier, la bataille aérienne finale a lieu lorsque l’aéroport de Siem Reap est atteint par un raid des bombardiers thaïlandais.
Le Japon intervient rapidement dans le conflit au profit des Thaïs, impose un armistice, puis un traité de paix, le 9 mai, par lequel la France abandonne les provinces cambodgiennes de Battambang et Siem Reap, ainsi que les provinces laotiennes de Champassak et Sayaburi, soit un territoire de plus de 50 000 km2 habité par 420 000 personnes.
Les territoires annexés au Cambodge ne seront restitués par la Thaïlande, sous pression internationale (traité de Washington), qu'en novembre 1947.
Mais dès 1953, alors que le Cambodge accède à peine à l’indépendance, des troupes thaïes investissent Préah Vihear, en chassent les fonctionnaires khmers et hissent leur drapeau national. Neuf ans plus tard, en 1962, l’habileté consommée du prince Sihanouk permit d’obtenir une décision internationale de justice et les Thaïs durent faire marche arrière, mais le répit allait être de courte durée, la guerre arrivait et Préah Vihear y serait engouffré.
Passons sur les occupations successives du site par les armées en conflit, la reddition des dernières troupes de Lon Nol aux Khmers rouges en mai 1975, le pire moment de son histoire fut un effroyable holocauste orchestré il y a trente ans par l’armée thaïlandaise elle-même !
Peu après la défaite des Khmers rouges en 1979, la Thaïlande fut submergée de réfugiés cambodgiens et pour démontrer au monde qu’elle ne pouvait seule sans argent gérer ce phénomène, elle planifia une atroce mise en scène. Au matin du vendredi 8 juin 1979, 110 bus se rangèrent devant le camp de Nong Chan qui abritait des dizaines de milliers de réfugiés cambodgiens. On leur déclara qu’ils allaient être transférés dans un camp plus à même de les recevoir et tous ces survivants du génocide Khmer rouge furent renvoyés en enfer…
Fort éloigné de Nong Chan, le site de Préah Vihear avait été choisi à dessein, on se vengeait de la perte du temple en 1962. Une falaise abrupte couverte de jungle, des mines par milliers, l’issue ne faisait pas de doute…
Comprenant ce qui allait se passer, les malheureux réfugiés durent être sortis des bus sous la menace des armes. Des scènes horribles eurent lieu : arrivés de nuit, bus après bus, les Cambodgiens furent poussés comme du bétail entre deux rangées de militaires sur un étroit chemin, non sans avoir été dépouillé de tout l’argent qu’ils possédaient. Les militaires maniaient leurs armes comme des bâtons et tiraient sur ceux qui refusaient de descendre le chemin. Terrorisés à l’idée de sauter sur les mines innombrables (posées par les Khmers rouges quatre ans auparavant), les réfugiés tentaient par tous les moyens de rester sur le chemin, mais plus haut, on poussait sans cesse de nouveaux malheureux et les gens étaient finalement forcés de marcher dans le champ de mines. Il fallut trois jours aux survivants pour traverser cette étendue de mort, de soif et de faim au milieu des cadavres en putréfaction et des blessés se tordant de douleur. On estime à quarante-cinq mille le nombre de Cambodgiens ainsi expulsés. Pendant plusieurs jours, ils furent convoyés en enfer par une noria de bus, mais il est impossible d’estimer le nombre des victimes, les Khmers rouges n’ont pas tenu de registre…
On ignore trop cette affreuse page d’histoire pour ne retenir que cette « Amazing Thailand » des brochures touristiques. Les torts des Thaïs à l’encontre des Khmers doivent être rappelés, non pour dresser à nouveau les peuples les uns contre les autres, mais pour que justice soit enfin rendue.
Les Cambodgiens n’agressent personne, ils sont trop conscients du déséquilibre des forces en présence, il n’y a de leur part que du courage et de la détermination à défendre leur pays, mais la Thaïlande a trop de problèmes intérieurs pour ne pas tenter d’exploiter le mythe de l’Union Sacrée contre la barbarie du voisin, les morts du passé n’y changeront rien.
Cette tragédie est malheureusement loin d’un heureux dénouement, les Américains détestent trop Hun Sen pour raisonner leurs partenaires thaïs, et quant aux Français, il est peu probable qu’ils enverront une fois de plus des canonnières devant Bangkok…
Pierre-Yves Clais
Ancien Casque Bleu au Cambodge (1992)
36 comments:
I’m happy to read your article on this missing part history of Cambodia and its neighbor “Thailand” Most reporters never mentioned in the past especially by those who know it and chose not to point it out due to their security risk and reason. Hopefully, those news sources in Thailand and its people who are prejudiced and racism toward Cambodians will get a truth view of the reality, not being fooled by their leaders.
PIERRE-YVES CLAIS, Thank you for your brief commentary and thank you for sharing this.
May God bless you and the family.
Great article. Everyone should read and spread these facts.
Thanks Pierre, let us forward this to the Bangkok news.
Pierre, thank you for sharing the true.
Pierre,
Thank you so much for being so fair and sharing this historical fact with everyone.
Hi Cambodians,
Thai Royal is secretely set up a ritual and pray to an ancient King who built Preah Vihear to return and to save and help Thais to victory. Do you know all the golden sorts are in Thailand very well protected?
They believe that the ancient King who built Preah Vihear will return back to Thailand.
why would he return back to Thailand? An inscriptions of Khmer nobles led us know that If they should be reborn again, they will come to the kingdom of Kampuchea not Siam or Thailand.
Why would we care about a secret ridiculous ritual? Dharma decides the fate of the world, as Buddhist the Thais knows this well and no matter how much they pray, in the end if it wasn't theres, then the truth will prevail
Thanks you for keeping Cambodian history very accurate,please keep this history posting up every months or please Cambodian scholar as the right reverse to translate this article in khmer language and start to teach Cambodian student in primary in High school from this hour on.
Am apologize with my khmer descent,but I love this history spread to all khmer every where around the world.
Like Japanese teach their student , to know who their killer.
thanks for article................i hate the thais even more now................. FUCK THAILAND
It sadden me that Cambodians were being slaughter by those cold heart monsters of southeast Asia. I did not know Thailand is the land of evil. All alone I thought the land of
smile.
Iamkhmer
The land of evils and confusion not the land of smile.
Iamkhmer
I would like to add to the French Indochina (Cambodia) history well written by Pierre that Admiral Decoux flag ship La Motte Piquet was the French Vichy battle ship that destroyed the Thai fleet at Koh Chang. This French naval victory prevented the Thai from invading Koh Kong and Kampot in 1941. The Thai navy was caught unprepared (asleep) when the French navy attacked. Many Thai sailors and ships were sent to the bottom of ocean. Bravo Admiral Decoux.
Thank you Thank you Thank you........... soooooooooooo much for written this. This is exactly what happen to me and my whole family we were pushed down from Preah Vihear cliff by thais soldiers with gunpoint passed thru the minefields and hundreds of dead body Who were push down before us.From the top cliff to the botttom of the moutain was undesribeable(don't know how to write). Thais claim they are Buddist and a land of smile with the God King, i think he is a evil king and never smile and they read the wrong Buddist dhamar.
This was a very very very........awful page of history that i will never never forget. I wish more and more people talking and written about it.
Dear Pierre-Yves Clais,
Thank you very much for your article.
God bless you and the family.
AND:
Wake up and be true to the history ah Siam 10:47 AM. Or all siamese will go to hell very soon.
Hi Cambodians,
Thai Royal is secretely set up a sexual ritual and pray to an ancient Seim King who didn't built Preah Vihear to take out Abhisit and to help Thais to kill all the yellow shirts. Do you know all the golden sorts are not going to be in Thailand for long?
They believe that the ancient Seim King who didn't built Preah Vihear will return Thailand back to Cambodia soon
Mr. PIERRE-YVES CLAIS,
You are the witness of Cambodian history and Justic-loving person. Please put your article to the world to let the world n\know the poisonous attitude of Thai leaders who even spoiled their people minds.
Hun Sen and other Khmer people who do not know their own history should learn and give justice to Cambodian Kings who try to save Cambodia after Angkor Time such as King Ang Doung and Norodom. I remember when I was in High School, Hun Sen Government with the assistance from Youn and Russian taught us that King Norodom was bad for Cambodia because signed to put Cambodia under French Colonisation. This is really wrong and trying to ahcnge the history. Therefore, I am very much appreacite the article of Mr. PIERRE-YVES CLAIS.
All the best for you and we will always welcome you to Cambodia.
If the French still be on Cambodian side the French needs to help Cambodian in all kind of fields. We need French as weapons, navy and help Cambodia to bring Khmer Krom to rejoin Cambodia.
Then Cambodia will be French's eternal friend.
good that someone, whether foreigner or native people took time to write down history whether good or bad; it's still history that needed to be in the textbook. of course, history are just that, they can teach everyone to understand how the world revolved around each other and so forth. i think those who try hard to erase history is bad because it is good for everyone to learn about history whether it is a defeat or a humiliation to national pride or whatever, it's still is history. cambodia need not be ashame to accord history and learn from it for it is indeed very interest. nothing to be ashame of history. things like this happens all over the history of the entire world. ancient civilization came and gone, and every nations on the planet has had a history of victory and defeat, shame and pride, war and peace and prosperity, etc... don't be ashame of history by destroy or not writing it down in a textbook. for me, i love reading history like this. it's just good for learning, that's all. god bless cambodia.
To 10:47
The Preah Vihear Tample was build by the Khmer kings.
Now Thai king wants to prey to the spirits of kings who build the temple? I want to tell you guy that they can not listen Siamese because they are Khmer. THEY CAN NOT RETURN TO THAILAND.
In opposite, they stay with their children (khmer) forever, and lead the khmer troop to take the Khmer Empire land back any day.
Khmer Empire King will be reborn, all Siames will give up and getting so tired of bad sperite they have and confession to the world! They are Siames, not Thai! Thai not a bad person, but Siam was very bad and enfluent by bad sperite leaders, trug, acoalic etc.
Hey All Khmer Loeur, Khmer Krom, Khmer Kandarl! Do you remember when we were all refugee in Khmer-Thai border and/or in Kao-I-Dang or others refugee camps.? Do you remember Siam/Thai people killed us! Moved the cement border post of Siames into Khmer Angkor/Cambodian land 1,2 to 3 killo meters every years. I saw in my both brown eyes very cleared, ok! Because I were a smugler you know! That why I saw it!!! UNHCR gave enought good foods, good medicines, cloths ect. Siam exchanged keep the good gave us the bad staffs! Not only that you know Phnom Dorng Reach! UNHCR said, go to pick up Refugee, but they didn't pick them up, Siam shut them and used Khmer Surin to kill Khmer like Pol Pot used by Yuon! You know that this was the games of killing people and occupired land! I wish all Khmer reborn from killing by neighbors' countries! I strongly believed in you, you reborn and still remember how bad it was! So all the Khmer next generation to come if you born with the father of Khmer/Cambodian I hope you will not forget your mom or dad and Khmer people, you to reunited as Khmer Empire, rember! you are all Khmer Empire, not one not two...you alllll!!!!!too me, Khmer mean Strong, big, huge! Believed in Peace, love, share cultures etc. like Siames killed king stold all Khmer Tradionts and and on.....man if I live 120 years old! I will reveal all about Siames or Siam momiesss! The inside out!
Down to ah Thai thoke Teab but ah Hun Sen son of the bitch not good either,ah hun sen steal all money from Cambodian people to enrich his family,and bring all koun khmer to die for him,
pook ah Siam it has plenty of soldier every men when they reach age of the 18 they get duty selective and they serve the country for 2 years, how about ah Hun Sen systematic having that or not?Only old corrupted general and rusty weapons,poor training(only bravery )So I won't say it good fight yet but,where all the next generation,west point,Malay ,Singapore,Philippine trained?
Do not depen on ah Sen ,Heng Sory,Chea Sum, I warn you before too late to fix other hand say no to viet also if these dog eaters backing Cambodia up and the war are finished Cambodia absolutely finished by that helper too.
khmer no land
Khmer euy,
How long have we been strayed away from the right path?
Everey king, eveey leader had toiled for his own glory. They cursed God and his people.
If we do not turn back to God, ask for forgivness and repent, no foreign nation will save us, our neigbouring countries are only like a roaring lion or a thief looking for something to kill, steal, destroy.
Turn to God and God will be on our side.
Let the Thai king do the rituals that are the abdominations to the eyes of God. Let the Thais worship cows, oxen and other idols that are only wood, bronze or iron or stone, that cannot talk, that need to carry by men to be able to move.
But as for Cambodians, let's worship our Great God. God of all creations. Our living God had created all things, the heavens and earths, the skies, the stars, the moons, the suns. He provides his people all needs befor he created us. He gives us all abilities and power and strenght. Let's turn back to Him, and humble ourselves before His glories and entrust to Him everythings, our problems, our needs, and ask Him for salvation, protection, guidance, wisdoms, his knowledges, justice, peace and rest.
You all seemed to misconstrued my post. I repost:
"Hi Cambodians
Thai Royal is secretely set up a ritual and pray to an ancient King who built Preah Vihear to return and to save and help Thais to victory. Do you know all the golden sorts are in Thailand very well protected?
They believe that the ancient King who built Preah Vihear will return back to Thailand."
The Ancient Kings were the Kings who built the Preah Vihear. The royal did the secret ceremony praying to the Kings who built Preah Vihear they did NOT say Thai King of Khmer King, they directly prayed and called the names of the Kings that built Preah Vihear of the empire.
Do you Cambodians know the names of the Kings who built Preah Vihear?
Your PM's wife went to Preah Vihear and she set up a ceremony prayed to all kind of souls including the soul of Neak Ta Kleang Meung who didn't build Preah Vihear.
No laughing matter, many Cambodians don't know who built Preah Vihear, but Thais knew because they're taught in school. Also they have golden sorts of the ancient King who built Preah Vihear in late 11th century hidden in a safe place.
You will never know with your ignorant forget your own Kings who built Temple for you, I bet He will not return to Cambodia.
Are you kidding these Cambodians know whose Kings built Preah Vihear?
The foreigners like PIERRE-YVES CLAIS, Thais, Vietnamese know more than Cambodians themselves who know how to fuck cursing.
Why should the Empire Khmer Kings return to Cambodia if they are so fucking stupid? That's the best places for the Khmer Empire Kings to stay is in Thailand.
If the Empire King come to stay in Cambodia, the studpi Cambodians will steal and ship those golden sorts to Vietnam or will sell all.
The Empire Kings created the Khmer Empire and the Kings can stay wherever they want as long as the places are part of their Khmer Empire.
How stupid these Cambodians can be they don't even know the names of the Kings who built Preah Vihear, and how are they going to claim that Preah Vihear belongs to them?
11:40am
mind your own business,don't you think China and Viet will join hands together if you Thai still want a sensitive site,it was Yeak Sor Varamarn the second ho built that temple IDIOT
who not ho and no one wanted to hear your manipulate ,lying ,cheating and stealing history 's story from Thai either.
Khau jai mai phouk ai khee khmoy?
It is a great article that will demonstrate to the world the history between Cambodia and Siamese, especially Preah Vihear Temple, and I do encourage everyone who has read this to spread it out! Thank you very much PIERRE! You are the true man of Cambodia History !
Soriya
1:27 PM and all Cambodians.
Please why you ashame us like this?
Study our own Khmer History.
It was our King named Soryavaraman II not Yeak Sor Varamarn the second. If theey were the same King then you have to write it correctly according to History now written.
Please don't asnwer to foreigners if you are ignorant about our own history.
hey, smarty pants, that's what textbook and history was written so people aren't expected to know the kings' names who ran the khmer angkor civilization, ok! the only people who are expected to know all the names and dates in history are historian. that's why not everybody is a historian because historian is a person who earned the degree from college. hey, even doctors of medicines don't expect to know all the names of all the drugs in the world because they too can refer to the physician's desk reference for proper drug usage, etc..., ok! so, don't be too hard on yourself. people can always go back to the book of verification and reference, alright! god bless all khmer people.
Shut the fuck you blabbermouth 8;16am. Admit it you fucking azzhole don't know our empire King who really built Preah Vihear.
Fuck off and stop making you rstupid comment about Khmjer KIngs who built Preah Vihear.
King Soryavaraman II was Khmer empire King who built Preah Vihear and built Angkor Wat both.
Ah jumkout go get lost and fuck your stupid theory, ok?
Well, actually Preah Vihear was built by Great Brahmin Divakara, the person behind Kings Suryavarman I and II.
At the end of his existence Divakara was given the greatest distinction, the King authorized him to erect his own Linga at Preah Vihear.
By the way, using foul language just makes the Thai invaders feel superior to us... Don't forget who is our real ennemy ! Cheyo Kampuchea !
All,
History is something that could be distorted or misunderstood in favour of someone or some countries. As you may see currently that conflict from the past causes pains for all people either the winner or the loser.
After reading the essay, I am so disappointed with the writer's role in this regard as I saw that he was once a UN peacekeeper but what he wrote today doesn't pave the way to PEACE at all. On the contrary, the writer evidently takes side already.
If a Thai press dissatified the writer, why not give her a call, make a conversation for mutual understanding?
As this is such a sensitive issue for both of us, the Thais and Cambodians, that any mass media should be used the most carefully because this will cause more conflict in a very near future.
This is just to express my opinion and hope that the conflict could be solved peacefully as soon as possible.
Dear "anonymous",
Just a word, I did write to the Thai press : The Nation, The Bangkok Post, and some individual Thai journalists, they didn't even bother to answer me ! What I wrote in this article is plain facts, you may not like them but can I say that no Cambodian was killed in Preah Vihear by the Thais just to make you feel better and in order not to "cause more conflict" ? The truth, that's my pledge ! And yes, I stand with the Cambodians, first because they're right and secondly because I honor myself of being a loyal subject to King Sihamoni and the father of three Cambodian children !
I certainly don't hate the Thais and I personaly welcomed Thai Princess Sirinthorn in my Lodge in Ratanakiri a year and half ago, but I know where I stand as a French and as a Cambodian. By the way let me say that I was deeply touched by most of the previous comments and the blessing on my family, especially when they came from survivors of the 1980 massacre at Preah Vihear.
God bless our soldiers guarding the temple !
Pierre-Yves Clais
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