Vietnam: Friend or Foe?

Sihanouk is being greeted by Pham Van Dong. Ieng Sary can be seen in the background.

Monday, July 04, 2011
Op-Ed by MP

The KR movement was created by and for North Vietnam with the aim of enabling Hanoi to replace France as the master of Indochina.

The idea of Indochinese Federation sought (and still being pursued) by Hanoi is modelled on colonial France's Confederation of Indochinese states consisting of Tonkin (North Vietnam), Cochin China (South Vietnam, including former Cambodian territory known as Kampuchea Krom or the Mekong Delta), the Kingdom of Laos (later taken over by the Prathet Laos, another instrument like the Khmer Rouge minus the mass killings, both created by Ho Chi Minh to implant North Vietnamese political influence across the rest of the Indochinese peninsula) and the dwindling Kingdom of Cambodia.

The Communist Party of Kampuchea (dubbed 'Red Khmers' or 'Khmer Rouge' by French-speaking Prince Sihanouk) had not clearly been formed with Cambodia's national interests in mind. Communism was ill-suited to the Cambodian condition at the time despite a sense of unease among the peasantry (and sections of urban population) towards exploitative colonial regime and subsequently the autocratic self-styled rule of Sihanouk who in his heyday was loathed by educated Cambodians in the same measure as Hun Sen is frowned upon by many educated Khmers today.

I could expand on the similarities between these 2 idiosyncratic personalities, but I am aware many of you are not fond of lengthy discourses!

The reasons that led to the KR leadership turning against their mentors and comrades-in-arms i.e. Hanoi, is a subject worth exploring by a chapter or more. But, to be brief, all the major events are inextricably woven and interlinked or intertwined together in such a manner that separating the black from the white is virtually impossible. The said events encompass the promulgation of the umbrella Communist Party of Indochina (The Indochinese Workers' Party) of which the Prathet Laos and the Communist Party of Kampuchea (KR-DK, PRK and current CPP) are its off-shoots or constituents; the historic Geneva Conference on Indochina in 1954 marking the first sign of a split between the Kampuchean communists (or a faction among them) from their North Vietnamese allies, even if this discord had been kept under the surface for the time being; the open rift between Cambodian communists now led by Pol Pot sometime prior to their coming to power in April 1975; the decision taken to evacuate the towns and cities in Cambodia following this historic event; the motivations behind that decision (remember that the Communist Party of Kampuchea was a creature created by Hanoi, and whilst Pol Pot may have command over the overall body of this creature, it is far from certain he was in control over all the cells that had been implanted in that body, hence, the pre-emptive move to empty Phnom Penh and other urban centres of populations which would have provided ideal incubators for these active or sleeping cells to foment); the frenzy killings, mainly of former urban dwellers and educated Cambodians under Democratic Kampuchea, and later on the purging of that regime's internal hierarchy involving party cadres and the armed forces (how much had all this pattern of internal cleansing been spiralled out of control as a result of Pol Pot's paranoia and madness, and how much had Hanoi's moles and agents exploited to the maximum this pervading fear and paranoia?, who would have gained the most from targeting the educated middle classes for executions, or from the erasing from collective memory of Khmer culture and history?, who indoctrinated the Cambodian communists with this elementary Marxist doctrine?); the ousting of Democratic Kampuchea and its replacement by the People's Republic of Kampuchea; the supplementary treaties signed between the PRK/CPP and Vietnam (Cambodia acceded to Hanoi's demand not to raise territorial issues over the territories of Kampuchea Krom, ceded to Vietnam under unhappy circumstances); the Most-Favoured Nation status granted to Vietnam to usurp Cambodia's market and natural resources; and so forth . . .

Cambodians are generally a grateful and noble 'race'. The word 'Khmer', according to scholars, translates as 'noble' or one of noble soul or bearing. Compassion, a strong sense of ethic, simplicity, a tendency to avoid confrontation, forgiveness; are among the qualities that can be said to be deeply imbedded in that soul.

This is part of the reason why Khmers allow themselves to be divided over most of the issues affecting their nation. Not because these qualities are deficient or wrong, but rather because of the hard work done over the past half century to enfeeble and cripple the best part of that soul. One could still find incessant effort made even today to cause confusion and discord among Khmer people, even via this forum, although their arguments are often so polished and persuasive that not every Cambodian can see through their actual intentions and machinations.

I will discuss the emotional subject of Vietnamese 'liberation' of KR victims at another time. For now, it is worthwhile to bear in mind that this historical event, good or bad, is another piece in the jigsaw in the same chain of events described above.