Lest you forget: Non-Communist Resistance Bulletin - January 1990

https://www.box.com/s/3c91621c2e266f12e2c1

Monthly Documents Bulletin by Ta An Srok Khmer No. 23

https://www.box.com/s/fd65112e657fcf649a25

Sacrava's 1992 Cartoon: 2 Dogs Fight

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Monthly Documents Bulletin by Ta An Srok Khmer No. 22

http://www.box.com/s/0hr2f8vypp4p7eissc7u

Son Sann's 100th birthday commemoration on 05 October 2011

http://www.box.com/s/2u8q5nf4tb1u8fspfss3

Slide shows on the KPNLF

Dear Readers and Friends,

On the occasion of the 32nd anniversary of the KPNLF, I invite you to review a slide show I created, The Face of the KPNLAF, at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bsb0tyYLar8

Two earlier slide shows on the KPNLF may be viewed at:

KPNLF No Fire Like Passion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FowU4vPYsCc

Never Doubt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqs0bKxraYc

Sincerely yours,

Gaffar Peang-Meth, Ph.D.

Slide show on the Khmer People's National Liberation Front

Dear Countrymen and Friends,

I am inviting you to enjoy a slide show on the Khmer People's National Liberation Front and the Khmer People's National Liberation Armed Forces (1980-1989) in honor of KPNLF/KPNLAF members, cadres, combatants, and officers.

Sincerely,

Gaffar Peang-Meth, Ph.D.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FowU4vPYsCc

Preah Vihear temple - Excerpt from Son Sann's Memoir

http://www.box.net/shared/x3doth6h7934qk8l8tke

Soy Sopheap begs for forgiveness

Media personality Soy Sopheap adjusts a poster at the re-opening of Deum Ampil Newspaper in December 2010. Soy Sopheap attended court yesterday to clarify defamation allegations. (Photo by: Heng Chivoan)

Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Buth Reaksmey Kongkea
The Phnom Penh Post

Prominent television personality Soy Sopheap was summoned to Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday to clarify defamation accusations alleged by Son Soubert, a political analyst and former member of the Constitutional Council.

Ek Chheng Huot, deputy prosecutor at the Municipal Court, said yesterday that Soy Sopheap, director of Deum Ampil News and a presenter for Bayon TV, faced a complaint by Son Soubert on February 4 over accusations of defamation stemming from comments suggesting that Son Sann – Son Soubert’s father and former prime minister – sold land located near Preah Vihear temple to Thailand in the 1980s.

“Soy Sopheap was accused with defamation of Samdech Son Sann who is the father of His Excellency Son Soubert. He has already appeared in court and clarified about his accusations yesterday and I have not decided whether he will be charged or not yet,” Ek Chheng Hout said yesterday.

Soy Sopheap said in court that he was confused and had made a mistake in his political commentary regarding Son Sann and had pleaded for a pardon from Son Soubert with regard to the comments. He said he had also made a correction publicly on Bayon TV shortly after the incident.

05 March 2011 - Memorial Ceremony of the KPNLAF

05 March 2011 - Memorial Ceremony of the KPNLAF
http://www.scribd.com/full/51124932?access_key=key-623c7ki4d7o5f7zr47l

Souvenir Photos of the Khmer People's National Liberation Armed Forced (1981-1989)

All photos courtesy: Dr. A. Gaffar Peang-Meth

Click on each photo to zoom in

My home

Document confiscated from a Vietnamese soldier

Document and insignia confiscated from an enemy soldier [KI-Media note: Hun Xen claimed he and his men liberated Cambodia, well it looks like his men were Vietnamese after all, isn't it?]

Cambodian man carrying his relative while fleeing

Organization of the KPNLAF

CAMBODIA: Two inspirational historical events spark young Cambodians to work for change

FOR PUBLICATION
AHRC-ETC-008-2011
March 15, 2011


An article by Dr. Gaffar Peang-Meth published by the Asian Human Rights Commission

CAMBODIA: Two inspirational historical events spark young Cambodians to work for change

"It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped." - Robert F. Kennedy

I do have my political preferences.

Like anyone else, my political socialization began in childhood. And like other Cambodians in general, I was taught to "korup, bamroer, kaowd k'lach, smoh trawng" -- "respect, serve, admire/fear, be faithful/loyal" -- by my parents and elders, behaviors reinforced by my teachers in school. As a boy, it never occurred to me to challenge these teachings.

Then I entered the classroom of a young "progressive" instructor at my leaky, thatched-roof primary school at Russey Keo. Regularly he reminded us that each of us has "one kilo of brain" that is as good as any other brain, and that we -- kids in the room with those brains -- are responsible for our own future and that of our society.

Now, as my dark hair is marked with a few strands of gray, I recently recounted how my "brain" reacted then: " 'Bah!' I remember the thought I had then, as I looked around at some of my classmates: clowns, bullies, pants-wetters … an assembly of the future?" I still wonder what happened to that great instigator of the mind, whose words I first pooh-poohed but will carry to my deathbed, and about that assembly of representatives of the future!

Excerpt from Son Sann's Memoir

Hi All,

Just received this from someone who translated it for me. Wish to share with all of you.

This relates to a French Memo of Mr Son Sann I sent out last week.

Bora Touch
---------------

Excerpt of Samdech Son-Sann Memoir

(Former PM) under the title “Memoir of a Cambodia servant ”

Issue on P. Vihear Temple

Temple Preah Vihear, situated on Khmer side on the border Khmer-Thai, had been occupied by Thailand since 1953, although it had been recognized as Khmer by the French-Siam Treaty of 1907 and confirmed by French-Siam Agreement of Washington on November 17, 1946.

In June, 1959, Thai Foreign Minister Thanat Khoman came to Phnom Penh to solicit through my intervention an audience with Samdech Norodom Sihanouk to get assurance that the issue on P. Vihear would be settled out of Court between Cambodia and Thailand. The truth was that Thailand wished to avoid having Cambodia bringing the issue on P. Vihear in front of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at La Haye before 1961.

In fact, before the UN formation, Thailand member of Society of the Nations (SDN) in Geneva, had accepted the mandate arbitration from La Haye International Court of Justice until June, 1961. HE Thanat Khoman, through promises to settle out of Court, attempted to drag this issue until 1961- making Thailand no longer obligated to accept the arbitration of this International Court of Justice. Since 1959, Cambodia, aware of Thailand’s idea, had been quietly trying to distance itself and discretely bringing this issue to La Haye Court.

Preah Vihear: Son Sann

Cher(e)s Compatriotes et Ami(e)s,

Veuillez trouver ci-joint un extrait du mémoire de S.E. M. SON SANN concernant la question du Temple de PREAH-VIHEAR.

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Dear Fellow Countrymen and Friends,Edit HTML

Please find attached an excerpt from H.E. SON SANN's writing regarding the question of Preah Vihear Temple.

Ta An Srok Khmer

Mémoire de Son Sann sur Preah Vihear

Monthly Documents Bulletin/FNLPK by Ta An Srok Khmer No. 3

Click here to download this document (PDF)

Date change for Son Sann Memorial in Paris: New date is 02 January 2011

10th Anniversary Commemoration for Mr. Son Sann's Death

Commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the death of

H. E. SON SANN

On Sunday, December 19th, 2010 from 9:30AM in Wat Bodhivansa Pagoda

101 Blvd de la Republique, 77420 Champs-Sur-Marne (Paris Suburb).

This communication is an invitation to all our Compatriots and Friends of Cambodia.

o - o - o - o

Cérémonie Commémorative du 10è Anniversaire de la mort de

S. E. M. SON SANN

le dimanche 19 décembre 2010 à partir de 09h.30 à la pagode Bodhivansa,

101 Boulevard de la République 77420 Champs-Sur-Marne (Banlieue de Paris).

Cette communication fait l'objet d'une invitation adressée à nos Compatriotes

et des Ami(e)s du Cambodge.

Overseas Cambodians - Birth of the Son Sann's Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF)

Son Sann in Toulouse (France) on 24 June 1997 at the Cugneaux Pagoda
Sim Var (R) during his visit to Toulouse (France) in 1976

Unofficial translation from Khmer

On 17 April 1975, the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh to lead Cambodia. In 1976, in Paris, France, a number of Khmer VIPs, such as H.E. Son Sann, H.E. Sim Var, and a number of other VIPs whom we apologize for not naming them all here, called on Cambodians from both inside and outside Cambodia to unite in order to liberate our brothers and sisters from the Khmer Rouge tragedy which is taking place in Cambodia.

For additional information please visit:
Ta An Srok Khmer website
(Grandpa An's Cambodia)

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KI-Media Note: For those who are not familiar with older generation of Cambodian politicians, Mr. Sim Var served in several ministerial posts under both Prince Norodom Sihanouk and General Lon Nol after Cambodia's independence in 1954. In 1957, he led Cambodia's Council of Ministers, but his Government fell the next year over economic issues.

At the time that the Khmer Rouge began their violent four-year rule, Mr. Sim Var was serving as Ambassador to Tokyo. His political fallout with Prince Norodom Sihanouk took place when he joined General Lon Nol's camp in 1970. Mr. Sim Var's death in 1989 did not stop King Norodom Sihanouk's ire against him and the king kept on writing sneering stories about his former minister whom he accused of being a traitor.

Insurgents celebrate legacy

In a photo displayed during Friday’s ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the Khmer People’s National Liberation Front, Son Sann, the group’s founder and president, speaks with villagers inside its liberated zone, Sok San village, Battambang province, in 1985. (Photo by: Sebastian Strangio)

Monday, 12 October 2009
Sebastian Strangio and Vong Sokheng
The Phnom Penh Post

Now there are Vietnamese everywhere because slaves of the Vietnamese took control of the country ... Without the resistance, Cambodia would be wearing a Vietnamese hat.

Veterans of the KPNLF mark their 30th anniversary, saying their nationalism and fight against communism and corruption remain relevant to the Kingdom.

THREE decades on from the founding of the Khmer People’s National Liberation Front (KPNLF) in the remote jungles of Battambang province, veteran resistance fighters say the group’s controversial legacy – and that of its president and founder Son Sann – remain relevant in a changing Cambodia.

One of the main resistance factions to emerge along the Thai border following the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge regime by Vietnamese troops in January 1979, the KPNLF prompted controversy for its role in the decade-long civil war against the Hanoi-backed government in Phnom Penh.

During a ceremony at the Son Sann memorial stupa in Kandal province’s Kien Svay district on Friday, a dwindling group of KPNLF veterans gathered to reflect on their experiences in the resistance and promote the continuing pertinence of the faction’s goals.

Svay Ngov, a soldier who lost both of his legs in the service of the KPNLF, said the sacrifice was worthwhile in the pursuit of the group’s aims.

“I made sacrifices for the sake of my conscience, which was to fight against the foreigners who invaded Cambodia, fight against the Khmer Rouge and fight against corruption in society,” he said in a speech at the ceremony.

“These three core issues remain unresolved.”

Son Soubert, Son Sann’s son and an active member of the movement, said it played an integral role in establishing the 1993 Constitution and helped usher in the current system of multiparty democracy.

“We fulfilled our aim of bringing about national reconciliation and, even if we have never ruled the country, we still continue to play a role in promoting democracy,” he said on Sunday.

Controversial role
The KPNLF was established on October 9, 1979, by a small group of nationalists, “white” Khmers and officials from the Sihanouk and Lon Nol regimes, unified in their opposition to communism and to the presence of Vietnamese forces in the country.

Recruiting its support from the flood of refugees seeking sanctuary in its bases along the Thai border, the KPNLF – with support from the United States, Europe and China – provided social services and waged a continuing insurgency against the Phnom Penh government.

The Cold War calculus of the age, however, created strange bedfellows. In June 1982, Son Sann entered into a coalition – the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK) – with the royalist Funcinpec and remnants of the Khmer Rouge, an association that even today prompts controversy.

General Dien Del, the KPNLF’s former general chief of staff who was present at the founding of the group in 1979 and travelled to China to procure its first shipment of military aid, said the group’s aim was to act as a bulwark against the “Vietnamisation” of the country during the occupation of the 1980s.

Despite the Vietnamese military withdrawal from the country in 1989, however, Dien Del said, its influence remained.

“Even if the foreign troops withdrew, civilians remained and supported the Phnom Penh government,” he said, referring to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) – the successor to the communist regime of the 1980s.

“Now there are Vietnamese everywhere because slaves of the Vietnamese took control of the country.”

When asked whether the Vietnamese deserved any credit for overthrowing Pol Pot, Dien Del stood firm.

“Not at all,” he replied. “They were an occupation force. Without the resistance, Cambodia would be wearing a Vietnamese hat.”

Cheam Yeap, a senior CPP lawmaker, denied the charge, saying that by throwing in its lot with Pol Pot, the KPNLF had squandered its credibility.

“After we rescued the people from Pol Pot and stopped Pol Pot from returning to the country, the [KPNLF] and Funcinpec set up an alliance with the Khmer Rouge,” he said, emphasising the CPP’s independence from Vietnam.

“[We] have never taken a foreigner as our boss. Those criticising us should check and balance their historical background.”

Despite the controversy of its anti-Vietnamese nationalism, old resistance fighters said their animating principles – to resist foreign occupation, prevent a return to the “genocidal” Khmer Rouge regime and fight corruption – have been undiminished by time.

“Today, we find that all of these principles are still critical,” said Pol Ham, who joined the KPNLF in 1979 and served as the head of its information service from 1989 until 1991.

“We have contributed a lot to the liberation of our country and for [its] reconstruction.”

Noble end
After the signing of the Paris Peace Accords in 1991, the KPNLF collapsed after its civilian and military wings split into separate political parties to contest the 1993 elections.

Despite the party’s ignominious end, however, others said Son Sann was still able to play an instrumental role in the peace process.

“When people were repatriated from the border, the seeds of human rights and democracy were created inside the country,” said Lao Mong Hay, a researcher for the Asian Human Rights Commission who served as an aide to Son Sann from 1988 to 1992, in an interview in February.

“Unfortunately, because Son Sann was not successful at the elections, we could not translate the ideas that we cherished into concrete actions.”

KPNLF commemoration

Prince Norodom Ranariddh inspects a monument to KPNLF resistance fighters Thursday in Kandal province. (Photo by: BRENDAN BRADY)
Son Soubert (left), son of the Front's founder, prays as Ranariddh lays a wreath on a monument to the movement's fallen soldiers. (Photo by: Brendan Brady)

Friday, 06 March 2009
Written by Brendan Brady and Kouth Sophak Chakrya
The Phnom Penh Post

"Vietnamese troops did not invade Cambodia ... They came to help Cambodia from the Pol Pot regime - we should be thankful to the Vietnamese." - CPP MP "Chom Chea Yap" aka "Cheam Yeap"

Former border resistance leaders stand by antagonism towards Vietnamese.

A WHO'S who of anti-Vietnamese leaders of the 1980s gathered at a stupa in Kandal province Thursday to commemorate resistance fighters who had died as part of the movement's effort to expel the foreign power.

The Khmer National Liberation Front (KPNLF) was one of the main resistance groups to emerge along the Thai border following the fall of the
Khmer Rouge by Vietnamese forces and their subsequent administrative takeover of Cambodia.

Former KPNLF army and political leaders inaugurated a monument with inscriptions of the names of resistance fighters who died between 1979 and 1991 at a ceremony in Kien Svay district.

Chuor Kim Meng, who had been a lieutenant general for the movement's military wing, said the resistance helped push the Vietnamese out and forced the local officials it had installed to accept multiparty democracy.

"If not for these fighters, Vietnam may have continued to occupy Cambodia," he said.

Dien Del, former chief of staff of the group's army, said the event "preserve the memory of those who died expelling the Vietnamese occupiers".

Prince Norodom Ranariddh, the guest of honour, praised the resistance. "I have never forgotten its fighters who died," he said. He, too, described the Vietnamese troops in Cambodia at that time as "invaders" and "occupiers".

While there was no official condemnation from the government, the commemoration should have proved controversial as the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) evolved from the People's Revolutionary Party of Kampuchea (PRPK), the regime that governed Cambodia under the control of Vietnamese forces.

KR alliance necessary

Son Soubert, son of Son Sann, founder and former president of the KPNLF and himself a participant in the movement's administration, said he had sent a letter of invitation to Prime Minister Hun Sen, Senate President Chea Sim and Deputy Prime Minister Sok An. Only Chea Sim responded, saying he had other obligations.

Cheam Yeap, a senior CPP lawmaker, criticised the KPNLF for characterizing the Vietnamese as enemies.

"Vietnamese troops did not invade Cambodia," he told the Post by phone. "They came to help Cambodia from the Pol Pot regime - we should be thankful to the Vietnamese."

The exit of Vietnamese forces in 1989 came about not from resistance pressure from the border but because the PRPK was ready to rule on its own, he contended.

Opposition party representatives present at the ceremony, however, insisted the Front's cause was righteous and attributed the exit of Vietnam to its efforts.

"They fought for our freedom and sovereignty - that represents Khmer nationalism at its purest," said Human Rights Party President Kem Sokha.

Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Son Chhay had been the KPNLF's representative in southern Australia, where he was based then. "Without the resistance from the border, we would not have had the Paris Peace Accords," he said.

Nationalism first

The KPNLF started in 1979, recruiting some of the hundreds of thousands of Cambodian refugees seeking sanctuary along the border with Thailand.

Its key figures had held prominent positions in the administrations of Sihanouk and right-wing general Lon Nol, and were unified in their opposition to communism and to the presence of Vietnamese forces in the country.

The Front was seen by the US and other Western allies as the most reliably anti-communist and pro-Western group in Cambodia.

In its effort to drive out the Vietnamese, the Front struck an awkward alliance with remnants of the Khmer Rouge. In 1982 the KPNLF entered the tripartite Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea.

The new coalition included the Party of Democratic Kampuchea, a splinter group of the defeated Khmer Rouge led by Khieu Samphan, and the royalist resistance movement known as Funcinpec, and represented Cambodia at the United Nations.

For the former leaders of the Front, the alliance with their ideological counterparts was a necessary evil.

"Son Sann always said the country is more important than the party or faction," said Pol Ham, who had been the Front's Information Minister.

"We hated the Khmer Rouge, but at that time we had to prioritise - and the foreign occupiers were the first enemy. We formed a coalition but kept our own identity."

Son Soubert was adamant the Front had never "joined" the Khmer Rouge.

"We were forced to enter a temporary coalition to achieve our goals," he said.

Funcinpec Senator Sabu Bacha, a former general of the Front's army, said the dire circumstances required divisions among Cambodians be put aside "so first we could expel foreign troops from our soil".