Born on 22 September 1922 in Prek Kak (Kampong Cham), Mr. In Tam, the former prime minister under the Lon Nol era, passed away on Saturday 01 April 2006 in
In Tam, Lon Nol-Era Leader, Dies in US
By Yun Samean
THE CAMBODIA DAILY
In Tam, who served as Cambodia's prime minister and National Assembly president under the Lon Nol regime in the early 1970s, died on Saturday in the US state of Arizona, Funcinpec's Minister of Rural Development Lu Laysreng said Monday.
In Tam, who enjoyed a checkered political career that lasted from the 1950s to 1993, when his Democratic Party ran unsuccessfully in the Untac elections, is thought to have been in his 80s and had been sick for several years, Lu Laysreng said.
A one-time loyalist to then-Prince Norodom Sihanouk, In Tam was involved in the prince's overthrow in 1970, Lu Laysreng said, adding that he had not participated willingly in the coup and would became one of the founding members of Funcinpec in l982.
"He had no intention to help [in the coup]. The situation forced him," Lu Laysreng said.
In Tam could at times be ruthless in his approach to politics, according to Justin Corfield and Laura Summers' "Historical Dictionary of Cambodia."
In 1963, the dictionary states, he arranged the arrest and execution of his own nephew Preap In, who had joined the Khmer Serei, a Thai- and US-supported anticommunist and anti-Norodom Sihanouk rebel movement.
After becoming involved himself in the overthrow of Norodom Sihanouk, In Tam was made president of the National Assembly.
Although he gained the affection of peasants and soldiers, he was unpopular among Phnom Penh's elite, and military officers judged him an incompetent field commander, according to the dictionary.
In May 1973, he was appointed prime minister, though effective power remained with Lon Nol and In Tam was relieved of his duties in December of the same year.
One day after the Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh, he fled from his farm in Poipet to Thailand on April 18,1975, where he unsuccessfully tried to establish a counterrevolutionary force along the border. Thai authorities, unhappy with his activities, deported him to France the same year, and he later received asylum in the US.
He returned to Cambodia several times.
In 1993, his Democratic Party, modeled partly on the party of the same name in the US, failed to win any seats, and he returned to America.
Reflecting on In Tarn's career, Prince Sisowath Srirath said he had not betrayed Norodom Sihanouk in 1970, and that In Tam's activities had been indicative of the country's political climate at the time.
"In Tam joined Lon Nol because Lon Nol had soldiers and power," he said "It was because of the country's circumstances during the Cold War."
In Tam, who enjoyed a checkered political career that lasted from the 1950s to 1993, when his Democratic Party ran unsuccessfully in the Untac elections, is thought to have been in his 80s and had been sick for several years, Lu Laysreng said.
A one-time loyalist to then-Prince Norodom Sihanouk, In Tam was involved in the prince's overthrow in 1970, Lu Laysreng said, adding that he had not participated willingly in the coup and would became one of the founding members of Funcinpec in l982.
"He had no intention to help [in the coup]. The situation forced him," Lu Laysreng said.
In Tam could at times be ruthless in his approach to politics, according to Justin Corfield and Laura Summers' "Historical Dictionary of Cambodia."
In 1963, the dictionary states, he arranged the arrest and execution of his own nephew Preap In, who had joined the Khmer Serei, a Thai- and US-supported anticommunist and anti-Norodom Sihanouk rebel movement.
After becoming involved himself in the overthrow of Norodom Sihanouk, In Tam was made president of the National Assembly.
Although he gained the affection of peasants and soldiers, he was unpopular among Phnom Penh's elite, and military officers judged him an incompetent field commander, according to the dictionary.
In May 1973, he was appointed prime minister, though effective power remained with Lon Nol and In Tam was relieved of his duties in December of the same year.
One day after the Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh, he fled from his farm in Poipet to Thailand on April 18,1975, where he unsuccessfully tried to establish a counterrevolutionary force along the border. Thai authorities, unhappy with his activities, deported him to France the same year, and he later received asylum in the US.
He returned to Cambodia several times.
In 1993, his Democratic Party, modeled partly on the party of the same name in the US, failed to win any seats, and he returned to America.
Reflecting on In Tarn's career, Prince Sisowath Srirath said he had not betrayed Norodom Sihanouk in 1970, and that In Tam's activities had been indicative of the country's political climate at the time.
"In Tam joined Lon Nol because Lon Nol had soldiers and power," he said "It was because of the country's circumstances during the Cold War."
3 comments:
April 1 is a fool day to die for an infidel.Fool desrved fool honor in 16 days short of Sihanouk day... April 17
By the way other fool died in April too.His name was Comrade Saloth Sar,Sihanouk benefactor during Democratic Kampuchea reign of terror....
the people who ran to the US are fool, and the people who ran to vietnam and china are no fool right?..but the word " fool" is in it!! eeyore.. what about lek sam oeurn..fool, too?
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