ប្រវត្តិលំអិតជាភាសាអគ្លេស នៅទីនេះ
Pheng Vannak News ព័ត៌មានសម្ងាត់ពីចារកម្មចិន និងបារាំង ទើបធ្វើឱ្យសម្ដេចព្រះ នរោត្តម សីហនុ អាចកម្ចាត់ក្រុមក្បត់ដែលរណប CIA នៅឆ្នាំ១៩៥៩ បាន។
នៅអំឡុងឆ្នាំ១៩៥៩ រដ្ឋអំណាចសង្គមរាស្ត្រនិយមបានបញ្ចេញកម្លាំងប្រដាប់អាវុធ តាមកម្ចាត់ក្រុមជនក្បត់ជាតិដែលរណបទីភ្នាក់ងារ CIA របស់អាមេរិក ក្នុងនោះមេដឹកនាំដែលសកម្មខ្លាំងជាងគេមានដូចជា សឹង ង៉ុកថាញ់, សម សារី, ដាប ឈួន, ស្លាត ពៅ ជាដើម។ ស្របតាមខ្សែញាក់របស់ក្រុមប្រទេសប្លុកសេរី គម្រោងការរបស់ពួកគេ គឺចង់ផ្ដួលរំលំ សម្ដេចព្រះនរោត្តម សីហនុ ចេញពីអំណាចតែម្ដង។
សៀវភៅ «អាស៉ីអាគ្នេយ៍២០ឆ្នាំក្នុងសង្គ្រាម CIA» បានដែលបោះពុម្ពផ្សាយនៅកម្ពុជាបានរៀបរាប់ឱ្យដឹងថា ប្រតិបត្តិការបង្ក្រាបក្រុមជនក្បត់ជាតិខាងលើនេះ ក៏មានការចូលរួមពីភ្នាក់ងារចារកិច្ចរបស់សាធារណរដ្ឋប្រជាមានិតចិន និងសាធារណរដ្ឋបារាំងផងដែរ ដោយស្ថានទូតប្រទេសទាំងពីរបានបញ្ជូនសារសម្ងាត់មួយចំនួន ថ្វាយសម្ដេចព្រះនរោត្តម សីហនុ ជាមុន ដើម្បីលាតត្រដាងពីគម្រោងការអាក្រក់របស់ក្រុមជនក្បត់ជាតិទាំងនោះ។ មុនឈានដល់ការបង្ក្រាបនេះ ទំនាក់ទំនងការទូតរវាងកម្ពុជា ជាមួយសហរដ្ឋអាមេរិកបានរំកិលបែរខ្នងចេញពីគ្នាបន្តិចម្ដងៗ បន្ទាប់ពីមេក្រុមប្លុកសេរីមួយនេះ ព្យាយាមអូសទាញកម្ពុជាឱ្យចូលដៃជាមួយអង្គការ SEATO មិនបានសម្រេច។ ប្រការនេះ បានធ្វើឱ្យទំនាក់់ទំនងនយោបាយរវាងប្រទេសទាំងពីរកាន់តែរង្គោះរង្គើខ្លាំងឡើងៗ រីឯប្រទេសអមិត្តមួយចំនួនដែលរណបជាមួយអាមេរិកផងនោះ ក៏បានចូលដៃគ្នាធ្វើទុក្ខបុកម្នេញមកលើកម្ពុជារកក្ដីពុំបាន។ ក្រុមប្រទេសប្លុកសេរីមានគំនិតចង់ឱ្យកម្ពុជាចូលរួមជាមួយបក្សពួកខ្លួន ដើម្បីប្រឆាំងទប់ស្កាត់ឥទ្ធិពលកុម្មុយនិស្ដនៅអាស៊ីអាគ្នេយ៍ ដែលមានវៀតណាមខាងជើង និងចិន ជាអ្នកសកម្មជាងគេ។ ប៉ុន្តែកម្ពុជាបានជ្រើសរើសយកនយោបាយអព្យាក្រឹត មិនចូលបក្សសម្ព័ន្ធណាមួយឡើយ ដែលជាហេតុធ្វើឱ្យប្រទេសប្លុកសេរីទាំងនោះខកចិត្ត និងខឹងសម្បារជាមួយកម្ពុជាយ៉ាងខ្លាំង។
ចាប់ពីឆ្នាំ១៩៥៦-១៩៥៩ សហរដ្ឋអាមេរិក រួមជាមួយកូនជឹងរបស់ខ្លួនដែលនៅជិតខាងកម្ពុជា មានប្រទេសថៃ និងវៀតណាមខាងត្បូងផងនោះ បានចេញមុខប្រឆាំងដោយចំហជាមួយកម្ពុជា។ ពួកគេបានចល័តទ័ពរំលោភចូលដែនអធិបតេយ្យខ្មែរ ឃោសនាធ្វើវិទ្ធង្សនាបំភ្លៃព័ត៌មាន គំរាមកំហែងបង្កសង្គ្រាមជាមួយខ្មែរជាដើម។ មិនតែប៉ុណ្ណោះ ក៏មានការលូកលាន់ចូលកិច្ចការផ្ទៃក្នុងរបស់កម្ពុជា តាមរយៈការគាំទ្រដល់ក្រុមក្បត់ដែលប្រឆាំងនឹងរបបសង្គមរាស្ត្រនិយមផងដែរ។ សម្ដេចព្រះប្រមុខរដ្ឋបានព្យាយាមស្វះស្វែងរកការដោះស្រាយ ចំពោះបញ្ហាព្រំដែនជាមួយថៃ និងវៀតណាមខាងត្បូង ព្រមទាំងខំគេចចេញពីការកៀបសង្កត់របស់សហរដ្ឋអាមេរិកយ៉ាងលំបាក។
ដោយធ្វើទុក្ខបុកម្នេញផ្នែកនយោបាយ សេដ្ឋកិច្ច យោធា មិនអស់ចិត្ត សហរដ្ឋអាមេរិកបានជំរុញឱ្យនាយកមន្ត្រីថៃ សារិត ថាណារ៉ាត់ (Sarit Thanarat) ជួយគាំទ្រចលនាឧទ្ទាម «ខ្មែរសេរី» ដែលដឹកនាំដោយ សឹង ង៉ុកថាញ់។ រដ្ឋាភិបាលក្រុងបាងកកបានផ្ដល់ទីតាំងកសាងជំរំហាត់ទ័ព និងកសាងស្ថានីយវិទ្យុផ្សាយសំឡេង ដើម្បីប្រឆាំងនឹងគោលនយោបាយរបស់ សម្ដេច សីហនុ។ ចលនានេះត្រូវបានគេដឹងជាទូទៅថា បានទទួលការហ្វឹកហ្វឺនបំពាក់បំប៉ន និងគាំទ្រដោយ ស៊ីអាយអេ ដែលប្រចាំការនៅទឹកដីថៃ។ CIA ក៏៏បានគាំទ្រការបង្កើតចលនាមួយផ្សេងទៀត គឺ «ចលនាខ្មែរក្រោម» ដែលមាននិន្ននាការប្រឆាំងសម្ដេចព្រះនរោត្តម សីហនុ ដូចគ្នា ខណៈចលនានេះធ្វើប្រតិបត្តិការក្នុងទឹកដីកម្ពុជាក្រោម។ ស្របពេលដែលកម្ពុជាកំពុងទទួលរងសម្ពាធពីកម្លាំងខាងក្រៅកាន់តែខ្លាំង ក្រុមស្ដាំនិយម រួមទាំងមន្ត្រីជាន់ខ្ពស់នៅក្នុងជួររដ្ឋាភិបាលកម្ពុជា ក៏ចាប់ផ្ដើមនាំបញ្ចេញសកម្មភាពប្រឆាំង នឹងគោលនយោបាយអព្យាក្រឹតដោយចំហផងដែរ។ អ្នកជំនិតនឹងសម្ដេចព្រះនរោត្តម សីហនុ ដែលមាននិន្នាការប្រឆាំងនឹងគោលនយោបាយអព្យាក្រឹតខ្លាំងជាងគេ គឺ សម សារី។ សម សារី ហ៊ានទាំងសរសេរលិខិតចំហទូលថ្វាយ សម្ដេចព្រះនរោត្តម សីហនុ អំពីការសម្រេចចិត្តចូលរួមជីវភាពនយោបាយជាមួយក្រុមប្រឆាំង និងការបង្កើតគណបក្សប្រឆាំងមួយឈ្មោះថា «ខ្មែរប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ» ថែមទៀតផង។ មេបក្សថ្មីរូបនេះបានរិះគន់ឥតសំចៃមាត់ ទៅលើគោលនយោបាយអព្យាក្រឹតរបស់សម្ដេចព្រះនរោត្តម សីហនុ ដោយបានហៅគោលនយោបាយនោះថា ជានយោបាយធ្វើអត្តឃាត ដែលនឹងនាំទៅរកសេចក្ដីវិនាសអន្តរាយចៀសមិនផុត។
ក្រៅពី សឹង ង៉ុកថាញ់ និង សម សារី ក៏មានមេទ័ពក្បត់ម្នាក់ទៀត គឺ ដាប ឈួន ឬ ឈួនម្ជុលពេជ្រ ដែលចូលរួមប្រឆាំងនឹងសម្ដេចព្រះប្រមុខរដ្ឋ ដោយបានការគាំទ្រពីពួក CIA ក៏ដូចជារដ្ឋាភិបាលក្រុងបាងកក និងរដ្ឋាភិបាលក្រុងព្រៃនគរផងដែរ។ គម្រោងការប្រឆាំងនឹងសម្ដេចព្រះនរោត្តម សីហនុ ត្រូវបានគេរៀបចំយ៉ាងល្អិតល្អន់នៅទីក្រុងបាងកក នាខែកញ្ញា ឆ្នាំ១៩៥៨ និងគ្រោងអនុវត្តដំបូងនៅទីក្រុងភ្នំពេញនាខែមករា ឆ្នាំ១៩៥៩ តាមរយៈការបង្កភាពអសន្តិសុខក្នុងសង្គម ដោយចាប់ផ្ដើមពីការបំផ្លាញប្រព័ន្ធផ្គត់ផ្គង់ទឹកស្អាត និងអគ្គិសនី រួមទាំងបើកយុទ្ធនាការចាប់ពង្រត់ក្មេងៗ លក្ខណៈទ្រង់ទ្រាយធំ ក្នុងគោលបំណងបង្កភាពភ័យខ្លាចនៅទូទាំងក្រុងភ្នំពេញ។ គម្រោងការមួយទៀត គឺការងើបបះបោរដោយអាវុធ ដើម្បីផ្ដាច់យកខេត្តសៀមរាប និងខេត្តកំពង់ធំ ព្រមទាំងគ្រោងនឹងបង្កើតដែនដីអបគមន៍ ក្រោមការដឹកនាំរបស់ សឹង ង៉ុកថាញ់ សម សារី និង ដាប ឈួន។ នៅក្នុងប្រតិបត្តិការជាក់ស្ដែង សឹង ង៉ុកថាញ់ បានប្រមូលកម្លាំងខ្មែរសេរី នៅតាមបណ្ដោយព្រំដែនកម្ពុជា-ថៃ អមដោយមន្ត្រីថៃពីរនាក់ និងប្រាក់សុទ្ធជាងមួយលានដុល្លារអាមេរិក ដែលផ្ដល់ដោយស៊ីអាយអេ។
ចំណែក ង៉ូ ជុងហ៊ីវ (Ngo Trung Hieu) ឯកអគ្គរដ្ឋទូតវៀតណាមខាងត្បូងប្រចាំនៅទីក្រុងភ្នំពេញ បានសន្យាថា នឹងកៀរគរកងកម្លាំងកុម្ម៉ង់ដូខ្មែរក្រោម ពង្រាយនៅតាមព្រំដែនកម្ពុជា-វៀតណាមខាងត្បូង។ ដោយឡែក ដាប ឈួន បានទទួលបេសកកម្មកសាងកម្លាំងទ័ពនៅក្នុងប្រទេស ដើម្បីត្រៀមអនុវត្តគម្រោងការខាងលើនោះ។ ក្នុងប្រតិបត្តិការរួមគ្នានេះដែរ មន្ត្រីចារកិច្ចស៊ីអាយអេម្នាក់ដែលជ្រកក្រោមស្ថានទូតអាមេរិកប្រចាំក្រុងភ្នំពេញ ឈ្មោះ វិកទ័រ ម៉ាត់ស៊ូអ៊ិ (Victor Matsui) បានដើរតួជាអ្នកសម្របសម្រួលកិច្ចការទំនាក់ទំនង ការរៀបចំផ្គត់ផ្គង់គ្រឿងសព្វាវុធ និងហិរញ្ញវត្ថុ។ មន្ត្រីស៊ីអាយអេរូបនេះ មានសញ្ជាតិអាមេរិកដើមកំណើតជាជនជាតិជប៉ុន។ មួយវិញទៀត សហរដ្ឋអាមេរិក និងស៊ីអាយអេ ក៏បានរៀបចំគម្រោងការបន្ថែមទៀតក្នុងខែកញ្ញា ឆ្នាំ១៩៥៨ នៅទីក្រុងញូវយ៉ក សហរដ្ឋអាមេរិក។ ឆ្លៀតពេលដែលសម្ដេចព្រះនរោត្តម សីហនុ ត្រូវយាងទៅកាន់ទីក្រុងញូវយ៉ក ដើម្បីចូលរួមក្នុងកិច្ចប្រជុំរបស់អង្គការសហប្រជាជាតិ រយៈពេល២ថ្ងៃ ខណៈនោះសមាជិកគណៈប្រតិភូកម្ពុជាម្នាក់ ឈ្មោះ ស្លាត ពៅ (គឹម ពៅ) បានស្កាត់ជួបជាមួយភ្នាក់ងារចារកិច្ចអាមេរិកដោយសម្ងាត់ជាច្រើនដង នៅក្នុងបន្ទប់សណ្ឋាគារ នាទីក្រុងញូវយ៉កនោះ។
មន្ត្រីជាន់ខ្ពស់រូបនេះជាមិត្តភក្តិជិតស្និទ្ធរបស់មន្ត្រីស៊ីអាយអេ វិកទ័រ ម៉ាត់ស៊ូអ៊ិ ហើយក៏ត្រូវជាបងប្អូនរបស់ជនក្បត់ជាតិ ដាប ឈួន ផងដែរ។ ប៉ុន្តែក្រោយមក គម្រោងការសម្ងាត់នេះក៏ត្រូវបែកធ្លាយ អាជ្ញាធរក៏បានចាប់ខ្លួន ស្លាត ពៅ និងកាត់ទោសប្រហារជីវិតតែម្ដង ក្រោមបទចោទប្រកាន់ថាបានប្រព្រឹត្តអំពើក្បត់ជាតិ។
ទន្ទឹមនឹងការអនុវត្តគម្រោងក្បត់ខាងលើនេះ សម្ដេចព្រះនរោត្តម សីហនុ បានទទួលព័ត៌មានសម្ងាត់អំពីផែនការក្បត់នេះជាមុន ដែលព័ត៌មានមួយផ្នែកបានពីស្ថានទូតចិន និងស្ថានទូតបារាំង។ អាចនិយាយបានថា បារាំងមិនសប្បាយចិត្តចំពោះវត្តមានរបស់អាមេរិក ដែលក្អេងក្អាងនៅលើទឹកដីដែលធ្លាប់ស្ថិតក្រោមការត្រួតត្រារបស់ខ្លួនជិត១០០ឆ្នាំមកហើយនោះ ទើបបារាំងហ៊ានផ្ដល់ព័ត៌មានសម្ងាត់ឱ្យកម្ពុជាយ៉ាងដូច្នេះ។
នៅខែកុម្ភៈ ឆ្នាំ១៩៥៩ អ្នកសមគំនិតនៅក្នុងអំពើក្បត់នេះត្រូវបានបង្ក្រាប និងចាប់ខ្លួនបានមួយចំនួន ហើយមួយចំនួនទៀតបានរត់គេចខ្លួន ក្នុងនោះក៏មានប្អូនប្រុសបង្កើតរបស់ប្រធានាធិបតីវៀតណាមខាងត្បូង ឈ្មោះ ង៉ូ ឌិញញូ (Ngo Dinh Nhu) និងមន្ត្រីស៊ីអាយអេ វិកទ័រ ម៉ាត់ស៊ូអ៊ិ ជាមេក្លោងបរទេស។
មន្ត្រីស៊ីអាយអេរូបនេះបានរត់គេចខ្លួនចេញពីប្រទេសកម្ពុជា នៅក្រោយពេលសម្ដេចព្រះនរោត្តម សីហនុ ចោទប្រកាន់ថា បានចូលរួមក្នុងអំពើក្បត់ប្រឆាំងនឹងព្រះអង្គ។ ដោយឡែក ទីបញ្ជាការដ្ឋានកងទ័ពរបស់ ដាប ឈួន រដ្ឋអំណាចសង្គមរាស្ត្រនិយម បានរកឃើញអាវុធគ្រាប់រំសេវជាច្រើន និងមាសសុទ្ធចំនួន ៦កេស ដែលគេជឿថា ស៊ីអាយអេ និងប្រទេសជិតខាងជាអ្នកផ្ដល់ឱ្យ។ ក្រៅពីនេះអាជ្ញាធរបានរកឃើញសំណុំឯកសារនានា និងចាប់ខ្លួននាយទាហានវៀតណាមខាងត្បូង ២នាក់ ព្រមទាំងវិទ្យុទាក់ទងដែលគេអាចយកមកធ្វើជាភស្ដុតាង ពាក់ព័ន្ធនឹងសកម្មភាពជ្រៀតជ្រែករបស់រដ្ឋាភិបាលក្រុងវ៉ាស៊ីនតោន ក្រុងបាងកក និងក្រុងព្រៃនគរ ចូលក្នុងកិច្ចផ្ទៃក្នុងរបស់កម្ពុជា ប៉ុន្តែរដ្ឋាភិបាលអាមេរិកបែរជាប្រឹងប្រកែកមិនព្រមទទួលស្គាល់ការពិត ព្រោះខ្លាចអាម៉ាសនៅចំពោះមុខសហគមន៍អន្តរជាតិ។
ខណៈដែលក្រុមក្បត់មួយចំនួនត្រូវបានចាប់ខ្លួននោះ ដាប ឈួន ក៏ត្រូវបានអាជ្ញាធរតាមបាញ់ដល់តំបន់ស្រែណូយ (សព្វថ្ងៃឃុំស្រែណូយ ស្រុកវ៉ារិន ខេត្តសៀមរាប) ហើយនាំមកកាត់ទោសនៅក្រុងភ្នំពេញ។ គេបានប្រហារជីវិតជនក្បត់រូបនេះដោយការបាញ់សម្លាប់ រួចហើយត្រូវគេអូសសាកសពតាមរថយន្តយឺតៗទូទាំងទីក្រុងភ្នំពេញ ជាមួយនឹងសំឡេងឧគ្ឃោសនស័ព្ទខ្លាំងៗថា «នេះជាលទ្ធផលរបស់ជនក្បត់ជាតិ»។
នយោបាយអមិត្តរបស់ស៊ីអាយអេចំពោះសម្ដេច សីហនុ កាន់តែអាក្រក់ទៅៗ ដោយពួកគេបានប្រើឧបាយកលធ្វើគតព្រះអង្គវិញម្ដង។ ការលួចធ្វើគតលើកទី១ គ្រោងធ្វើឡើងនៅដើមឆ្នាំ១៩៥៩ តែមិនបានសម្រេចនោះទេ ដោយជនសង្ស័យជាក្រុមខ្មែរសេរី ត្រូវគេចាប់ខ្លួនបាន។ លើកទី២ បានកើតឡើងនៅថ្ងៃទី៣១ ខែសីហា ឆ្នាំ១៩៥៩ លើកនេះថ្វីដ្បិតមិនបានធ្វើឱ្យគ្រោះថ្នាក់ដល់សម្ដេចព្រះនរោត្តម សីហនុ ក៏ពិតមែន ប៉ុន្តែព្រះអង្គម្ចាស់ នរោត្តម វ៉ាគ្រីវ៉ាន់ ត្រូវសុគតក្នុងអំពើឃាតកម្មនោះ។ អំពើឃាតកម្មនេះមានការជាប់ពាក់ព័ន្ធ ដល់មូលដ្ឋានយោធាវៀតណាមខាងត្បូង។ សម្ដេចព្រះនរោត្តម សីហនុ បានប្រកាសចោទប្រកាន់ជាសាធាណៈថា ប្អូនប្រុសរបស់ប្រធានាធិបតីវៀតណាមខាងត្បូង ជាមេគំនិតនៅក្នុងរឿងនេះ។ ទន្ទឹមនឹងនេះ សម សារី ក៏រងការចោទប្រកាន់ថា បានជាប់ពាក់ព័ន្ធនឹងអំពើឃាតកម្មនេះដែរ។ សាច់ញាតិមួយចំនួន រួមទាំងប្រពន្ធរបស់ សម សារី ត្រូវបានអាជ្ញាធរចាប់បញ្ជូនចូលពន្ធនាគារ ខណៈដែល សម សារី ខ្លួនឯង កំពុងរត់គេចខ្លួនទៅដល់ប្រទេសឡាវ។ បើតាម សម រង្ស៊ី ដែលត្រូវជាកូនរបស់ សម សារី បាននិយាយថា ឪពុករបស់ខ្លួនត្រូវមនុស្សរបស់ សឹង ង៉ុកថាញ់ សម្លាប់នៅចន្លោះចុងឆ្នាំ១៩៦២ និងដើមឆ្នាំ១៩៦៣ ក្នុងពេលដែលកំពុងស្ថិតនៅក្រុងប៉ាកសេ ខេត្តចម្ប៉ាស័ក។ វាជាអំពើក្បត់គ្នារវាង សឹង ង៉ុកថាញ់ និង សម សារី ដែលមុននេះបន្ដិចពួកគេមានការសហការល្អជាមួយគ្នា ដើម្បីផ្ដួលរំលំសម្ដេចព្រះនរោត្តម សីហនុ តែចុងក្រោយក៏ទទួលលទ្ធផលបែបនេះ។
ការលួចធ្វើគតលើកទី៣ គ្រោងធ្វើឡើងនៅឆ្នាំ១៩៦៣ ចំពេលដែលប្រធានាធិបតីចិន លីវ សាវឈី (Liu Shaoqi) មកទស្សនកិច្ចនៅទីក្រុងភ្នំពេញ ប៉ុន្តែត្រូវភ្នាក់ងារស៊ើបការណ៍សម្ងាត់របស់ចិនរាយការណ៍ប្រាប់មុន រហូតចាប់ខ្លួនឃាតករបានចំនួន២នាក់ មុនប្រតិបត្តិការធ្វើឃាត។
បន្ទាប់ពីលួចធ្វើគតសម្ដេចព្រះនរោត្តម សីហនុ មិនបានសម្រេចទាំងបីលើកនេះរួចមក ស៊ីអាយអេ បានប្រើឧបាយកលជាច្រើនទៀត មានទាំងការលួចនាំអាវុធចូលប្រទេសកម្ពុជា ដើម្បីផ្គត់ផ្គង់ដល់ក្រុមឧទ្ទាមខ្មែរសេរី សម្រាប់ប្រើប្រាស់ក្នុងការប្រឆាំងជាមួយសម្ដេច សីហនុ ការប្រើប្រាស់លុយដ៏ច្រើនសន្ធឹកសន្ធាប់ ដើម្បីទិញទឹកចិត្តមន្ត្រីក្នុងជួររាជរដ្ឋាភិបាលសង្គមរាស្ត្រនិយម ការធ្វើវិទ្ធង្សនាសេដ្ឋកិច្ចជាតិជាដើម។ ប៉ុន្តែគម្រោងផែនការអាក្រក់ទាំងនេះ ត្រូវបានសម្ដេចព្រះនរោត្តម សីហនុ កម្ចាត់ចោលទាំងអស់។
ទោះជាយ៉ាងណា កម្ពុជានៅតែធ្លាក់ក្នុងភ្នក់ភ្លើងសង្គ្រាមដដែល ដោយនៅថ្ងៃទី១៨ ខែមីនា ឆ្នាំ១៩៧០ លោកសេនាប្រមុខ លន់ នល់ និងព្រះអង្គម្ចាស់ ស៊ីសុវត្ថិ សិរីមតៈ បានដឹកនាំការធ្វើរដ្ឋប្រហារទម្លាក់សម្ដេចព្រះនរោត្តម សីហនុ ចេញពីតំណែងព្រះប្រមុខរដ្ឋ និងបានរំលាយរបបសង្គមរាស្ត្រនិយមថែមទៀតផង។ ក្រោមការគាំទ្រពីសំណាក់ សហរដ្ឋអាមេរិក របបសាធារណរដ្ឋខ្មែរក៏ត្រូវបានបង្កើតឡើង ប៉ុន្តែពេញមួយរបបនេះ ប្រទេសកម្ពុជាត្រូវញាំញីដោយភ្លើងសង្គ្រាមរកក្ដីសុខពុំបាន៕
ដោយ៖ សៀវភៅ «អាស៊ីអាគ្នេយ៍២០ឆ្នាំក្នុងសង្គ្រាម CIA»
(ភ្នំពេញ)៖ បន្ទាប់ពីជោគជ័យលើស្នាដៃលើកដំបូង, នៅពេលនេះស្នាដៃទីពីររបស់សាស្ត្រាចារ្យវិទ្យាសាស្ត្រនយោបាយ អេង ប៉ូលីត សូឡារី គឺជាសៀវភៅ «អាស៊ីអាគ្នេយ៍២០ឆ្នាំក្នុងសង្រ្គាម CIA» បាននឹងកំពុងទាញចំណាប់អារម្មណ៍ដល់អ្នកអានយ៉ាងច្រើន។
លោក អេង ប៉ូលីតសូឡារី បានថ្លែងថា សៀវភៅនេះជាស្នាដៃទី២របស់លោក មានចំនួន២៣៤ទំព័រ បោះពុម្ពចំនួន៣០០០ក្បាល ចេញលក់នៅថ្ងៃទី១៤ ខែកុម្ភៈ ឆ្នាំ២០២១កន្លងទៅ ហើយគិតដល់ពេលនេះ១៤ថ្ងៃហើយ លក់ដាច់ជាង២០០០ក្បាលឯណោះ, ឃើញថាមានគេចាប់អារម្មណ៍ច្រើនក្នុងរយៈពេលប៉ុន្មានថ្ងៃនេះ។ សៀវភៅដ៏ប្រពៃនេះមាននៅតាមបណ្ណាគារ តូបលក់នានា នៅរាជធានីភ្នំពេញ និងតាមបណ្តាខេត្តផងដែរ។
លោកសាស្ត្រាចារ្យវិទ្យាសាស្ត្រនយោបាយ ដែលធ្លាប់សិក្សានៅសហព័ន្ធរុស្ស៉ីរូបនេះបានពន្យល់ថា សារៈសំខាន់នៃការផលិតសៀវភៅនេះ គោលបំណងដើម្បីឲ្យប្រជាពលរដ្ឋខ្មែរ ជ្រួតជ្រាបបន្ថែមអំពីប្រវត្តិសាស្រ្តរបស់ពិភពលោក ក៏ដូចជាមហាអំណាចធំៗ ជាពិសេសកិច្ចការរបស់ CIA នៅតំបន់អាស៊ីអាគ្នេយ៍ក្នុងរយៈពេល២០ឆ្នាំចុងក្រោយ។ សៀវភៅនេះ បានសរសេរអំពីប្រវត្តិនៃសោកដនាកម្មនៅអាស៊ីអាគ្នេយ៍ ជម្លោះប្រដាប់អាវុធ សង្រ្គា មនៅតំបន់អាស៊ី ដោយមានការលូកដៃពីបរទេស។
សូមជំរាបថា លោក អេង ប៉ូលីត សូឡារី បានសិក្សាជំនាញនីតិសាស្ត្រនៅរាជធានីភ្នំពេញ រួចហើយលោកទទួលអាហារូបករណ៍ទៅសិក្សានៅម៉ូស្គូ ឯកទេស វិទ្យាសាស្ត្រនយោបាយ ក្នុងរយៈពេល៦ឆ្នាំ។ បន្ទាប់មកនិស្សិតរូបនេះរៀនចប់ជំនាញមួយទៀត ផ្នែកទំនាក់ទំនងអន្តរជាតិ នៅឆ្នាំ២០១៣។ អំឡុងពេលបន្តវិជ្ជានៅរដ្ឋធានីម៉ូស្គូ លោកបានត្រូវជ្រើសតាំងជាប្រធានសមាគមនិស្សិតកម្ពុជា ប្រចាំសហព័ន្ធរុស្ស៉ី។ ក្នុងគន្លងវិជ្ជាជីវៈ លោកធ្លាប់បានបម្រើការរយៈពេល៤ឆ្នាំ នៅវិទ្យាសា្ថនអាស៊ី-អាហ្វ្រិក នៃសកលវិទ្យាល័យរដ្ឋម៉ូស្គូ ឡូម៉ូណូសូវ (Lomonosov)។ ស្នាដៃដំបូងរបស់លោកដែលចេញផ្សាយកាលពីឆ្នាំ២០១៩ គឺសៀវភៅ «ពូទីន២០ឆ្នាំក្នុងអំណាច»៕
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangkok_Plot
The Bangkok Plot, also known as the Dap Chhuon Plot, was a late 1950s international conspiracy in Cambodia. The goal being to topple Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia, it was allegedly initiated by the right-wing politicians Sam Sary and Son Ngoc Thanh, the regional Cambodian warlord and governor Dap Chhuon, and the governments of Thailand and South Vietnam with possible involvement of US intelligence services.[1] The Bangkok Plot and its politics still influence Cambodian politics.[2]
According to the account later given by Sihanouk, the coup was to be carried out by Thanh's Khmer Serai irregulars, largely from the Khmer Krom minority of southern Vietnam. The Khmer Serai were massed in the southern border areas. Chhuon, who had for a few years been a trusted associate of Sihanouk, was to start an uprising in the north-east. In early February 1959, Admiral Harry Felt, General Lawton Collins and Colonel Edward Lansdale all visited Chhuon's base in Siem Reap.[3]
Sihanouk's intelligence services discovered details of the plot and on February 21, 1959, they dispatched a battalion of troops to arrest Chhuon.[4] A US citizen and alleged CIA radio operator Victor Matsui was captured. Chhuon who had fled, was later apprehended, interrogated, and died "of injuries" in somewhat murky circumstances before he could be properly interviewed. Sihanouk later alleged that Defence Minister Lon Nol had Chhuon shot to prevent him from being implicated in the coup.[3]
Sihanouk arranged for pictures of Chhuon's corpse to be posted on a main Phnom Penh thoroughfare. Of the other main plotters, Sary disappeared in 1962, and Thanh went on to have involvement in Lon Nol's post-1970 government before leaving for Vietnam. Chhuon's brother Slat Peou, a member of Sihanouk's delegation at the United Nations and a friend of Matsui, was executed for treason.
Sihanouk, an amateur film director, later used the plot as the basis for his film Ombre sur Angkor ("Shadow over Angkor") from 1968.[5][6] He regarded it as conclusive evidence that the US intended to destabilise his regime, which had established relations with Communist China.
Prince Sihanouk walks the high-wire of neutralism John Foster Dulles had called on me in his capacity as Secretary of State, and he had exhausted every argument to persuade me to place Cambodia under the protection of the South-East Asia Treaty Organization. I refused ... I considered SEATO an aggressive military alliance directed against neighbors whose ideology I did not share but with whom Cambodia had no quarrel. I had made all this quite clear to John Foster, an acidy, arrogant man, but his brother [CIA Director Allen Dulles] soon turned up with a briefcase full of documents "proving" that Cambodia was about to fall victim to "communist aggression" and that the only way to save the country, the monarchy and myself was to accept the protection of SEATO. The "proofs" did not coincide with my own information, and I replied to Allen Dulles as I had replied to John Foster: Cambodia wanted no part of SEATO. We would look after ourselves as neutrals and Buddhists. There was nothing for the secret service chief to do but pack up his dubious documents and leave. Prince Norodom Sihanouk, in his memoirs 1 The visits of the Brothers Dulles in 1955 appear to have been the opening salvos in a campaign of extraordinary measures aimed at pressuring the charismatic Cambodian leader into aligning his nation with the West and joining The Holy War Against Communism. The coercion continued intermittently until 1970 when Sihanouk was finally overthrown in an American-backed coup and the United States invaded Cambodia. In March 1956, after Sihanouk had visited Peking and criticized SEATO, the two countries which sandwich Cambodia—Thailand and South Vietnam, both heavily dependent upon and allied with the United States—suddenly closed their borders. It was a serious move, for the bulk of Cambodia's traffic with the outside world at that time passed either along the Mekong River through South Vietnam or by railway through Thailand. The danger to the tiny kingdom was heightened by repeated military provocations. Thai troops invaded Cambodian territory and CIA-financed irregulars
began to make commando raids from South Vietnam. Deep intrusions were made into Cambodian air space by planes based in the two countries. To Sihanouk, these actions "looked more and more like preliminary softening-up probes" for his overthrow. He chose to thrust matters out into the open. At a press conference he scolded the US, defended Cambodia's policy of neutrality, and announced that the whole question would be on the agenda of his party's upcoming national congress- There was the implication that Cambodia would turn to the socialist bloc for aid. The United States appeared to retreat in the face of this unorthodox public diplomacy. The State Department sent a couple of rather conciliatory messages which nullified a threatened cut-off of certain economic aid and included this remarkable piece of altruism: "The only aim of American policy to Cambodia is to help her strengthen and defend her independence." Two days before the national congress convened, Thailand and South Vietnam opened their frontiers. The local disputes which the two countries had cited as the reasons for the blockade had not been resolved at all.2 The measures taken against Cambodia were counter-productive. Not only did Sihanouk continue to attack SEATO, but he established relations with the Soviet Union and Poland and accepted aid from China. He praised the latter lavishly for treating Cambodia as an equal and for providing aid without all the strings which, he felt, came attached to American aid.3 Such behavior should not obscure the fact that Sihanouk was as genuine a neutralist as one could be in such a highly polarized region of the world in the midst of the cold war. He did not shy away from denouncing China, North Vietnam or communism on a number of occasions when he felt that Cambodia's security or neutrality was being threatened. "I foresee perfectly well," he said at one time, "the collapse of an independent and neutral Cambodia after the complete triumph of Communism in Laos and South Vietnam.'" 1 In May 1957, a National Security Council (NSC| paper acknowledged that "the United States has been unable to influence Cambodia in the direction of a stable [i.e., pro-Western] government and non-involvement in the communist bloc."5 The following year, five battalions of Saigon troops, supported by aircraft, crossed the Cambodian border again, penetrated to a depth of almost 10 miles and began putting up new boundary markers. Sihanouk's impulse was to try and repel the invaders but, to his amazement, he was informed by the American Ambassador to Cambodia, Carl Strom, that US military aid was provided, exclusively for the purpose of opposing "communist aggression" and in no case could be used against an American ally. The ambassador cautioned that if a single bullet were fired at the South Vietnamese or a single US-supplied, truck used to transport Cambodian troops to a military confrontation with them, this would constitute grounds for canceling aid.6 Ambassador Strom was called back to Washington, told that Sihanouk would now have to go and that US aid would be cut off to precipitate his fall. Strom, however, did not think that this was the wisest move to make at that point and was able to convince the State Department to hold off for the time being." William Shawcross, in his elaborately-researched book, Sideshow: Kissinger, Nixon and the Destruction of Cambodia, notes that "NSC papers of the period cited in the Pentagon papers confirm that Washington saw Thai and Vietnamese pressure across the borders as one of the principal weapons to be used in an effort to move Sihanouk toward a more pro-American position."8 In addition to Thai and South Vietnamese troops, the CIA had at its disposal two other forces, the Khmer Serei and the Khmer Krom, composed largely of ethnic
Cambodians opposed to Sihanouk's rule, who operated out of the two neighboring countries. The Khmer Serei ("Free Cambodians") were described by Shawcross as the "Cambodian organization with which American officials had had the closest contact".9 Sihanouk once equated them to the "free" Cubans the United States maintained in Florida.10 These forces—recruited, financed, armed and trained by the CIA and the US Special Forces (Green Berets) 11—began to infiltrate into Cambodia in the latter part of 1958 as part of a complex conspiracy which included, amongst others, a disloyal Cambodian general named Dap Chhuon who was plotting an armed uprising inside the country. At its most optimistic, the conspiracy aimed at overthrowing Sihanouk. Sihanouk discovered the plan, partly through reports from Chinese and French intelligence. The French were not happy about the American intrusion into what had been their domain for close to a century. By February 1959 the conspirators had been apprehended or had fled, including Victor Masao Matsui, a member of the CIA station in Cambodia's capital city Phnom Penh, who hurriedly left the country after Sihanouk accused him of being a party to the plot. Matsui, an American of Japanese descent, had been operating under State Department cover as an attache at the embassy. The intrigue, according to Sihanouk, began in September 1958 at a SEATO meeting in Thailand and was carried a step further later that month in New York when he visited the United Nations. While Sihanouk was away in Washington for a few days, a member of his delegation, Slat Peou, held several conferences with Americans in his New York hotel room which he did not mention to any of his fellow delegates. Slat Peou, it happened, was a close friend of Victor Matsui and was the brother of General Dap Chhuon. In the aftermath of the aborted conspiracy, Slat Peou was executed for treason.12 Sihanouk was struck by the bitter irony of the CIA plotting against him in New York while he was in Washington being honored by President Eisenhower with a 21-gun salute.13 In a similar vein, several years later President Kennedy assured Sihanouk "on his honour" that the United States had played no role in the affairs of the Khmer Serei. "I considered President Kennedy to be an honourable man," wrote Sihanouk, "but, in that case, who really represented the American government?"14 CIA officer (later Director) William Colby, stationed in Vietnam at the time of the Dap Chhuon plot, has written that the Agency was well aware of the plot and had recruited someone on Dap Chhuon's staff and furnished him with a radio with which to keep the CIA informed. The Agency wanted to be kept informed, Colby asserts, in order to "dissuade the Thai and Vietnamese" from overthrowing Sihanouk. Colby adds: Unfortunately, in putting down the coup, Sihanouk had captured our agent and his radio. And, not unnaturally, he drew the conclusion that CIA was one of the participants, and that the gold and arms furnished from Bangkok and Saigon to be used against him were only part of the over-ail plot of which the radio was a key element.15 The Cambodian leader has attested to several other plots he lays at the doorstep of the CIA. Amongst these was a 1959 effort to murder him which was foiled when the police picked a nervous young man, Rat Vat by name, out of a crowd surrounding Sihanouk. He was found to be carrying a hand grenade and a pistol. Investigation showed, writes Sihanouk, that the would-be assassin was instigated by the CIA and the Khmer Serei. Sihanouk also cites three incidents occurring in 1963: an attempt to blow up a car carrying him and the visiting president of China, Liu Shao Chi; an attempt to
smuggle arms into Cambodia in a number of crates addressed to the US Embassy; and a partially successful venture aimed at sabotaging the Cambodian economy and subverting key government personnel through the setting up of a bank in Phnom Penh.16 On 20 November of the same year, two days before the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Cambodian National Congress, at Sihanouk's initiative, vote to "end all aid granted by the United States in the military, economic, technical and cultural fields". It was perhaps without precedent that a country receiving American aid voluntarily repudiated it. But Sihanouk held strong feelings on the subject. Over the years he had frequently recited from his register of complaints about American aid to Cambodia: how it subverted and corrupted Cambodian officials and businessmen who wound up "constituting a clientele necessarily obedient to the demands of the lavish bestower of foreign funds"; and how the aid couldn't be used for state institutions, only private enterprise, nor, as mentioned earlier, used against attacks by US allies.17 After some American bombings of Cambodian villages near the South Vietnam border in pursuit of North Vietnamese and Vietcong, the Cambodian government, in October 1964, announced that "in case of any new violation of Cambodian territory by US ground, air, or naval forces, Cambodia will immediately sever diplomatic relations with the United States". The government did just that the following May when American planes bombarded several villages, killing or wounding dozens of peasants.18 The pattern over the next few years, as the war in Indochina intensified, was one of repeated forays into Cambodian territory by American, Saigon and Khmer Serei forces in search of Communist supply lines and sanctuaries along the Ho Chi Minh Trail; bombing and strafing, napalming, and placing land mines, with varying numbers of Cambodian civilian casualties; angry accusations by the Cambodian government, followed on occasion by an American apology, promise of an investigation, and the taking of "measures to prevent any recurrence of such incidents".19 Sihanouk did not at all relish the intrusions into Cambodia by the Vietnamese Communists, nor was he wholly or consistently antagonistic to American pursuit of them, particularly when there was no loss of Cambodian lives. On at least one occasion he disclosed the location of Communist bases which were promptly bombed by the US. However, Sihanouk then went on the radio and proceeded to denounce the bombings.20 Opportunist that he often revealed himself to be, Sihanouk was nonetheless truly caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, and by the late 1960s his predicament had compelled him to resume American aid and re-establish diplomatic relations with the United States. Despite all the impulsiveness of his personality and policies, Sihanouk's neutralist high-wire balancing act did successfully shield his country from the worst of the devastation that was sweeping through the land and people of Vietnam and Laos. Cambodia had its own Communist insurgents, the Khmer Rouge, who surely would have unleashed a full-scale civil war if faced with a Cambodian government nestled comfortably in the American camp. This is precisely what later came to pass following the overthrow of Sihanouk and his replacement by Lon Nol who was closely tied to the United States. In March 1969, the situation began to change dramatically. Under the new American president, Richard Nixon, and National Security Affairs adviser Henry Kissinger, the isolated and limited attacks across the Cambodian border became sustained, large-scale B-52 bombings—"carpet bombings", in the euphemistic language so dear to the hearts of military men. Over the next 14 months, no less than 3,630 B-52 bombing raids were flown over Cambodia.21 To escape the onslaught, the Vietnamese Communists moved their
bases further inside the country. The B-52s of course followed, with a concomitant increase in civilian casualties. The Nixon administration artfully played down the nature and extent of these bombings, going so far as to falsify military records, and was largely successful in keeping it all a secret from the American public, the press and Congress.22 Not until 1973, in the midst of the Watergate revelations, did a fuller story begin to emerge. It was frequently argued that the United States had every right to attack Cambodia because of its use as a sanctuary by America's foes in Vietnam. Apropos of this claim, William Shawcross has pointed out that: During the Algerian war of independence the United States rejected France's claimed right to attack a Tunisian town inhabited by Algerian guerrillas, and in 1964 Adlai Stevenson, at the U.N., condemned Britain for assaulting a Yemeni town used as a base by insurgents attacking Aden. Even Israel had frequently been criticized by the United States for attacks on enemy bases outside its territory.23 On 18 Match 1970, Sihanouk, while on a trip abroad, was deposed as Head of State by two of his leading ministers, Lon Nol and Sirik Matak. To what extent, if any, the United States played a direct role in the coup has not been established, but there are circumstances and testimony pointing to American complicity, among which are the following: • According to Frank Snepp, the CIA's principal political analyst in Vietnam at this time, in early 1970 the Agency was cultivating both Lon Nol and Son Ngoc Thanh, leader of the Khmer Serei, as possible replacements for Sihanouk. The CIA believed, he says, that if Lon Nol came to power, "He would welcome the United States with open arms and we would accomplish everything." 24 (This, presumably, meant carte blanche to wipe out Vietnamese Communist forces and sanctuaries in Cambodia, as opposed to Sihanouk's extremely equivocal position on the matter.) Both men, as matters turned out, served as prime minister in the new government, for which diplomatic recognition was immediately forthcoming from Washington. • The United States could seemingly also rely on Sink Matak, a committed antiCommunist who had been profiled by the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency as "a friend of the West and ... co-operative with U.S. officials during the 1950s."25 • Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, in his biographic work on Kissinger, states chat Sihanouk's "immediate overthrow had been for years a high priority of the Green Berets reconnaissance units operating inside Cambodia since the late 1960s, There is also incontrovertible evidence that Lon Nol was approached by agents of American military intelligence in 1969 and asked to overthrow the Sihanouk government. Sihanouk made similar charges in his 1973 memoir, My War With The CIA, but they were not taken seriously then."26 • An opponent of Sihanouk, Prom Thos, who became a minister in the new government, has said that whether Lon Nol had specific promises of American help before the coup is unimportant: "We all just knew that the United States would help us; there had been many stories of CIA approaches and offers before then."27 • The CIA's intimate links to the conspiratorial circle are exemplified by an Agency report prepared six days before the coup, entitled "Indications of Possible Coup in Phnom Penh". It disclosed that anti-Communist demonstrations against the Vietcong and North Vietnamese embassies in the capital the previous day had been planned by Sirik Matak and Lon Nol as part of a showdown policy against Sihanouk and his followers, and that the two men had put the army on alert "to prepare ... for a coup against Sihanouk if Sihanouk refused to support" them
• General William Rosson, deputy to General Creighton Abrams, the Commander of US Forces in Vietnam at the time, has declared that American commanders were informed several days beforehand that a coup was being planned and that United States support was solicited. 29 • Roger Morris, who was serving under Henry Kissinger on the National Security Council staff when the coup took place, reported that "It was clear in the White House that the CIA station in Phnom Penh knew the plotters well, probably knew their plans, and did nothing to alert Sihanouk. They informed Washington well in advance of the coup. " 30 • William Shawctoss asserts that had Sihanouk "returned quickly and calmly to Phnom Penh [following the anti-communist demonstrations] he would most likely have been able to avert disaster." That he did not do so may not have been by chance. Frank Snepp has revealed that the CIA persuaded Sihanouk's mother, the Queen, to send a message to her son abroad reassuring him that the situation was not serious enough to warrant his return. 31 With Sihanouk and his irritating neutralism no longer an obstacle, American military wheels began to spin. Within hours of the coup, US and South Vietnam forces stationed in border districts were directed to establish communication with Cambodian commanders on the other side and take steps toward military co-operation. The next day, the Cambodian army called in an American spotter plane and South Vietnamese artillery during a sweep of a Vietcong sanctuary by a battalion of Cambodian troops inside Cambodia. The New York Times declared that "The battle appeared to be the most determined Cambodian effort yet to drive the Vietcong out of border areas."32 The Great Cambodian War had begun. It was to persist for five terrible years. The enemy confronting the United States and its Saigon and Phnom Penh allies was now not simply the North Vietnamese and the Vietcong. The Cambodian Communists—the Khmer Rouge—under the leadership of Pol Pot, had entered the conflict, as had sundry Cambodian supporters of Prince Sihanouk. On 30 April 1970, the first full-scale American invasion of the new war was launched. It produced a vast outcry of protest in the United States, rocking university campuses from coast to coast. Perhaps the most extraordinary reaction was the angry resignations of four men from Henry Kissinger's National Security Council staff, including Roger Morris. (Kissinger labeled the resignations as "the cowardice of the Eastern establishment".)33 By the end of May, scores of villages had been reduced to rubble and ashes by US air power; the long train of Cambodian refugees had begun their march. Three years and more than a hundred thousand tons of bombs later, 27 January 1973 to be precise, an agreement was signed in Paris putting an end to a decade of American warfare in Vietnam. The bombing of Cambodia, however, continued. Prior to the Paris agreement, the official position of the Nixon administration, repeatedly asserted, was that the sole purpose of bombing Cambodia was to protect American lives in Vietnam. Yet now, the US not only did not cease the bombing, it increased it, in a last desperate attempt to keep the Khmer Rouge from coming to power. During March, April and May, the tonnage of bombs unloosed over Cambodia was more than double that of the entire previous year. The society's traditional economy had vanished. The old Cambodia was being destroyed forever. Under increasing pressure from Congress, the Nixon administration finally ended the bombing in August. More than two million Cambodians had been made homeless. It does appear rather ludicrous, in the light of this application of brute force, that the CIA was at the same time carrying out the most subtle of psychological tactics. To
spread dissatisfaction about the exiled Sihanouk amongst the Cambodian peasantry who revered him, a CIA sound engineer, using sophisticated electronics, fashioned an excellent counterfeit of the Prince's distinctive voice and manner of speaking— breathless, high-pitched, and full of giggles. This voice was beamed from a clandestine radio station in Laos with messages artfully designed to offend any good Cambodian. In one of the broadcasts, "Sihanouk" exhorted young women to aid the cause by sleeping with the valiant Vietcong. 34 In a farewell press conference in September 1973, the American Ambassador to Cambodia, Emory Swank, called what had taken place there "Indochina's most useless war".35 Later, California Congressman Pete McClosky, following a visit to Cambodia, had harsher words. He was moved to declare that what the United States had "done to the country is greater evil than we have done to any country in the world, and wholly without reason, except for our own benefit to fight against the Vietnamese."36 On 17 April 197S, the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh in victory. Two weeks later, Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese and the Vietcong. Incredibly, the Khmer Rouge were to inflict even greater misery upon this unhappy land. And to add to the irony—or to multiply it—the United States supported the Khmer Rouge after their subsequent defeat by the Vietnamese, both by defending their right to the United Nations Cambodian seat, and in their military struggle against the Cambodian government and its Vietnamese allies. In November 1980, Ray Cline, former Deputy Director of the CIA, visited a Khmer Rouge enclave in Cambodia in his capacity as senior foreign policy adviser to President-elect Ronald Reagan. A Khmer Rouge press release spoke of the visit in warm terms.37 This was in keeping with the Reagan administration's subsequent opposition to the Vietnamese-supported Phnom Penh government. A lingering bitter hatred of Vietnam by unreconstructed American cold warriors appears to be the only explanation for this policy.
