Invasion Of Cambodia
Cambodia (04/05)
Agriculture was collectivized, and the surviving part of the industrial base was abandoned or placed under state control. Cambodia had neither a currency nor a banking system. The regime controlled every aspect of life and reduced everyone to the level of abject obedience through terror. Torture centers were established, and detailed records were kept of the thousands murdered there. Public executions of those considered unreliable or with links to the previous government were common. Few succeeded in escaping the military patrols and fleeing the country. Solid estimates of the numbers who died between 1975 and 1979 are not available, but it is likely that hundreds of thousands were brutally executed by the regime. Hundreds of thousands more died of starvation and disease--both under the Khmer Rouge and during the Vietnamese invasion in 1978. Estimates of the dead range from 1.7 million to 3 million, out of a 1975 population estimated at 7.3 million. ... [Read More]
Background Notes: Cambodia
Country Background Notes, 1990-93Background Notes, 1990Background Notes: CambodiaPA/PCSource: Office of Public Communication, Bureau of Public AffairsDate: Dec 15, 199012/15/90Category: Country DataRegion: Southeast AsiaCountry: CambodiaSubject: Cultural Exchange, Resource Management, Military Affairs, History, International Organizations, Trade/Economics, Regional/Civil Unrest[TEXT]Official Name: CambodiaPROFILEGeographyArea: 181,040 sq. km. (69,900 sq. mi.); about the size of Missouri.Cities: Capital-Phnom Penh (pop. 4 ... [Read More]
Background Notes Archive - East Asia and the Pacific
U.S. Department of StateBackground Notes: Cambodia, January 1996Bureau of East Asian and Pacific AffairsPrepared and released by the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Office of Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam Affairs January 1996Official Name: Kingdom of CambodiaPROFILEGeographyArea: 181,040 sq. km. (69,900 sq. mi.); about the size of Missouri.Cities: Capital-Phnom Penh (pop. between 1 million and 1.2 million). Other cities-Battambang, Siem Reap, Kompong Cham, Kompong Speu, Kompong Thom.Terrain: Central plain drained by the Tonle Sap (Great Lake) and Mekong and Bassac Rivers. Heavy forests away from the rivers and the lake, mountains in the southwest (Cardamom Mountains) and north (Dangrek Mountains) along the border with Thailand.Climate: Tropical monsoon with rainy season June-Oct. and dry season Nov.-May.PeopleNationality: Noun and adjective: Cambodian(s), Khmer.Population (1995): 10.56 million.Avg. annual growth rate: 4.1%. Births--44 births/ ... [Read More]
Vietnam (04/05)
In December 1961, at the request of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, President Kennedy sent U.S. military advisers to South Vietnam to help the government there deal with the Viet Cong campaign. In the wake of escalating political turmoil in the south after a 1963 generals' coup against President Diem, the United States increased its military support for South Vietnam. In March 1965, President Johnson sent the first U.S. combat forces to Vietnam. The American military role peaked in 1969 with an in-country force of 534,000. However, the Viet Cong's surprise Tet Offensive in January 1968 deeply hurt both the Viet Cong infrastructure and American and South Vietnamese morale. In January 1969, the United States, governments of South and North Vietnam, and the Viet Cong met for the first plenary session of peace talks in Paris, France. These talks, which began with much hope, moved slowly. They finally concluded with the signing of a peace agreement, the Paris Accords, on January 2 ... [Read More]
Background Notes: Asean
Background Notes: AseanPA/PCSource: Office of Public Communication, Bureau of Public AffairsDate: Mar 15, 19923/15/92Category: Country DataRegion: South AmericaCountry: ArgentinaSubject: Travel, History, Trade/Economics, International Organizations, Security Assistance and Sales[TEXT]Official Name: Association of Southeast Asian NationsMember states: Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, thePhilippines, Singapore, and Thailand.PROFILEGeographyArea: 3 million sq. km. (1 million sq. mi.); about the size of the USeast of the Mississippi River, plus Texas and Oklahoma. Majorcities: Brunei Darussalam--Band ... [Read More]
Department of State Washington File: Text: McConnell Urges Cambodians to Participate in Elections
I recognize that this may not be easy for many Cambodians. Anyone older than 28 years old lived through the nightmare of the Pol Pot regime and the Vietnamese invasion and occupation. Politics got people killed then--and it still does today. But unlike the past, today the fate of Cambodia is in the hands of the people and in the ballots they will cast on July 27. ... Cambodia today is a lawless country, with the thin veneer of democracy bestowed by U.N.-sponsored elections in 1993 all but worn away by political turmoil and crises. Under the repressive rule of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the ruling Cambodian People's Party, CPP, human rights abuses are committed with impunity, developments stymied by corruption and incompetence, and a palpable climate of fear persists throughout a country side controlled by CPP authorities. ... [Read More]
China (03/05)
In recent years, Chinese leaders have been regular travelers to all parts of the globe, and China has sought a higher profile in the UN through its permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council and other multilateral organizations. Closer to home, China has made efforts to reduce tensions in Asia; it has contributed to stability on the Korean Peninsula through hosting and participating in the Six-Party Talks, cultivated a more cooperative relationship with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Brunei, Burma, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam), and participated in the ASEAN Regional Forum. Its moves to play a greater regional leadership role in Asia and, especially, the success of its "charm offensive" in Southeast Asia are examples of a new, more mature diplomacy that China has begun to evince. China is also working hard to strengthen ties with countries in South Asia, including India. Premier Wen recently made a sweeping tour ... [Read More]
LISTSERV 14.4
Text: International Consortium Describes Complete Human Genome Sequence (288 lines) Text: Genetically Modified Parasite Helps Immune System Fight Invasion (147 lines) Text: Large-Scale Forces Shape Local Ocean Life, Global Study Shows (165 lines) Text: U.S. Drug Agency Breaks International Money, Drug Ring (323 lines) Text: Labor Dept. Awards $9 million for U.N. Workplace AIDS Programs (91 lines) Text: U.S. Labor Dept. Awards $18.65 Million to Fight Human Trafficking (112 lines) Comprehensive U.S. Program Aids Fight Against Terrorism Abroad (145 lines) Transcript: Armitage Thanks Australia for Contributions in Afghanistan, (467 lines) Transcript: No Direct Bargaining with North Korea, Powell Says (723 lines) Defense Department Report, October 21: Paul Nitze's Service Honored (89 lines) Transcript: State Department Noon Briefing, ... [Read More]
Background Notes Archive - East Asia and the Pacific
Background Notes: Vietnam, October 1998 Released by the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific AffairsU.S. Department of StateOfficial Name: Socialist Republic of VietnamPROFILEGeographyArea: 329,560 sq. km. (127,243 sq. mi.); larger than Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina combined.Cities (1994): Capital--Hanoi (3.5 million); Other cities--Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) (5 million); Haiphong (1.5 million).Terrain: Varies from mountainous to coastal delta.Climate: tropical monsoon.PeopleNationality: Noun and adjective--Vietnamese (sing. and pl.).Population (1997): 77 million.Annual growth rate (1997): 1.9%.Ethnic groups: Vietnamese (85-90%), Chinese, Hmong, Thai, Khmer, Cham, mountain groups.Religions: Buddhism, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Christian (Predominantly Roman Catholic, some Protestant), animism, Islam.Languages: Vietnamese, English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese and Khmer, mountain area languages.Literacy: 88%.Health: Birth rate- ... [Read More]
Indonesia (05/05)
In 2001 and 2002, the MPR amended the constitution to provide for the direct election, by popular vote, of the president and vice president. In 2004’s elections, only parties or coalitions of parties that gained at least 3% of the House of Representatives (DPR) seats or 5% of the vote in national legislative elections were eligible to nominate a presidential and vice presidential ticket. The 2004 legislative elections took place on April 5 and appeared generally free and fair. PDI-P lost its plurality in the House of Representatives, dropping to under 19% of the total vote, while Golkar remained basically at 1999 levels, with 21% of the vote. Five other parties won between 6 and 11% of the national vote. Of the 18 other parties that participated, 9 won small numbers of seats in the DPR. The first direct presidential election was held on July 5, 2004, contested by five tickets. No one candidate won at least 50% of the vote, so a runoff election between the top two candidates, President ... [Read More]
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