1979-1993







History of Cambodia, since 1993


Administration . In 1992-1993, the country was placed under UNTAC (United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia).
The 1993 constitution reintroduced the monarchy (Sihanouk; he went into exile in 2004). From 1993 to 1998, Hun Sen held the position of one of two prime ministers; since 1998 he is sole PM.
The multiparty coalition was uneasy; in 1997, Hun Sen ousted his rival Prince Rannaridh and another civil war broke out. In 1998 elections were held; Prince Rannaridh became speaker of Parliament. Another coalition government was formed. In 2003 elections were held.

The Cambodian Civil War . The guerilla war continued; the Khmer Rouge were weakened by a 1996 split. Negotiations lead to the surrender of individual Khmer Rouge groups, who were promised amnesty in return for laying down their arms. Pol Pot died in 1998. The guerilla war ended that year. Cambodia had to deal with the legacy, a part of it being an estimated 7 million land mines, injuring unsuspecting civilians and preventing the cultivation of rice etc. Trials of Khmer Rouge leaders for crimes against humanity are scheduled to begin in 2007.

Foreign Policy . In 1997 Cambodia was admitted to ASEAN; it did not become effective until 1999. The UN in 1998 had agreed to grant the Cambodian seat to the new coalition government.

The Economy . Economically, in 1993 the Kingdom of Cambodia was in a desolate condition. The millions of landmines proved an obstacle to agricultural production. Poverty forced many into illegal and harmful activities, such as prostitution (causing a dramatic rise in HIV infections), poaching (parts of protected animals were highly prized commodities on the East Asian market for oriental medicine) and the theft of priceless, century-old Buddhist art (sculptures from Angkor), which were sold to foreign buyers.
Rice production increased from 2.3 million metric tons in 1993 to 4.0 million metric tons in 1999 (IHS p.196). Inflation, a problem in 1993, dropped quickly to a moderate level; the country experiences strong economic growth but continues to rank among the poorest countries in Asia. Cambodia is recipient of significant amounts of foreign aid.
Cambodia joined the WTO in 2004.

Social History . The census of 1993 established a population of 9.3 million, the census of 1998 a population of 11.4 million. In 1999 the last refugee camps in Thailand were closed, returning refugees contributing to the drastic increase in the population of Cambodia.

Cultural History . Cambodian athletes participated in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Angkor, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992, was regarded endangered between 1992 and 2004 due to art theft. It is Cambodia's main tourist attraction.






EXTERNAL
FILES 		Timeline of Cambodian History, from timelines.ws
Articles Economy of Cambodia, Hun Sen, Cambodian People's Party, Funcinpec, Norodom Ranariddh, Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia at the 1996 Summer Olympics, Cambodia at the 2000 Summer Olympics, Cambodia at the 2004 Summer Olympics, Angkor, UNTAC, Politics of Cambodia, from Wikipedia
The Thai-Cambodia Border Refugee Camps 1975-1999, from Website RCG
Cambodian Civil War 1997, from ACED
Khmer Rouge Insurgency, Cambodia 1992-1998, from ACED
Landmines in Cambodia, from Cambodia, Beauty and Darkness
United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia, from UNTAC
DOCUMENTS Cambodia Statesmen, from World Statesmen (B. Cahoon)
Cambodia, from Population Statistics (J. Lahmeyer)
Election Results, from Psephos (1998, 2003)
REFERENCES IHS : International Historical Statistics : Africa, Asia & Oceania 1750-2000, edited by B.R. Mitchell, Basingstoke : Palgrave MacMillan 4th ed. 2003
Article : Cambodia, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1995 pp.385-386, 576, 1996 pp.383-384, 576, 1997 pp.403, 574, 2002 pp.401, 571
Article : Cambodia, in : The Statesman's Year-Book 1994-1995 pp.257-260, 1995-1996 pp.249-252, 1996-1997 pp.266-269, 1997-1998 pp.270-273, 1998-1999 pp.295-299, 2000 pp.351-356, 2001 pp.339-343, 2002 pp.355-359, 2003 pp.352-356, 2004 pp.353-357, 2005 pp.348-352, 2006 pp.345-349 [G]
Article : Cambodia, in : Americana Annual 1998 pp.184-185, 2006 p.89 [G]
Entry : Kingdom of Cambodia, Cabinet, pp.20-22; Background Notes, pp.369-376, in : Countries of the World and their Leaders Yearbook, 2003 [G]
Entry : Cambodia, pp.322-325 in : IMF, International Financial Statistics Yearbook 2001 [G]


This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on May 18th 2002, last revised on May 30th 2007

Click here to go Home
Click here to go to Information about KMLA, WHKMLA, the author and webmaster
Click here to go to Statistics