The prime ministers of Cambodia and Thailand on Friday affirmed their goal to maintain peace along the disputed border, where military clashes over the past year have led to casualties on each side.
“Both sides agreed to avoid armed conflict along the border,” a spokesman for Prime Minister Hun Sen said, following talks in Phnom Penh.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is on his first official visit to Cambodia. Both sides have hundreds of troops amassed along the contested border near Preah Vihear temple.
Fighting, including rocket and mortar fire, has ensued at least twice since last July, killing at least three soldiers on each side.
Hun Sen suggested military officers on both sides hold regular meetings to ease tensions, and Abhisit agreed, according to spokesman Eng Sophallet.
No demonstrations were held for Abhisit’s visit, despite warnings from the Cambodian Confederation of Unions. The confederation held a gathering at its headquarters instead, in protest of alleged Thai incursions into Cambodia.
As part of his visit, Abhisit returned seven stone artifacts from the Angkorian period seized from smugglers on the Thai side of the border. Cambodia has requested the return of 46 artifacts
H1N1 Virus Confirmed in Four Visiting Americans
Four students from Texas have been confirmed carrying the H1N1 virus and are under “close supervision,” health authorities said Thursday.They are the first cases to be discovered in Cambodia, following the announcement this month the spread of the virus, sometimes called swine flu, had become a pandemic.
The four students, including three girls, between the ages of 16 and 20, arrived in Cambodia June 19.
The four are under the supervision of health officials, who are preventing them from travel while they monitor the situation, Health Minister Mam Bunheng told reporters during a joint press conference with the World Health Organization.
Cambodia’s first case of the virus, in a 16-year-old student, was announced on Wednesday.
The virus has spread to more than 100 countries, including China and Thailand, and has killed at least 250 people, while infecting as many as 56,000.
However, Mike O’Leary, chief of Cambodia’s WHO office, said there was no cause for alarm.
Singer Michael Jackson dies at 50
Paramedics were called to the singer's home around midday local time on Thursday after he stopped breathing.He was pronounced dead two hours later after arriving at hospital in full cardiac arrest, said Fred Corral of the LA County Coroner's office.
Speaking on behalf of Jackson's family, his brother, Jermaine, said doctors had tried to resuscitate the star for more than an hour without success.
He added: "The family request that the media please respect our privacy during this tough time."
"And Allah be with you Michael always. I love you."
Jackson, who had a history of health problems, had been due to begin a series of comeback concerts in the UK on 13 July.
Concerns were raised last month when four of the concerts were postponed, but organisers insisted the dates had been moved due to the complexity of staging the show.
A spokeswoman for The Outside Organisation, which was organising the publicity for the shows, said she had no comment at this time.
Broadcaster Paul Gambaccini said: "I always doubted that he would have been able to go through that schedule, those concerts. It seemed to be too much of a demand on the unhealthy body of a 50 year old.
"I'm wondering that, as we find out details of his death, if perhaps the stress of preparing for those dates was a factor in his collapse.
"It was wishful thinking that at this stage of his life he could be MJ again."
Uri Gellar, a close friend of the star, told BBC News it was "very, very sad".
A spokeswoman for The Outside Organisation, which was organising the publicity for the shows, said she had no comment at this time.
Broadcaster Paul Gambaccini said: "I always doubted that he would have been able to go through that schedule, those concerts. It seemed to be too much of a demand on the unhealthy body of a 50 year old.
"I'm wondering that, as we find out details of his death, if perhaps the stress of preparing for those dates was a factor in his collapse.
"It was wishful thinking that at this stage of his life he could be MJ again."
Uri Gellar, a close friend of the star, told BBC News it was "very, very sad".
Speaking outside the UCLA medical centre in Los Angeles, civil rights activist Rev Al Sharpton paid tribute to his friend.
"I knew him 35 years. When he had problems he would call me," he said.
"I feel like he was not treated fairly. I hope history will be more kind to him than some of the contemporary media."
Melanie Bromley, west coast bureau chief of Us Weekly magazine, told the BBC the scene in Los Angeles was one of "pandenomium".
"At the moment there is a period of disbelief. There are hundreds of people outside UCLA waiting for news.
"He was buying a home in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles and the scene outside the house is one of fans, reporters and TV cameras - it's absolute craziness.
"I feel this is the biggest celebrity story in a long time and has the potential to be the Princess Diana of popular culture."
"I knew him 35 years. When he had problems he would call me," he said.
"I feel like he was not treated fairly. I hope history will be more kind to him than some of the contemporary media."
Melanie Bromley, west coast bureau chief of Us Weekly magazine, told the BBC the scene in Los Angeles was one of "pandenomium".
"At the moment there is a period of disbelief. There are hundreds of people outside UCLA waiting for news.
"He was buying a home in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles and the scene outside the house is one of fans, reporters and TV cameras - it's absolute craziness.
"I feel this is the biggest celebrity story in a long time and has the potential to be the Princess Diana of popular culture."
Paramedics were called to the singer's house in Bel Air at 1221 following an emergency phone call.
They performed CPR on Jackson and rushed him to the UCLA medical centre.
A spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department said the robbery and homicide team was investigating Jackson's death because of its "high profile", but there was no suggestion of foul play.
Jackson began his career as a child in family group The Jackson 5.
He then went on to achieve global fame as a solo artist with smash hits such as Billie Jean and Bad.
Thriller, released in 1982, is the biggest-selling album of all time, shifting 65m copies, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
He scored seven UK number ones as a solo artist and won a total of 13 Grammy awards.
"For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don't have the words," said Quincy Jones, who produced Thriller, Bad and Off The Wall.
"He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I've lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him."
They performed CPR on Jackson and rushed him to the UCLA medical centre.
A spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department said the robbery and homicide team was investigating Jackson's death because of its "high profile", but there was no suggestion of foul play.
Jackson began his career as a child in family group The Jackson 5.
He then went on to achieve global fame as a solo artist with smash hits such as Billie Jean and Bad.
Thriller, released in 1982, is the biggest-selling album of all time, shifting 65m copies, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
He scored seven UK number ones as a solo artist and won a total of 13 Grammy awards.
"For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don't have the words," said Quincy Jones, who produced Thriller, Bad and Off The Wall.
"He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I've lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him."
Family
The singer had been dogged by controversy and money trouble in recent years, becoming a virtual recluse.
He was arrested in 2003 on charges of molesting a 14-year-old boy, but was found not guilty following a five-month trial.
The star had three children, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince Michael Jackson II.
He is survived by his mother, Katherine, father, Joseph and eight siblings - including Janet, Randy, Jermaine and La Toya Jackson.
The singer had been dogged by controversy and money trouble in recent years, becoming a virtual recluse.
He was arrested in 2003 on charges of molesting a 14-year-old boy, but was found not guilty following a five-month trial.
The star had three children, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince Michael Jackson II.
He is survived by his mother, Katherine, father, Joseph and eight siblings - including Janet, Randy, Jermaine and La Toya Jackson.
All Party Members Responsible: Duch
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The Khmer Rouge prison chief known as Duch told tribunal judges on Thursday that every member of the regime’s communist party should apologize and take responsible for the atrocities committed under their rule.“For the deaths of more than 1 million Cambodians, every party member must be accountable before the people, the nation and the history of humanity,” Duch said. “They must bow [their heads] to say sorry to the people so as to realize what they did was wrong and a tragedy.”
Duch, whose real name is Kaing Kek Iev, is the only former Khmer Rouge leader to ever publicly admit guilt for crimes committed under the regime. None of the other four leaders currently in tribunal custody have ever taken responsibility or apologized to the Cambodian people.
Duch told the court Thursday his repentance was possible because he was a new person, not the math teacher of the 1960s, and not the chief of the Khmer Rouge’s notorious killing machine, Tuol Sleng, he had been.
“I wonder whether the people and the nation of Cambodia have seen me as a new person through this trial,” he said. “Please, let the Cambodian people judge me.”
Duch, 66, is undergoing the first trial of five leaders held by the Khmer Rouge tribunal. He is charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and murder, for his role as a prison administrator who prosecutors say oversaw the deaths of 12,380 people.
His trial will resume next week with testimony from survivors of Tuol Sleng.
Hun Sen Won’t Talk Temple With Thai Deputy
Prime Minister Hun Sen said Thursday the only words he would want to exchange with a visiting Thai official would be news that Thailand is withdrawing troops from positions along the border.Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva rankled Phnom Penh earlier this week by suggesting Cambodia and Thailand share the Unesco World Heritage status of Preah Vihear temple, which is at the center of a military standoff along the northern border.
Thai officials hope to meet with Unesco authorities in Spain this week, where they could request Preah Vihear temple be placed under joint maintenance. Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban is then scheduled to make an unofficial visit to Cambodia on Saturday to meet with Hun Sen.
In a speech to graduates in Phnom Penh Thursday, Hun Sen he was prepared to welcome Suthep and the defense minister, Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan, but “not to raise the Preah Vihear temple, to explain to me.”
“I cannot accept any explanation…except if that explanation stresses that [Thailand] will pull Thai invasion forces out of Cambodia,” Hun Sen said.
Clashes on disputed territory near the temple have killed at least three Cambodian and three Thai soldiers in the past year.
“Cambodia does not use military force to solve bilateral problems,” Hun Sen said Thursday. “The military option is the last option in the implementation of the right to self-defense of territory.”
Demonstrations in Thailand in July 2008 coincided with Preah Vihear’s World Heritage listing, protests that deeply unsettled Thailand and led to the ouster of its democratically elected government.
Abhisit’s government should now take the same stance as the previous government, Hun Sen said.
Khmer Krom Monk
By Eang Mengleng and Frank RadosevichThe Cambodia Dailykiri vong district, Takeo province - Tim Sakhorn, a defrocked Khmer Krom monk who was allegedly forcibly deported to Vietnam in mid-2007, unexpectedly found himself back in Takeo province this weekend.Dressed in plaid shorts and a khaki button-down shirt, he spoke calmly Sunday at his father's house in Phnom Den commune and told of how he was stripped of his monk's robe and given a pair of pants and a blue shirt, both of which were too small for his frame. Then, four police officers placed him in a car June 30, 2007, and drove across the border, without stopping, until arriving at a Vietnamese prison in An Giang province."I thought I was being sent to [Takeo] provincial prison," he said."My life was so difficult there," he recalled of his nearly two-year stay in Vietnam, which he said was forced upon him. "I want especially to stay in Cambodia. I don't want to stay in Vietnam."Formerly the abbot of the Phnom Den pagoda, Tim Sakhorn was defrocked by top Buddhist clergy for supposedly negatively affecting the relationship between Cambodia and Vietnam. Some months after being taken to the An Giang prison he was convicted of political crimes in Vietnam and sentence to a year in prison. Since being released last year, family members have said Tim Sakhorn has been under virtual house arrest in Vietnam.Cambodian officials have maintained that the former monk had not been deported but rather had asked to leave Cambodia for Vietnam following his defrocking.Before now, the account of Tim Sakhorn's absence could not be independently verified and government officials for both Cambodia and Vietnam either declined to comment Sunday or said they were unaware of his return. His apparent deportation in 2007 ignited a firestorm of complaints from rights groups and other Khmer Krom monks who said Tim Sakhorn's expulsion was illegal and politically motivated.To his surprise, the 41-year-old Tim Sakhorn was allowed to travel to Cambodia 
Saturday to visit his family, who will complete his mother's funeral ceremony today, an observance that was cut short by his extradition.Before he left, he said Vietnamese police forced him to write and sign a letter saying that during his stay he would not criticize the Cambodian or Vietnamese authorities. If he did, he would face jail time when he returned. He said police also kept the letter.Once a Cambodian citizen, Tim Sakhorn now only carries a Vietnamese passport and identification card, which he showed Sunday to reporters. The stamp inside the blue booklet, which identifies him as Tim Sa Khonl, says he can legally stay in Cambodia until April 17. He has not seen his Cambodian papers since they were seized during his deportation and handed over to Vietnamese authorities, he said.Tim Sakhorn said Sunday that at the Vietnamese prison, he lived in a room with 25 Vietnamese men and was questioned several times by officers. Five months later, the court found him guilty of undermining the "solidarity" between Vietnam and Cambodia.After his release in July, three policemen took him on a month-long tour of Hanoi and the surrounding provinces. They showed him Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum, the coastline and the new development springing up around the city. He said he never knew the true purpose behind the trip but felt it was an attempt to entice him to settle down in Vietnam.Following the voyage, he was sent to live with an aunt in An Giang province and placed under de facto house arrest.He said leaving Vietnam was not an option. Two officers were stationed at the home and other policemen would frequently stop by, sometimes to question him, sometimes to take him out for dinner and drinks with other officers."They asked me if I wanted to stay here or not," he said of the police visits. "I 
would tell them, 'No.'"For his part, Tim Sakhorn said he was never physically abused or threatened during his stay. In fact, while interrogated at the prison, police would offer him coffee and cakes, treats that were not presented to his fellow inmates.Tacit intimidation, though, was not uncommon. For the letters promising to return to Vietnam, of which he said he wrote several, he was called into a police station and sat down. There, law enforcement officials encircled him and dictated the script. Frightened as to what might happen if he disobeyed, he followed the policemen's orders."My heart did not want to write a letter like this," he said.National police spokesman Keat Chantharith said he did not know Tim Sakhorn had returned to Cambodia. He was aware, however, that Tim Sakhorn had been released from prison.When asked about details of the case and claims made by Tim Sakhorn that Cambodian police drove him to Vietnam, Keat Chantharith declined to comment, saying he had not received any word from provincial police.Lieutenant General Khieu Sopheak, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, could not be reached for comment Sunday, though in the past he said Tim Sakhorn had left Cambodia willingly.Trinh Ba Cam, spokesman for the Vietnamese Embassy, also could not be reached Sunday, but said in August that Tim Sakhorn has "full freedom. It is his right if he wants to live in Vietnam or other place."On Saturday night, Tim Sakhorn and his siblings both noted 
Cambodian police patrolling the streets and area around his home.Meas Sophoan, police chief for Kiri Vong district, declined to comment."I don't believe you are journalists," he said shortly before hanging up the phone. "If you want to report, go to my office."Soun Phon, deputy provincial police chief, said he did not know Tim Sakhorn was in Takeo or that police were reportedly watching his home. He declined to comment on the claim that Takeo provincial police shipped Tim Sakhorn to Vietnam."The provincial police did not receive a report from the district and they are not guarding him at the house," he said.Thach Setha, executive director of Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community, said Tim Sakhorn was defrocked illegally by Cambodian authorities and sent to Vietnam without any evidence showing he committed any wrongdoing. "We want to help Tim Sakhorn live in Cambodia because he is Cambodian and now they made him accept a Vietnamese passport and ID card," he said Sunday."Tim Sakhorn and the other Khmer Krom, they are Cambodian," said Ang Chanrith, head of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Human Rights Organization. "The Vietnamese authorities can not threaten them to become Vietnamese nationals. They are still Cambodian nationals. It is a violation of the human rights of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom by the Vietnamese."Ang Chanrith said the organization would meet with King Norodom Sihamoni Tuesday to plead the case of Tim Sakhorn. Tim Sakhorn on Sunday also called upon rights groups, foreign embassies and the United Nations to intervene on his behalf and help him stay in Cambodia. But if the legality of his stay is not resolved, he said he will reluctantly depart for Vietnam."I have to go back. They will arrest me," he said. "I am so sad."Cambodia History
Funan
At about the time that Western Europe was absorbing the classical culture and institutions of the Mediterranean, the people of mainland and insular Southeast Asia were responding to the stimulus of a civilization that had arisen in India during the previous millennium. The Indianization of Southeast Asia happened as a consequence of the increasing trade in the Indian Ocean. Vedic and Hindu religion, political thought, literature, mythology, and artistic motifs gradually became integral elements in local Southeast Asian cultures. The caste system was never adopted, but Indianization stimulated the rise of highly-organized, centralized states.
Funan, the earliest of the Indianized states, is generally considered to have been the first kingdom in the area. Founded in the first century CE, Funan was located on the lower reaches of the Mekong River delta area, in what is today southeast Cambodia and the extreme south of Vietnam. Its capital, Vyadhapura, probably was located near the present-day town of Banam in Prey Veng Province. The earliest historical reference to Funan is a Chinese description of a mission that visited the country in the third century. The name Funan is largely believed to derived from the old khmer word 'bnam' meaning mountain. The Funanese were likely of Austroasiatic origin. What the Funanese called themselves, however, is not known.
During this early period in Funan's history, the population was probably concentrated in villages along the Mekong River and along the Tonle Sap River below the Tonle Sap. Traffic and communications were mostly waterborne on the rivers and their delta tributaries. The area was a natural region for the development of an economy based on fishing and rice cultivation. There is considerable evidence that the Funanese economy depended on rice surpluses produced by an extensive inland irrigation system. Maritime trade played an extremely important role in the development of Funan, and the remains of what is believed to have been the kingdom's main port, Oc Eo (now part of Vietnam), contain Roman as well as Persian, Indian, and Greek artifacts.
By the 5th century, the state exercised control over the lower Mekong River area and the lands around the Tonle Sap. It also commanded tribute from smaller states in the area now comprising northern Cambodia, southern Laos, southern Thailand, and the northern portion of the Malay Peninsula. Indianization was fostered by increasing contact with the subcontinent through the travels of merchants, diplomats, and learned Brahmins. By the end of the fifth century, the elite culture was thoroughly Indianized. Court ceremony and the structure of political institutions were based on Indian models. The Sanskrit language was widely used; the laws of Manu, the Indian legal code, were adopted; and an alphabet based on Indian writing systems was introduced.
Beginning in the early sixth century, civil wars and dynastic strife undermined Funan's stability. A former northern vassal turned to independent kingdom, Chenla, began to increase its power and status quo was achieved only through dynastic marriages. But eventually Funan was absorbed by the Khmer Chenla and became a vassal itself. Funan disappears from history in the seventh century
Chenla
The people of Chenla were Khmer and wrote in Khmer script, as opposed to the Funan practice of writing in Sanskrit. Chenla is first mentioned in the Chinese Sui History as a Funan vassal. The founder of the kingdom, who managed to break free from Funan's control, was Strutavarman. A later king, Bhavarman, invaded Funan annexing it to Chenla's domains. Once they established control over Funan, they embarked on a course of conquest that continued for three centuries. They subjugated central and upper Laos, annexed portions of the Mekong Delta, and brought what are now western Cambodia and southern Thailand under their direct control.
At the same time, king Mahendravarman established peace with the neighboring kingdom of Champa through marriage arrangements, and Isnavarman, who succeeded him in 616, moved to a new capital, which, according to a Chinese writer, was inhabited by 20 thousands families. Culturally, the royal families of Chenla generally preserved the earlier political, social, and religious institutions of Funan, thus preserving the elements introduced from India. Chenla appears to have had a preference for Hinduism over other religions brought from there, like Buddhism.
In the 8th century, however, factional disputes at the Chenla court resulted in the splitting of the kingdom into rival northern and southern halves. According to Chinese chronicles, the two parts were known as Land (or Upper) Chenla and Water (or Lower) Chenla. Land Chenla maintained a relatively stable existence, but Water Chenla underwent a period of constant turbulence, partly because of attacks from the sea by the Javanese and others. The Sailendra dynasty in Java actively tried to establish control on Water Chenla territories and eventually forced the kingdom to vassal status. The last of the Water Chenla kings allegedly was killed around 790 by a Javanese monarch whom he had offended. The ultimate victor in the strife that followed was the ruler of a small Khmer state located north of the Mekong Delta. His assumption of the throne as Jayavarman II (ca. 802 - 850) marked the liberation of the Khmer people from Javanese suzerainty and the beginning of a Khmer empire.
Angkor
The Angkorian period or Khmer empire lasted from the early 9th century to the early 15th century. In terms of cultural accomplishments and political power, this was the golden age of Khmer civilization. The great temple cities of the Angkorian region, located near the modern town of Siemreap, are a lasting monument to the greatness of Jayavarman II's successors. (Even the Khmer Rouge, who looked on most of their country's past history and traditions with hostility, adopted a stylized Angkorian temple for the flag of Democratic Kampuchea. A similar motif is found in the flag of the PRK). The kingdom founded by Jayavarman II also gave modern-day Cambodia, or Kampuchea, its name. During the early ninth to the mid-fifteenth centuries, it was known as Kambuja, originally the name of an early north Indian state/tribe, from which the current forms of the name have been derived.
Possibly to put distance between himself and the seaborne Javanese, Jayavarman II settled north of the Tonle Sap. He built several capitals before establishing one, Hariharalaya, near the site where the Angkorian complexes were built. Indravarman I (877 - 889) extended Khmer control as far west as the Korat Plateau in Thailand, and he ordered the construction of a huge reservoir north of the capital to provide irrigation for wet rice cultivation. His son, Yasovarman I (889 - 900), built the Eastern Baray (reservoir or tank), evidence of which remains to the present time. Its dikes, which may be seen today, are more than 6 kilometers long and 1.6 kilometers wide. The elaborate system of canals and reservoirs built under Indravarman I and his successors were the key to Kambuja's prosperity for half a millennium. By freeing cultivators from dependence on unreliable seasonal monsoons, they made possible an early "green revolution" that provided the country with large surpluses of rice. Kambuja's decline during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries probably was hastened by the deterioration of the irrigation system. Attacks by Thai and other foreign peoples and the internal discord caused by dynastic rivalries diverted human resources from the system's upkeep, and it gradually fell into disrepair.
Suryavarman II (1113 - 1150), one of the greatest Angkorian monarchs, expanded his kingdom's territory in a series of successful wars against the kingdom of Champa in central Vietnam, the kingdom of Nam Viet in northern Vietnam, and the small Mon polities as far west as the Irrawaddy River of Burma. He reduced to vassalage the Thai peoples who had migrated into Southeast Asia from the Yunnan region of southern China and established his suzerainty over the northern part of the Malay Peninsula. His greatest achievement was the construction of the temple city complex of Angkor Wat. The largest religious edifice in the world, Angkor Wat is considered the greatest single architectural work in Southeast Asia. Suryavarman II's reign was followed, however, by thirty years of dynastic upheaval and an invasion by the neighboring Cham, who destroyed the city of Angkor in 1177.
The Cham ultimately were driven out and conquered by Jayavarman VII, whose reign (1181 - ca. 1218) marked the apogee of Kambuja's power. Unlike his predecessors, who had adopted the cult of the Hindu god-king, Jayavarman VII was a fervent patron of Mahayana Buddhism. Casting himself as a bodhisattva, he embarked on a frenzy of building activity that included the Angkor Thom complex and the Bayon, a remarkable temple whose stone towers depict 216 faces of buddhas, gods, and kings. He also built over 200 rest houses and hospitals throughout his kingdom. Like the Roman emperors, he maintained a system of roads between his capital and provincial towns. According to historian George Coedès, "No other Cambodian king can claim to have moved so much stone." Often, quality suffered for the sake of size and rapid construction, as is revealed in the intriguing but poorly constructed Bayon.
Carvings show that everyday Angkorian buildings were wooden structures not much different from those found in Cambodia today. The impressive stone buildings were not used as residences by members of the royal family. Rather, they were the focus of Hindu or Buddhist cults that celebrated the divinity, or buddhahood, of the monarch and his family. Coedès suggests that they had the dual function of both temple and tomb. Typically, their dimensions reflected the structure of the Hindu mythological universe. For example, five towers at the center of the Angkor Wat complex represent the peaks of Mount Meru, the center of the universe; an outer wall represents the mountains that ring the world's edge; and a moat depicts the cosmic ocean. Like many other ancient edifices, the monuments of the Angkorian region absorbed vast reserves of resources and human labor and their purpose remains shrouded in mystery.
Angkorian society was strictly hierarchical. The king, regarded as divine, owned both the land and his subjects. Immediately below the monarch and the royal family were the Brahman priesthood and a small class of officials, who numbered about 4,000 in the tenth century. Next were the commoners, who were burdened with heavy corvée (forced labor) duties. There was also a large slave class who built the enduring monuments.
After Jayavarman VII's death, Kambuja entered a long period of decline that led to its eventual disintegration. The Thai were a growing menace on the empire's western borders. The spread of Theravada Buddhism, which came to Kambuja from Sri Lanka by way of the Mon kingdoms, challenged the royal Hindu and Mahayana Buddhist cults. Preaching austerity and the salvation of the individual through his or own her efforts, Theravada Buddhism did not lend doctrinal support to a society ruled by an opulent royal establishment maintained through the virtual slavery of the masses.
In 1353 a Thai army captured Angkor. It was recaptured by the Khmer, but wars continued and the capital was looted several times. During the same period, Khmer territory north of the present Laotian border was lost to the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang. In 1431 the Thai captured Angkor Thom. Thereafter, the Angkorian region did not again encompass a royal capital, except for a brief period in the third quarter of the sixteenth century.
At about the time that Western Europe was absorbing the classical culture and institutions of the Mediterranean, the people of mainland and insular Southeast Asia were responding to the stimulus of a civilization that had arisen in India during the previous millennium. The Indianization of Southeast Asia happened as a consequence of the increasing trade in the Indian Ocean. Vedic and Hindu religion, political thought, literature, mythology, and artistic motifs gradually became integral elements in local Southeast Asian cultures. The caste system was never adopted, but Indianization stimulated the rise of highly-organized, centralized states.
Funan, the earliest of the Indianized states, is generally considered to have been the first kingdom in the area. Founded in the first century CE, Funan was located on the lower reaches of the Mekong River delta area, in what is today southeast Cambodia and the extreme south of Vietnam. Its capital, Vyadhapura, probably was located near the present-day town of Banam in Prey Veng Province. The earliest historical reference to Funan is a Chinese description of a mission that visited the country in the third century. The name Funan is largely believed to derived from the old khmer word 'bnam' meaning mountain. The Funanese were likely of Austroasiatic origin. What the Funanese called themselves, however, is not known.
During this early period in Funan's history, the population was probably concentrated in villages along the Mekong River and along the Tonle Sap River below the Tonle Sap. Traffic and communications were mostly waterborne on the rivers and their delta tributaries. The area was a natural region for the development of an economy based on fishing and rice cultivation. There is considerable evidence that the Funanese economy depended on rice surpluses produced by an extensive inland irrigation system. Maritime trade played an extremely important role in the development of Funan, and the remains of what is believed to have been the kingdom's main port, Oc Eo (now part of Vietnam), contain Roman as well as Persian, Indian, and Greek artifacts.
By the 5th century, the state exercised control over the lower Mekong River area and the lands around the Tonle Sap. It also commanded tribute from smaller states in the area now comprising northern Cambodia, southern Laos, southern Thailand, and the northern portion of the Malay Peninsula. Indianization was fostered by increasing contact with the subcontinent through the travels of merchants, diplomats, and learned Brahmins. By the end of the fifth century, the elite culture was thoroughly Indianized. Court ceremony and the structure of political institutions were based on Indian models. The Sanskrit language was widely used; the laws of Manu, the Indian legal code, were adopted; and an alphabet based on Indian writing systems was introduced.
Beginning in the early sixth century, civil wars and dynastic strife undermined Funan's stability. A former northern vassal turned to independent kingdom, Chenla, began to increase its power and status quo was achieved only through dynastic marriages. But eventually Funan was absorbed by the Khmer Chenla and became a vassal itself. Funan disappears from history in the seventh century
Chenla
The people of Chenla were Khmer and wrote in Khmer script, as opposed to the Funan practice of writing in Sanskrit. Chenla is first mentioned in the Chinese Sui History as a Funan vassal. The founder of the kingdom, who managed to break free from Funan's control, was Strutavarman. A later king, Bhavarman, invaded Funan annexing it to Chenla's domains. Once they established control over Funan, they embarked on a course of conquest that continued for three centuries. They subjugated central and upper Laos, annexed portions of the Mekong Delta, and brought what are now western Cambodia and southern Thailand under their direct control.
At the same time, king Mahendravarman established peace with the neighboring kingdom of Champa through marriage arrangements, and Isnavarman, who succeeded him in 616, moved to a new capital, which, according to a Chinese writer, was inhabited by 20 thousands families. Culturally, the royal families of Chenla generally preserved the earlier political, social, and religious institutions of Funan, thus preserving the elements introduced from India. Chenla appears to have had a preference for Hinduism over other religions brought from there, like Buddhism.
In the 8th century, however, factional disputes at the Chenla court resulted in the splitting of the kingdom into rival northern and southern halves. According to Chinese chronicles, the two parts were known as Land (or Upper) Chenla and Water (or Lower) Chenla. Land Chenla maintained a relatively stable existence, but Water Chenla underwent a period of constant turbulence, partly because of attacks from the sea by the Javanese and others. The Sailendra dynasty in Java actively tried to establish control on Water Chenla territories and eventually forced the kingdom to vassal status. The last of the Water Chenla kings allegedly was killed around 790 by a Javanese monarch whom he had offended. The ultimate victor in the strife that followed was the ruler of a small Khmer state located north of the Mekong Delta. His assumption of the throne as Jayavarman II (ca. 802 - 850) marked the liberation of the Khmer people from Javanese suzerainty and the beginning of a Khmer empire.
Angkor
The Angkorian period or Khmer empire lasted from the early 9th century to the early 15th century. In terms of cultural accomplishments and political power, this was the golden age of Khmer civilization. The great temple cities of the Angkorian region, located near the modern town of Siemreap, are a lasting monument to the greatness of Jayavarman II's successors. (Even the Khmer Rouge, who looked on most of their country's past history and traditions with hostility, adopted a stylized Angkorian temple for the flag of Democratic Kampuchea. A similar motif is found in the flag of the PRK). The kingdom founded by Jayavarman II also gave modern-day Cambodia, or Kampuchea, its name. During the early ninth to the mid-fifteenth centuries, it was known as Kambuja, originally the name of an early north Indian state/tribe, from which the current forms of the name have been derived.
Possibly to put distance between himself and the seaborne Javanese, Jayavarman II settled north of the Tonle Sap. He built several capitals before establishing one, Hariharalaya, near the site where the Angkorian complexes were built. Indravarman I (877 - 889) extended Khmer control as far west as the Korat Plateau in Thailand, and he ordered the construction of a huge reservoir north of the capital to provide irrigation for wet rice cultivation. His son, Yasovarman I (889 - 900), built the Eastern Baray (reservoir or tank), evidence of which remains to the present time. Its dikes, which may be seen today, are more than 6 kilometers long and 1.6 kilometers wide. The elaborate system of canals and reservoirs built under Indravarman I and his successors were the key to Kambuja's prosperity for half a millennium. By freeing cultivators from dependence on unreliable seasonal monsoons, they made possible an early "green revolution" that provided the country with large surpluses of rice. Kambuja's decline during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries probably was hastened by the deterioration of the irrigation system. Attacks by Thai and other foreign peoples and the internal discord caused by dynastic rivalries diverted human resources from the system's upkeep, and it gradually fell into disrepair.
Suryavarman II (1113 - 1150), one of the greatest Angkorian monarchs, expanded his kingdom's territory in a series of successful wars against the kingdom of Champa in central Vietnam, the kingdom of Nam Viet in northern Vietnam, and the small Mon polities as far west as the Irrawaddy River of Burma. He reduced to vassalage the Thai peoples who had migrated into Southeast Asia from the Yunnan region of southern China and established his suzerainty over the northern part of the Malay Peninsula. His greatest achievement was the construction of the temple city complex of Angkor Wat. The largest religious edifice in the world, Angkor Wat is considered the greatest single architectural work in Southeast Asia. Suryavarman II's reign was followed, however, by thirty years of dynastic upheaval and an invasion by the neighboring Cham, who destroyed the city of Angkor in 1177.
The Cham ultimately were driven out and conquered by Jayavarman VII, whose reign (1181 - ca. 1218) marked the apogee of Kambuja's power. Unlike his predecessors, who had adopted the cult of the Hindu god-king, Jayavarman VII was a fervent patron of Mahayana Buddhism. Casting himself as a bodhisattva, he embarked on a frenzy of building activity that included the Angkor Thom complex and the Bayon, a remarkable temple whose stone towers depict 216 faces of buddhas, gods, and kings. He also built over 200 rest houses and hospitals throughout his kingdom. Like the Roman emperors, he maintained a system of roads between his capital and provincial towns. According to historian George Coedès, "No other Cambodian king can claim to have moved so much stone." Often, quality suffered for the sake of size and rapid construction, as is revealed in the intriguing but poorly constructed Bayon.
Carvings show that everyday Angkorian buildings were wooden structures not much different from those found in Cambodia today. The impressive stone buildings were not used as residences by members of the royal family. Rather, they were the focus of Hindu or Buddhist cults that celebrated the divinity, or buddhahood, of the monarch and his family. Coedès suggests that they had the dual function of both temple and tomb. Typically, their dimensions reflected the structure of the Hindu mythological universe. For example, five towers at the center of the Angkor Wat complex represent the peaks of Mount Meru, the center of the universe; an outer wall represents the mountains that ring the world's edge; and a moat depicts the cosmic ocean. Like many other ancient edifices, the monuments of the Angkorian region absorbed vast reserves of resources and human labor and their purpose remains shrouded in mystery.
Angkorian society was strictly hierarchical. The king, regarded as divine, owned both the land and his subjects. Immediately below the monarch and the royal family were the Brahman priesthood and a small class of officials, who numbered about 4,000 in the tenth century. Next were the commoners, who were burdened with heavy corvée (forced labor) duties. There was also a large slave class who built the enduring monuments.
After Jayavarman VII's death, Kambuja entered a long period of decline that led to its eventual disintegration. The Thai were a growing menace on the empire's western borders. The spread of Theravada Buddhism, which came to Kambuja from Sri Lanka by way of the Mon kingdoms, challenged the royal Hindu and Mahayana Buddhist cults. Preaching austerity and the salvation of the individual through his or own her efforts, Theravada Buddhism did not lend doctrinal support to a society ruled by an opulent royal establishment maintained through the virtual slavery of the masses.
In 1353 a Thai army captured Angkor. It was recaptured by the Khmer, but wars continued and the capital was looted several times. During the same period, Khmer territory north of the present Laotian border was lost to the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang. In 1431 the Thai captured Angkor Thom. Thereafter, the Angkorian region did not again encompass a royal capital, except for a brief period in the third quarter of the sixteenth century.
Preah Vihear: Thai-Cambodia Temple Dispute
The sudden re-emergence of contested Cambodian and Thai claims to 
sovereignty over about 4 square kilometres of territory close the Angkorian-period (9th-15th centuries) temple of Preah Vihear brought the two southeast Asian countries close to armed confrontation in July-August 2008. The dispute bring into focus the difficult relations that have existed between the two neighbouring countries ever since Cambodia attained independence in 1953, as well reflecting much older historical problems between the two countries.
Milton Osborne is an adjunct professor of Asian studies at the Australian National University, Canberra, and a visiting fellow at the Lowy Institute for International Policy, Sydney.
Among his books are The French Presence in Cochinchina and Cambodia: Rule and Response (1859-1905) (1969; White Lotus, 1997) and Phnom Penh: A Cultural and Literary History (Signal Books, 2008)
sovereignty over about 4 square kilometres of territory close the Angkorian-period (9th-15th centuries) temple of Preah Vihear brought the two southeast Asian countries close to armed confrontation in July-August 2008. The dispute bring into focus the difficult relations that have existed between the two neighbouring countries ever since Cambodia attained independence in 1953, as well reflecting much older historical problems between the two countries.Milton Osborne is an adjunct professor of Asian studies at the Australian National University, Canberra, and a visiting fellow at the Lowy Institute for International Policy, Sydney.
Among his books are The French Presence in Cochinchina and Cambodia: Rule and Response (1859-1905) (1969; White Lotus, 1997) and Phnom Penh: A Cultural and Literary History (Signal Books, 2008)
At one level the Preah Vihear crisis - supplemented by another dispute over a much less prominent temple-site at Ta Moan Thom, well to the west of Preah Vihear - may be viewed as a classic example of contested boundaries arising from decisions taken during the colonial era, when France was able to impose its will over the then weaker state of Siam (Thailand). This interpretation - which Cambodia rejects - is worth examining. But it is at least as important to consider contemporary developments in the context of earlier historical and geopolitical factors that lie behind Cambodia's existence as a state and the views held of it by its immediate and more powerful neighbours, Thailand and Vietnam. For while the governments of both Thailand and Vietnam may be hesitant to express the views held by some of their citizens, there is no doubt that in both these countries there are those who privately question Cambodia's right to exist as a truly independent state.In the case of Vietnam, a strong case may be made to argue that when Vietnam invaded Cambodia to defeat the Pol Pot regime in December 1978, it initially hoped that it would be possible to incorporate Cambodia into some form of "Indochinese Federation"; this would have included Laos, which would have been dominated by Vietnam. Such a view was a continuation of the explicit thinking of the Vietnamese Communist Party in the 1930s and into the 1960s, when the party held the view that neither Cambodia nor Laos had a right to run their own revolution.
The uncertain state
The distinguished historian David Chandler noted (in A History of Cambodia) that until the 17th century Cambodia was a "reasonably independent" state. By the 19th century it had lost this status and its internal politics were dominated by its powerful neighbours, Siam and Vietnam. Perhaps the most useful, if shorthanded, way to describe Cambodia's situation in the mid-19th century was that it was a vassal state in a tributary relationship to two suzerains, Siam and Vietnam. But of those two powerful and expanding states Siam had by the 1840s assumed the more important position. Moreover, and despite some Cambodian rulers having sought assistance from Vietnam, Siam's greater dominance also reflected the fact that the two countries shared a similar culture. It was one deeply affected by adherence to Theravada Buddhism and by surviving shared beliefs and court rituals that harked back to Hindu concepts of the state developed during the Angkorian period.
In the decades immediately before the French asserted their colonial control over Cambodia in 1863, Cambodian rulers looked to the Siamese court in Bangkok to guarantee both their position and their legitimacy. This situation is exemplified in the fact that members of the Cambodian royal family often spent long periods as hostages in the Siamese court in Bangkok. This was true of the last king to rule Cambodia before the arrival of the French and of King Norodom I before he came to the throne in 1860. At the same time Siamese officials occupied senior positions within the Cambodian rulers' courts, determining which foreign representatives they were permitted to meet.
In these circumstances, and from the Siamese point of view, Cambodia's king was a person who held power at their behest. Again using European terminology, the Cambodian king was for the Siamese court the holder of a vice-regal position. This complex relationship differed sharply from the way in which Vietnamese rulers viewed Cambodia. Both in theory and in practice the Vietnamese rulers in the first half of the 19th century were ready to pursue policies which, had they succeeded, would have transformed Cambodia's status into being an integral part of the Vietnamese state governed in accordance with Vietnam's Chinese-influenced administrative practices.For further study of the historical and political background of the subject of this article, see:
David Chandler, A History of Cambodia (Westview Press, 4th edition, 2007) - the most accessible and reliable survey of Cambodian history
John Tully, A Short History of Cambodia: from empire to survival (Allen & Unwin, 2005) - for an understanding of the historical relations between Cambodia and Thailand
Tongchai Winichakul, Siam Mapped: A History of the Geo-Body of a Nation (University of Hawaii Press, 1994) - a groundbreaking review of Thai attitudes towards the formation of Thailand's borders
Penny Edwards, Cambodge: The Cultivation of a Nation, 1860-1945 (University of Hawaii Press, 2006) - on the complexity of relations between Cambodia and Thailand
Milton Osborne, The French Presence in Cochinchina and Cambodia: Rule and Response (1859-1905) (1969; White Lotus, 2006)
Milton Osborne, Phnom Penh: A Cultural and Literary History (Signal Books, 2008) The border line
The French gained control of Cambodia in 1863 and established their "protectorate" over the country - though in every way that mattered the term "protectorate" was merely a legal figleaf to hide the fact that was a French colony. At the time, Cambodia's territory did not include what are now the provinces of Battambang and Siem Reap. These two important areas had fallen under Siamese control in 1794, the outcome indeed of what had been a long reduction of Cambodian control over former Angkorian territories. A contemporary reflection of this process is the fact that a substantial number of Khmer (Cambodian) speaking Thai citizens continue to live in northeastern Thailand, an area in which there are many Angkorian-period temples.
In the last decade of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th, Anglo-French rivalry in mainland southeast Asia led to the adjustment and implantation of borders that remain essentially unchanged to the present day. It was in this period, for example, that the northern states of modern peninsular Malaysia were removed from Siamese to British control. In Cambodia's case, and reflecting France's greater coercive power, this mixture of mapping and absorption led to the return to Cambodian sovereignty of the provinces of Battambang and Siem Reap.
This process was consolidated in 1907-08 with the establishment of a Cambodian northern boundary that took in the temple of Preah Vihear, located on an escarpment 525 metres above the northern Cambodian plain. But the precise coordinates of the boundary at this point were apparently in contradiction to the principle that had been laid down when the boundary between Cambodia and Siam was being delineated: namely, that the boundary should be drawn in terms of the existing watershed.
This created a potential problem from an international legal point of view, and led to an appeal by Thailand to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague to rule on the question of which country had sovereignty over Preah Vihear. In June 1962, the court ruled that indeed Cambodia held sovereignty. But the factors which led to this decision were not based on a judgment as to whether the boundary established in 1907-08 was "fair" or that it had been drawn in relation to the location of the watershed. Rather (and to summarise very briefly), the ICJ's decision rested on the fact that over many decades the Bangkok government had not disputed the validity of the map drawn up by the French, and agreed to at the time by the Siamese authorities, that incorporated Preah Vihear into Cambodian territory. The court also accepted that Siam had recognised Cambodian sovereignty in various other ways, including through visits to the temple by senior Siamese officials who were received by members of the French administration then governing Cambodia.
Thai ambition, Cambodian fear
However, it is fair to say that legal considerations are not always at the heart of Thai thinking on relations with Cambodia. From the time of Cambodia's gaining independence in 1953 until the onset of the Cambodian civil war in 1970, relations between Thailand and Cambodia were marked by almost continuous difficulty. While there were brief periods when relations were "correct", in others diplomatic relations were suspended. Throughout these years Thai security services worked to undermine the government in Phnom Penh.
This was a fact explicitly stated to me by a senior Thai official with security responsibilities, during an extended discussion of Thai-Cambodian relations in 1980. General Channa Samudvanija observed that in essence, Thai policy towards Cambodia was to support those forces within the country that opposed the existing government. The rationale behind such a policy was the Realpolitik view of seeking to weaken a neighbour with which Thailand had substantial policy differences: Thailand supported United States policies in southeast Asia and Cambodia did not. Without placing excessive weight on the continuity of Thai policy at this stage with previous historical relations with Cambodia, there is no doubt that the views Channa advanced were also in part a reflection of those relations.
In similar fashion, it would be incorrect to regard the conflict that erupted in July 2008 as a direct manifestation of the view expressed in 1980 by General Channa. For it is clear that the crisis arose in part out of domestic Thai politics - and the positions being taken both by the government led by prime minister Samak and his political opponents. The Thai opposition had sought to undermine the Samak government by criticising its readiness to support Cambodia's wish to see Preah Vihear inscribed on Unesco's world heritage list.Also in openDemocracy about Cambodian politics and history:
David Hayes, "Thinking of Cambodia" (17 April 2003)
Var Hong Ashe, "Cambodia: surviving the Khmer Rouge" (15 April 2005)
Ben Kiernan, "Blood and soil: the global history of genocide" (11 October 2007)
Kheang Un,"Cambodia's 2008 election: the end of opposition?" (5 August 2008) Nevertheless, discussion of the issue of Preah Vihear within Thailand does represent yet another instance of a readiness of some Thais, whether politicians or ordinary citizens, to adopt and advance positions that seek to undermine what they see as irrelevant and irksome Cambodian interests. The readiness of some observers to resort to describing the situation as an expression of big brother-little brother rivalry is too simple, but it would be equally wrong to dismiss this aspect of Thai and Cambodian thinking about the relationship between the two countries.
At the same time, there is no doubting that the ingrained sensitivity felt by many Cambodians in relation to their relations with both Thailand and Vietnam on occasion borders on paranoia. This was demonstrated in the events of 2003, when a Thai TV actress with a popular following in both Thailand and Cambodia was supposed to have stated that she would not perform in Cambodia until that country restored Thailand's sovereignty over the great Angkorian temple of Angkor Wat. Whether the actress, Suwanan Kongying, made such a statement or not, the publicity that surrounded her alleged remark led to serious ant-Thai rioting in Phnom Penh; the damage included the destruction of the Thai embassy and many Thai businesses (there was also a barely averted attack on the Thai ambassador). Here, again, a deeper analysis of the 2003 riots suggests that domestic Cambodian issues were involved.
The wall between us
This intimate yet conflictual history means that even the settlement of the latest dispute is no guarantee that the situation has been settled once and for all.For the wider issues associated with Preah Vihear are no nearer to being resolved. The mutual military withdrawals from the temple area have brought respite; but the memory of the febrile stand-off between Thai and Cambodian armed forces, amid ultra-nationalist rhetoric from politicians on both sides, remains fresh. The ever-present readiness of politicians in both countries to stoke the flames of nationalist animosity is reflected in the suggestion by a Cambodian official that the Phnom Penh government might build a wall that would exclude access to the temple from Thai territory - as is possible at present.
Indeed, at least for the moment diplomacy has won out over war, as two sessions of talks between the Thai and Cambodian foreign ministers have helped create a marginally improved atmosphere. The fact that the new and highly regarded Thai foreign minister, Tej Bunnag, had been appointed at the direct wish of the king is also of importance. Now, however, Tej Bunnag's decision to leave his post - though unlikely to have any immediate effect on the Preah Vihear issue at a time when Bangkok is preoccupied with domestic political turmoil - may be regretted over the longer term since he was undoubtedly a calming influence in relation to Thai policies.
In any event, a lengthy and continuing period of political turmoil in Thailand creates the possibility that the question of Preah Vihear may yet return to haunt Thai-Cambodian relations.
Car History
By definition an automobile or car is a wheeled vehicle that carries its own motor and transports 
passengers. The automobile as we know it was not invented in a single day by a single inventor. The history of the automobile reflects an evolution that took place worldwide.
It is estimated that over 100,000 patents created the modern automobile. You can point to the many firsts that occurred along the way to producing the modern car; and with that goal in mind, highlighted below are articles, biographies, timelines, and photo galleries related to the history of the automobile and its many inventors.
passengers. The automobile as we know it was not invented in a single day by a single inventor. The history of the automobile reflects an evolution that took place worldwide.It is estimated that over 100,000 patents created the modern automobile. You can point to the many firsts that occurred along the way to producing the modern car; and with that goal in mind, highlighted below are articles, biographies, timelines, and photo galleries related to the history of the automobile and its many inventors.
A multi-part feature on the history of automobiles starting with the first steam, electrical, and 
gasoline-engine cars. Learn the controversy behind what was the first car in history and the importance of the internal combustion engine. The lives of many famous automotive makers are explored in detail with special pages on the assembly line, the origins of the name automobile, the patent disputes, and more. Early Steam Powered Cars The History of Electric Vehicles The First Gas Powered Cars First Mass Production of Cars & The Assembly LineAfter reading this article try our fun automobile trivia quiz to test your knowledge.
gasoline-engine cars. Learn the controversy behind what was the first car in history and the importance of the internal combustion engine. The lives of many famous automotive makers are explored in detail with special pages on the assembly line, the origins of the name automobile, the patent disputes, and more. Early Steam Powered Cars The History of Electric Vehicles The First Gas Powered Cars First Mass Production of Cars & The Assembly LineAfter reading this article try our fun automobile trivia quiz to test your knowledge. The men and women behind the over 100,000 patents that created the modern automobile. Biographies include for example: Karl Benz, the German mechanical engineer who designed and in 1885 built the world's first practical automobile, and Henry Ford, who improved the assembly line for automobile manufacturing and invented a car transmission mechanism, and others.
Cambodia History
The area that is present-day Cambodia came under Khmer rule about 600, when the region was at the center of a vast empire that stretched over most of Southeast Asia. Under the Khmers, who were Hindus, a magnificent temple complex was constructed at Angkor. Buddhism was introduced in the 12th century during the rule of Jayavaram VII. However, the kingdom, then known as Kambuja, fell into decline after Jayavaram's reign and was nearly annihilated by Thai and Vietnamese invaders. Kambuja's power steadily diminished until 1863, when France colonized the region, joining Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam into a single protectorate known as French Indochina.
The French quickly usurped all but ceremonial powers from the monarch, Norodom. When he died in 1904, the French passed over his sons and handed the throne to his brother, Sisowath. Sisowath and his son ruled until 1941, when Norodom Sihanouk was elevated to power. Sihanouk's coronation, along with the Japanese occupation during the war, worked to reinforce a sentiment among Cambodians that the region should be free from outside control. After World War II, Cambodians sought independence, but France was reluctant to part with its colony. Cambodia was granted independence within the French Union in 1949. But the French-Indochinese War provided an opportunity for Sihanouk to gain full military control of the country. He abdicated in 1955 in favor of his parents, remaining head of the government, and when his father died in 1960, Sihanouk became chief of state without returning to the throne. In 1963, he sought a guarantee of Cambodia's neutrality from all parties in the Vietnam War.
However, North Vietnamese and Vietcong troops had begun using eastern Cambodia as a safe haven from which to launch attacks into South Vietnam, making it increasingly difficult to stay out of the war. An indigenous Communist guerrilla movement known as the Khmer Rouge also began to put pressure on the government in Phnom Penh. On March 18, 1970, while Sihanouk was abroad, anti-Vietnamese riots broke out and Sihanouk was overthrown by Gen. Lon Nol. The Vietnam peace agreement of 1973 stipulated withdrawal of foreign forces from Cambodia, but fighting continued between Hanoi-backed insurgents and U.S.-supplied government troops.
Central Market (Phar Thmey)
Phsar Thom Thmei, also known as Central Market, is large market built in 1937 in the shape of a dome, branching out into various arms of stalls. It is located in Cambodia's capital city of Phnom Penh.Nowadays, the market is a hot spot for tourism. Most tourists visit this market because they want to see the varieties of products for sale. The four wings of the yellow coloured Phsar Thom Thmei are teeming with numerous stalls selling gold and silver jewellery, antique coins, clothing, clocks, flowers, food, fabrics, shoes and luggage. The market closes at around 5pm.This unique, art-deco building is a Phnom Penh landmark. Prior to 1935 the area was a lake that received the runoff during the rainy season. The lake was drained and the market constructed in 1935-37. Wet season flooding in the area around the market is a vestige of the old lake. The entrance to the market is lined with souvenir merchants hawking everything from T-shirts and postcards to silver curios and kramas. Inside is a dazzling display of jewels and gold. Electronic goods, stationery, secondhand clothes and flowers are also in ample supply.Note: Phsar Thom Thmei in Khmer means ‘Big New Market’, but ‘Central Market’ has caught on in English.TO BE A GOOD LEADER
• Remember: leadership skills and techniques can be learned. You don't have to be a natural leader. Very few people are.• Know your team. At some point, every day, walk around the office and say "Hi" to everyone who works for you. If you're not in the office that day, call and see how people are.
• Meet your team. Regularly - daily, weekly or monthly, depending on your place and type of work - have meetings of all the members of the team. Keep these meetings short, focused and action-orientated.
• Train your team. Every team member should have at least two days training a year. Newer and more senior colleagues should have more. If they don't ask to go on training sessions, suggest some suitable courses.
• Grow your team. Through varied experience and regular training, you should be developing each team member to be more and more confident and more skilled.
• Set objectives for each team member. As far as possible, these objective such be SMART - Specific Measurable Achievable Resourced Timed.
• Review the performance of each team member. At least once a year - at least quarterly for the first year of a new team member - have a review session where you assess performance, give feed-back and agree future objectives and training.
• Inspire your team. Consider making available a motivational quote or story every week or month [for lots of good quotes click here].
• Socialise with your team. Have lunch or an after-work drink with them, especially when a staff member has a birthday or there's another reason to celebrate.
• Thank constantly. The words "Thank you" take seconds to say, but mean so much.
• Praise constantly. The words "Well done" take seconds to say, but will be long remembered and appreciated.
• Communicate constantly. Don't assume that people know what you're doing, still less what you are planning or thinking. Tell them, using all the communication tools to hand: team briefings, electronic newsletters, organisational newspapers.
• Eliminate. Too often we do things because they've always been done. Life changes. Consider whether you could stop doing certain things altogether.
• Delegate. You don't have to do everything. Develop your team members by training them to do more and trusting them to take over some of the things you've been doing.
• Empower. A really effective leader sets clear objectives for his team members, but leaves detailed implementation of these objectives to the discretion and judgement of individual members of the team. As Second World War U.S. General George S. Patton put it: "Don't tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results”.
• Facilitate. A confident leader does not try to micro-manage his team, but makes it clear that, if team members need advice or assistance, he is always there to facilitate and support.
• Be on time. Always start meetings on time and finish them on time. Natural breaks keep people fresh. Short meetings concentrate the mind.
• Be seen. Don't just talk the talk, but walk the walk. So visit each unit or department for which you are responsible on a regular basis. Don't do this unannounced - you are not out to undermine other leaders or catch out staff. So arrange with the unit leader or departmental head when you'll visit and ask him or her to walk round with you.
• Make time. Managers are often very busy and this can deter people from approaching you, so make time for people and be approachable. People will appreciate you taking five minutes out of your busy schedule, especially if you act on/listen to what they say.
• Really listen. Many of us - especially those who think they are important - don't really listen, but instead think about what they're going to say next. Give the person speaking to you your full attention and really take on board what they are saying. [For more detailed advice on listening click here]
• Accept honest criticism. Criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance or a stranger - but it's a powerful tool of learning. Above all, assess criticism on merit, without regard to its originator.
• Eliminate. Too often we do things because they've always been done. Life changes. Consider whether you could stop doing certain things altogether.
• Delegate. You don't have to do everything. Develop your team members by training them to do more and trusting them to take over some of the things you've been doing.
• Empower. A really effective leader sets clear objectives for his team members, but leaves detailed implementation of these objectives to the discretion and judgement of individual members of the team. As Second World War U.S. General George S. Patton put it: "Don't tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results”.
• Facilitate. A confident leader does not try to micro-manage his team, but makes it clear that, if team members need advice or assistance, he is always there to facilitate and support.
• Be on time. Always start meetings on time and finish them on time. Natural breaks keep people fresh. Short meetings concentrate the mind.
• Be seen. Don't just talk the talk, but walk the walk. So visit each unit or department for which you are responsible on a regular basis. Don't do this unannounced - you are not out to undermine other leaders or catch out staff. So arrange with the unit leader or departmental head when you'll visit and ask him or her to walk round with you.
• Make time. Managers are often very busy and this can deter people from approaching you, so make time for people and be approachable. People will appreciate you taking five minutes out of your busy schedule, especially if you act on/listen to what they say.
• Really listen. Many of us - especially those who think they are important - don't really listen, but instead think about what they're going to say next. Give the person speaking to you your full attention and really take on board what they are saying. [For more detailed advice on listening click here]
• Accept honest criticism. Criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance or a stranger - but it's a powerful tool of learning. Above all, assess criticism on merit, without regard to its originator.
• Think strategically. The doers cut a path through the jungle; the managers are behind them sharpening the machetes; the leaders find time to think, climb the nearest tree, and shout "Wrong jungle!" Find time to climb the trees.• Have a mentor or buddy, someone doing similar work in the same or a similar organisation with whom you can regularly and frankly discuss your progress and your problems as a leader.
• Have a role model, someone who can inspire you to be a truly great leader. If you can't find one, study Jed Bartlet as the American President in any episode of the television series "The West Wing".
• Constantly revisit and review these tips. In his seminal work, "The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People", Stephen Covey puts it this way: "Sharpen the saw".
• Plan your succession. You won't be there forever and you may not be in control of the timing and circumstances of your departure. So start now to mentor and train at least one colleague who could take over from you.
Self Controlling
Milieu Control. This involves the control of information and communication both within the environment and, ultimately, within the individual, resulting in a significant degree of isolation from society at large.
Mystical Manipulation. There is manipulation of experiences that appear spontaneous but in fact were planned and orchestrated by the group or its leaders in order to demonstrate divine authority or spiritual advancement or some special gift or talent that will then allow the leader to reinterpret events, scripture, and experiences as he or she wishes.
Demand for Purity. The world is viewed as black and white and the members are constantly exhorted to conform to the ideology of the group and strive for perfection. The induction of guilt and/or shame is a powerful control device used here.
Confession. Sins, as defined by the group, are to be confessed either to a personal monitor or publicly to the group. There is no confidentiality; members' "sins", "attitudes", and "faults" are discussed and exploited by the leaders.
Sacred Science. The group's doctrine or ideology is considered to be the ultimate Truth, beyond all questioning or dispute. Truth is not to be found outside the group. The leader, as the spokesperson for God or for all humanity, is likewise above criticism.
Loading the Language. The group interprets or uses words and phrases in new ways so that often the outside world does not understand. This jargon consists of thought-terminating clichés, which serve to alter members' thought processes to conform to the group's way of thinking
Doctrine over person. Member's personal experiences are subordinated to the sacred science and any contrary experiences must be denied or reinterpreted to fit the ideology of the group.
Dispensing of existence. The group has the prerogative to decide who has the right to exist and who does not. This is usually not literal but means that those in the outside world are not saved, unenlightened, unconscious and they must be converted to the group's ideology. If they do not join the group or are critical of the group, then they must be rejected by the members. Thus, the outside world loses all credibility. In conjunction, should any member leave the group, he or she must be rejected also.
In his 1999 book Destroying the world to save it: Aum Shinrikyo, Apocalyptic Violence and the New Global Terrorism, Lifton concluded that thought reform was possible without violence or physical coercion.
Robert W. Ford, a British radio operator who worked in Tibet in the 1950s, spent five years in Chinese jails. He published a book entitled Captured in Tibet, describing and analyzing thought reform to which he was harshly subjected.[2]
[edit] William Sargant's theories on mind control
William Sargant connected Pavlov’s findings to the ways people learned and internalized belief systems. Conditioned behavior patterns could be changed by stimulated stresses beyond a dog’s capacity for response, in essence causing a breakdown. This could also be caused by intense signals, longer than normal waiting periods, rotating positive and negative signals and changing a dog’s physical condition, as through illness. Depending on the dog’s initial personality, this could possibly cause a new belief system to be held tenaciously. Sargant also connected Pavlov’s findings to the mechanisms of brain-washing in religion and politics.[3]
"Though men are not dogs, they should humbly try to remember how much they resemble dogs in their brain functions, and not boast themselves as demigods. They are gifted with religious and social apprehensions, and they are gifted with the power of reason; but all these faculties are physiologically entailed to the brain. Therefore the brain should not be abused by having forced upon it any religious or political mystique that stunts the reason, or any form of crude rationalism that stunts the religious sense." (p. 274)[3]
[edit] Margaret Singer's conditions for mind controlPsychologist Margaret Singer describes in her book Cults in our Midst six conditions which she says would create an atmosphere in which thought reform is possible. Singer states that these conditions involve no need for physical coercion or violence.[4]
Keep the person unaware of what is going on and how attempts to psychologically condition him or her are directed in a step-by-step manner.
Potential new members are led, step by step, through a behavioral-change program without being aware of the final agenda or full content of the group. The goal may be to make them deployable agents for the leadership, to get them to buy more courses, or get them to make a deeper commitment, depending on the leader's aim and desires.
Control the person's social and/or physical environment; especially control the person's time.
Through various methods, newer members are kept busy and led to think about the group and its content during as much of their waking time as possible.
Systematically create a sense of powerlessness in the person.
This is accomplished by getting members away from their normal social support group for a period of time and into an environment where the majority of people are already group members. The members serve as models of the attitudes and behaviors of the group and speak an in-group language. Strip members of their main occupation (quit jobs, drop out of school) or source of income or have them turn over their income (or the majority of) to the group.
Once the target is stripped of their usual support network, their confidence in their own perception erodes.
Robert W. Ford, a British radio operator who worked in Tibet in the 1950s, spent five years in Chinese jails. He published a book entitled Captured in Tibet, describing and analyzing thought reform to which he was harshly subjected.[2]
[edit] William Sargant's theories on mind control
William Sargant connected Pavlov’s findings to the ways people learned and internalized belief systems. Conditioned behavior patterns could be changed by stimulated stresses beyond a dog’s capacity for response, in essence causing a breakdown. This could also be caused by intense signals, longer than normal waiting periods, rotating positive and negative signals and changing a dog’s physical condition, as through illness. Depending on the dog’s initial personality, this could possibly cause a new belief system to be held tenaciously. Sargant also connected Pavlov’s findings to the mechanisms of brain-washing in religion and politics.[3]
"Though men are not dogs, they should humbly try to remember how much they resemble dogs in their brain functions, and not boast themselves as demigods. They are gifted with religious and social apprehensions, and they are gifted with the power of reason; but all these faculties are physiologically entailed to the brain. Therefore the brain should not be abused by having forced upon it any religious or political mystique that stunts the reason, or any form of crude rationalism that stunts the religious sense." (p. 274)[3]
[edit] Margaret Singer's conditions for mind controlPsychologist Margaret Singer describes in her book Cults in our Midst six conditions which she says would create an atmosphere in which thought reform is possible. Singer states that these conditions involve no need for physical coercion or violence.[4]
Keep the person unaware of what is going on and how attempts to psychologically condition him or her are directed in a step-by-step manner.
Potential new members are led, step by step, through a behavioral-change program without being aware of the final agenda or full content of the group. The goal may be to make them deployable agents for the leadership, to get them to buy more courses, or get them to make a deeper commitment, depending on the leader's aim and desires.
Control the person's social and/or physical environment; especially control the person's time.
Through various methods, newer members are kept busy and led to think about the group and its content during as much of their waking time as possible.
Systematically create a sense of powerlessness in the person.
This is accomplished by getting members away from their normal social support group for a period of time and into an environment where the majority of people are already group members. The members serve as models of the attitudes and behaviors of the group and speak an in-group language. Strip members of their main occupation (quit jobs, drop out of school) or source of income or have them turn over their income (or the majority of) to the group.
Once the target is stripped of their usual support network, their confidence in their own perception erodes.
Civil War
World War One was like no other war before in history. The main theatre of war, the Western Front, was deadlocked from a few months after the war's start in 1914 until a few months before its end in 1918, stretching in a continuous line of trenches from the English Channel to the Swiss frontier. By 1916 the forces of Germany, France and the British Empire, armies millions of men strong, measured advances in terms of a few miles (or kilometers) gained over several months. Casualties for each big attack or 'push' ran into hundreds of thousands on both sides, with calculations for victory based on national birth-rates to replace the losses. This was not the kind of war that anyone, including the politicians and generals who directed it, wanted to fight.
'This was... a demonstration of the prodigious strength, resilience and killing power of modern states.'
'This was... a demonstration of the prodigious strength, resilience and killing power of modern states.'
What made World War One so different was the long-term impact of the Industrial Revolution, with its accompanying political and social changes. This was the first mass global war of the industrialised age, a demonstration of the prodigious strength, resilience and killing power of modern states. The war was also fought at a high point of patriotism and belief in the existing social hierarchy; beliefs that the war itself helped destroy, and that the modern world finds very hard to understand. 
More than a century before, the French Revolution of 1789 had seen the first attempts to harness citizenship and patriotism to a national war effort. In the ideology of revolutionary France, young men were conscripted into the armed forces as part of their duty as citizens, but the remaining population was also expected to make personal sacrifices for the war, blurring the distinction between civilian and soldier.Known at first as 'People's War', this idea developed in the 19th century as part of a growing sense of national identity. By the middle of World War One it was known as 'Total War' - the organisation of entire societies for war in a social, economic, and even spiritual sense. There were, of course, protests and debates, but the vast majority of people fought in World War One, or supported it with the 'Home Front' because they believed that victory for their own country was worth the cost
Wrong Leader Backround
Police and officials from Cambodia's UN-backed Khmer Rouge genocide trial today arrested the movement's former foreign minister and his wife, who were among the most senior cadres in the regime responsible for the deaths of 1.7 million people in the "killing fields".
The ailing Ieng Sary and his wife, Ieng Thirith, whose sister was married to the former Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot, were taken to the tribunal's headquarters where they will be charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the movement's four-year reign of terror 30 years ago.
The couple have been living freely in some style in the capital, Phnom Penh, for more than a decade after Ieng Sary, thought to be 77, was given limited amnesty from prosecution after he and his followers defected to the government from the Khmer Rouge, prompting its final collapse.
But early this morning police closed off the street where they live and searched their villa for three hours.
The couple were then taken away in a 10-vehicle convoy to face a brief hearing of the tribunal, which was finally set up this year after a decade of wrangling.
They are the third and fourth members of a group of five senior Khmer Rouge leaders likely to be tried for the deaths of so many Cambodians through torture, execution, disease and starvation after the paranoid regime declared 1975 - the start of its rule - "Year Zero".
Two others were taken into custody earlier this year.
Noun Chea, 82, was the former Khmer Rouge ideologist known as "brother number two", who served as Pol Pot's deputy.
Kaing Guek Iev Eav, 64, better known as Duch, headed the notorious Toul Sleng prison where 14,000 Cambodians were tortured and executed.
Prosecutors say Ieng Sary, who became the Khmer Rouge's public face as foreign minister during the 1980s, "promoted, instigated, facilitated and ... condoned the preparation of the crimes" and planned and directed the forcible transfer of millions from cities to the countryside.
Ieng Sary is said to be responsible for persuading many Cambodian intellectuals who fled overseas to return home to rebuild the shattered country, only to find themselves imprisoned, tortured and executed.
By contrast, the former foreign minister has lived in luxury and accrued wealth and property over the past decade.
He has repeatedly denied any wrong-doing and even claims to have saved people from the brutal Khmer Rouge purges.
"Brother number three" was born Kim Trang to a poor family in a province of Cambodia that is now part of Vietnam.
On government scholarships, he studied in Paris in the 1950s with Pol Pot and the pair began to develop the vision that was to become the Khmer Rouge.
He returned home in 1957 and married Pol Pot's sister-in-law Khieu Thirith, who took his surname and became Ieng Thirith.
She rose through the Khmer Rouge ranks to become social affairs minister and is accused of the murder of staff there, as well as planning widespread purges in the movement's ranks.
The ailing Ieng Sary and his wife, Ieng Thirith, whose sister was married to the former Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot, were taken to the tribunal's headquarters where they will be charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the movement's four-year reign of terror 30 years ago.
The couple have been living freely in some style in the capital, Phnom Penh, for more than a decade after Ieng Sary, thought to be 77, was given limited amnesty from prosecution after he and his followers defected to the government from the Khmer Rouge, prompting its final collapse.
But early this morning police closed off the street where they live and searched their villa for three hours.
The couple were then taken away in a 10-vehicle convoy to face a brief hearing of the tribunal, which was finally set up this year after a decade of wrangling.
They are the third and fourth members of a group of five senior Khmer Rouge leaders likely to be tried for the deaths of so many Cambodians through torture, execution, disease and starvation after the paranoid regime declared 1975 - the start of its rule - "Year Zero".
Two others were taken into custody earlier this year.
Noun Chea, 82, was the former Khmer Rouge ideologist known as "brother number two", who served as Pol Pot's deputy.
Kaing Guek Iev Eav, 64, better known as Duch, headed the notorious Toul Sleng prison where 14,000 Cambodians were tortured and executed.
Prosecutors say Ieng Sary, who became the Khmer Rouge's public face as foreign minister during the 1980s, "promoted, instigated, facilitated and ... condoned the preparation of the crimes" and planned and directed the forcible transfer of millions from cities to the countryside.
Ieng Sary is said to be responsible for persuading many Cambodian intellectuals who fled overseas to return home to rebuild the shattered country, only to find themselves imprisoned, tortured and executed.
By contrast, the former foreign minister has lived in luxury and accrued wealth and property over the past decade.
He has repeatedly denied any wrong-doing and even claims to have saved people from the brutal Khmer Rouge purges.
"Brother number three" was born Kim Trang to a poor family in a province of Cambodia that is now part of Vietnam.
On government scholarships, he studied in Paris in the 1950s with Pol Pot and the pair began to develop the vision that was to become the Khmer Rouge.
He returned home in 1957 and married Pol Pot's sister-in-law Khieu Thirith, who took his surname and became Ieng Thirith.
She rose through the Khmer Rouge ranks to become social affairs minister and is accused of the murder of staff there, as well as planning widespread purges in the movement's ranks.
A few miles from th
is rough guest house at the edge of a mosquito swamp is the last home and the grave of Pol Pot. A pile of ashes under a rusty corrugated iron sheet marks the spot where in 1998 his body was cremated on a pyre of rubber ties. Now it's on the genocide trail. The Cambodian government has provided an information board for the few adventurous back packers who are prepared to bump for four hours or more up the dirt road from the ruins of the great civilization at Angkor, to this bleak collection of huts. Here, in Pol Pot's last stronghold, many of the locals are former Khmer Rouge soldiers and they still speak well of him.
His name has already been written into history as one of the world's most ruthless despots. Yet before I began working on this film I knew almost nothing of Pol Pot and his revolution, his great social experiment. For so many years, BBC producers like me have been churning out programmes about Hitler and the Final Solution. Almost anyone who has ever worn an SS uniform is considered worthy of two or three filmed cassettes. And yet here those who stood shoulder to shoulder with Pol Pot, the leaders of his revolution - Pol's Goebbels, Pol's Himmler - who live free and prosperous. And the government that provides the information boards for tourists has shown almost no interest in bringing any of those who were responsible for the deaths of nearly two million people to justice.
'It is almost impossible to view Pol Pot and his revolution as history...'
It is almost impossible to view Pol Pot and his revolution as history - the past carefully documented, recorded, tidied - because almost nothing has been settled. Pol Pot has gone, but the country is still trapped by the revolution and the legacy of the killing fields. Although most people want those who were responsible to be put on trial, they now believe it won't happen. And I feel that, in a way, this imposes a special responsibility on us as programme makers.
is rough guest house at the edge of a mosquito swamp is the last home and the grave of Pol Pot. A pile of ashes under a rusty corrugated iron sheet marks the spot where in 1998 his body was cremated on a pyre of rubber ties. Now it's on the genocide trail. The Cambodian government has provided an information board for the few adventurous back packers who are prepared to bump for four hours or more up the dirt road from the ruins of the great civilization at Angkor, to this bleak collection of huts. Here, in Pol Pot's last stronghold, many of the locals are former Khmer Rouge soldiers and they still speak well of him.His name has already been written into history as one of the world's most ruthless despots. Yet before I began working on this film I knew almost nothing of Pol Pot and his revolution, his great social experiment. For so many years, BBC producers like me have been churning out programmes about Hitler and the Final Solution. Almost anyone who has ever worn an SS uniform is considered worthy of two or three filmed cassettes. And yet here those who stood shoulder to shoulder with Pol Pot, the leaders of his revolution - Pol's Goebbels, Pol's Himmler - who live free and prosperous. And the government that provides the information boards for tourists has shown almost no interest in bringing any of those who were responsible for the deaths of nearly two million people to justice.
'It is almost impossible to view Pol Pot and his revolution as history...'
It is almost impossible to view Pol Pot and his revolution as history - the past carefully documented, recorded, tidied - because almost nothing has been settled. Pol Pot has gone, but the country is still trapped by the revolution and the legacy of the killing fields. Although most people want those who were responsible to be put on trial, they now believe it won't happen. And I feel that, in a way, this imposes a special responsibility on us as programme makers.
Killing Field
The Killing Fields (1984), a remarkable and deeply affecting film, is based upon a true story of friendship, loyalty, the horrors of war and survival, while following the historical events surrounding the US evacuation from Vietnam in 1975. The authentic-looking, unforgettable epic film, directed by Roland Joffe (his first feature film) and produced by David Puttnam (the Oscar victor three years earlier for Chariots of Fire (1981)), was shot on location in Thailand (and Canada). Cambodian doctor, non-actor Haing Ngor, in his film debut, was an actual survivor of the Cambodian holocaust. He was tortured and experienced the starvation and death of his real-life family during the actual historical events revisited in this film.
The film's screenplay, by first-time scripter Bruce Robinson, was adapted from Pulitzer Prize-winning NY Times reporter Sydney Schanberg's The Death and Life of Dith Pran from The NY Times Magazine. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Sam Waterston), Best Director (first-timer Roland Joffe), and Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Bruce Robinson) and won three Oscars: Best Supporting Actor (Haing S. Ngor), Best Cinematography (Chris Menges), and Best Film Editing (Jim Clark).
Jonathan Demme's one-man show comedy Swimming to Cambodia (1987), a rambling 87 minute monologue, provides an elaborative account of Spalding Gray's experiences as a bit player (as a US consul) in The Killing Fields during the SE Asia shoot.American newspaper correspondent, New York Times reporter Sydney Schanberg (Sam Waterston) is covering the secret US bombing campaign in Cambodia, along with American cameraman Al Rockoff (John Malkovich) and English reporter Jon Swain (Julian Sands). After having persuaded his Cambodian assistant, friend and interpreter, Dith Pran (Dr. Haing S. Ngor) to remain behind with him to help cover the story after the communist Khmer Rouge takeover and withdrawal of US military forces, Schanberg unintentionally betrays his aide by miscalculating the situation. They are separated and Pran is forced to remain when Schanberg and other American journalists and Westerners evacuate to escape a life-threatening situation in occupied-Cambodia during the fall of Phnom Penh in 1975.
The film chronicles unforgettable scenes of suffering endured during the Cambodian bloodbath (known as "Year Zero") that killed 3 million Cambodians, when the courageous and indomitable Dith Pran endures the atrocities of the Pol Pot regime and is captured by the communist Khmer Rouge and punished for befriending the Americans. His struggle to stay alive in the rural, barbaric 're-education' labor camp, his two escape attempts from his captors, and his horrifying walk through the skeletal remains of the brutal massacres in the Valley of Death, the muddy "killing fields," all present potent apocalyptic images on his journey to Thailand.With John Lennon's tune Imagine playing on the soundtrack, Dith Pran - now finally reunited with Sydney on October 9th, 1979 (according to a subtitle), narrates the last line of the film, affirming that Schanberg needn't ask for forgiveness because there was literally 'nothing to forgive":
Sydney: (Do you) forgive me?Dith Pran: Nothing to forgive, Sydney, nothing.
The postscript for the film is provided as a footnote, as the camera slowly pans to the left over the rooftops, and looks out over rice fields:
Dith Pran returned, with Sydney Schanberg, to America to be reunited with his family. He now works as a photographer for The New York Times where Sydney Schanberg is a columnist. Cambodia's torment has not yet ended. The refugee camps on the Thai border are still crowded with the children of the killing fields.fields.
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