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Cambodia: US Prolongs The War

By VVAW

On March 18,1970, with the direct aid and encouragement of the United States government, the Cambodian government headed by Samdech Norodom Sihanouk was overthrown in a military coup. Lon Nol was set up as the head of state to represent the U.S.. This set the stage for the U.S. invasion of Cambodia which followed just six weeks later. From that point on, Cambodia was transformed into a battlefield. Once a quiet country with a predominantly Buddhist culture, Cambodia was now faced with the terror of U.S. imperialism.

The patriotic people of Cambodia who supported Sihanouk organized themselves to defeat those who are trying to control Cambodia. The government of the patriotic people is called the Royal Government of National Union of Cambodia (GRUNC) and is headed by Sihanouk. At present, the headquarters of GRUNC is in Peking where Sihanouk and his ministers are living in exile. The political leadership within Cambodia is carried out by the National United Front of Cambodia (FUNC) of which Sihanouk is chairman, and the military operations are carried out by the People's National Liberation Forces of Cambodia (PNLAFC). So Far, the PNLAFC has liberated 90% of the territory of Cambodia which includes 80% of the people. The main obstacle to complete liberation is the United States government.

Many people believe that the Cambodian bombing halt of August 15,1973, meant the end of U.S. bombing of Cambodia. But since the law applied only to B-52 bombing missions, the U.S. continued to use its SR71, F4 and F105 planes to continue the bombing to the present day. Equally important is the use of mercenaries and CIA agents to continue the fighting. The U.S. is currently paying American, South Vietnamese and Thai mercenaries to fly planes and helicopters and fight on the ground. This is all part of what is known as the Nixon Doctrine of letting local people fight each other. This "doctrine" was developed to keep U.S. imperialism hidden from the American people.

The Cambodians have shown their capacity to defeat the Nixon Doctrine by liberating 90% of their country. Our government has tried to give the impression that the North Vietnamese and the NLF are responsible for the fighting in Cambodia. But the North Vietnamese and the NLF believe the struggle for liberation must originate and be carried forward by the country's own people-not by outsiders. Sihanouk publicly addressed this point last December when he stated, "from June, 1972, to the present (Dec.,1973), there was no unit of North Vietnam or of the South Vietnam National Front for Liberation Conducting activities in Cambodia. Since January 27,1973, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (north) has ceased to send weapons and ammunition to the Cambodian people's national liberation armed forces which, from that time on, have to supply themselves by capturing' U.S. made' weapons and ammunition provided by the Nixon administration to the Phnom Penh regime." Not only has the liberation army captured weapons; but the military of the Lon Nol regime is so corrupt that just about any piece of military hardware can be purchased from them.

This hardware is put to good use. On March 18,1974, a unit of the liberation army, in which women played a major role, liberated the former royal capital of Phsar Oudong. "While women fighters have taken part in the liberation struggle in Cambodia since the founding of the NUF (National United Front) four years ago, this was the first big victory in which women have been reported in the West as playing the major role"(Guardian, 3 April 74). Every week, as the crisis of the Lon Nol government worsens, more families are moving to the liberated areas. On March 13, 1974, for example, fifteen families from Neak Luong came to rejoin 828 other inhabitants from the same locality in the liberated area of Prek Veng Province. And in Kandal Province since last November 12,000 inhabitants of Ponhea Lu District crossed over to the liberated area where they actively took part in the production work. They helped dig irrigation canals and harvest rice. In addition, in January and February, in answer to the appeal of FUNC and the PNLAFC, 4,026 soldiers abandoned the Lon Nol army and joined the United Front (Cambodian Information Agency, 23 March 74)

With over $500 million in U.S. military and economic aid pouring into the Lon Nol regime this year, it is still uncertain when the regime will collapse. The city of Phnom Penh is surrounded by PNLAFC forces; inflation is skyrocketing; morale is low among the poorly-paid government troops; AWOL's and desertions are high; and more and more segments of the society, such as teachers, students and Buddhists, are protesting the disaster that Lon Nol perpetuates. A recent statement by Sihanouk will help to explain the strategy of the United Front: "We lack the ammunition (necessary) to attack a big city, to penetrate it and remain in it. Three months ago our fighter succeeded in entering the town of Kompong Cham, but they had to withdraw later because of the lack of ammunition. The leaders of our internal resistance are conceiving a new strategy that will aim at bringing about the collapse of Lon Nol's regime by tightening, each month, the grip on Phnom Penh's throat, on the military as well as the economic level, and this without us having to carry the armed fight into the core of the city" (Far Eastern Economic Review, 7 January 74).

The goal of the Cambodia patriots is for a democratic country that is independent and not aligned with any other country, without any foreign military bases within their borders. Continued U.S. aid and CIA involvement only prolong the day when Cambodia is again under the control of it's own people.

END ALL AID TO LON NOL