Yearbook 2000
Cambodia. In January, the government passed a law that would regulate the establishment of a special tribunal for the investigation of the former Khmer Rouge leaders, who were accused of genocide and other crimes against humanity. The decision was rejected by the UN, which argued that the Court’s credibility required an independent international prosecutor and a majority of UN-appointed judges. In the spring, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and K Prime Minister Hun Sen made a compromise, which meant that Cambodia was given the right to appoint one of two prosecutors to the General Court and three of five judges. The judges would have a casting vote if the prosecutors disagreed.
At the beginning of the year, the government announced a three-year, $ 1.4 billion economic development program to combat the widespread poverty in the country. More than a third of the sum was promised by international donors, who in exchange demanded, among other things, military spending cuts and judicial reform.
- ABBREVIATIONFINDER: Offers three letter and two letter abbreviations for the country of Cambodia. Also covers country profile such as geography, society and economy.
Heavy monsoon rains during the summer caused the Mekong River to flood its banks to the highest water levels in K. in 70 years. An emergency permit was issued in the capital Phnom Penh and in three provinces along the river. The floods hit about 2.7 million people in K., and by mid-October, 1.3 million people were in dire need of food, medicine and roofs. Over 300 people in K. and neighboring countries had lost their lives in the disaster. The disaster relief for the flood victims reduced the government’s contribution to the mine clearance work, and in October it was announced that 2,000 people must be laid off from this activity. K. is one of the most dense countries in the world.
In November, Chinese President Jiang Zemin came to K. It was the first Chinese state visit in the country in over three decades. China was previously the main supporter of the Khmer regime. A group of students objected to Jiang demanding that he apologize and offer compensation to the victims of the Red Khmer genocide. The police dissolved the demonstration.
At least seven people were killed in November in an attack on the Ministry of Defense and military posts in Phnom Penh. According to the police, the attackers were linked to the anti-communist guerrilla Cambodian freedom fighters.
1985 Vietnamese Withdrawal
In July 1985, Vietnam announced its decision to withdraw 150,000 soldiers over the following 5 years. Despite the formal dissolution of the Communist Party as early as 1981, the question of whether Khmer Rouge’s participation or not in political life became the main obstacle to a negotiated solution to the conflict. The lack of solution greatly affected the government. First of all through international isolation – only about 30 countries recognized the new regime. Nevertheless, a continued increase in the production of rice and in the stock of cattle, pigs and chickens was achieved.
From 1986, Phnom Penh began to approach Prince Sihanouk, and offered him, as part of a joint agreement, the post of head of government. However, the requirement was that the Khmer Rouge be kept outside. In the period 1987-89, Prime Minister Hun Sen met 6 times with Sihanouk, but the central disagreement was each time whether the Khmer Rouge would join a transitional government.
In May 1989, the curfew that had been in force since 79 was lifted, private ownership was allowed within certain non-strategic companies, and land and parts of public transport were privatized. To complete the change and reduce international isolation, the country was renamed in June to: The State of Cambodia.
In July 89, a peace conference held in Paris collapsed due to the contradictions between the opposition’s three armed groups. The contradictions were linked to the issue of UN monitoring the withdrawal of the Vietnamese forces and Khmer Rouge’s participation in a new government. In September, Vietnam completed its withdrawal from the country. In April 1990, a Phnom Penh government military offensive crushed the opposition’s partisan bases and forced it to flee across the border to Thailand. That prompted the Bangkok government to organize a new meeting between Sihanouk and Hun Sen. They agreed to create a national organization to symbolize national supremacy and unity, under “appropriate” UN monitoring.
Population 2000
According to COUNTRYAAH, the population of Cambodia in 2000 was 12,155,128, ranking number 64 in the world. The population growth rate was 2.670% yearly, and the population density was 68.8604 people per km2.
