Constitutionalism in Asia in the Early Twenty-First Century

(Greg DeLong) #1

Capitalising on the weakness of the French during the Second World War,


Sihanouk unilaterally declared Cambodia’s independence from France. However,


this was short-lived and the French returned to Indochina after the war. Due to


internal pro-independence pressure, the French introduced multiparty elections


in 1946. The Democratic Party, led by Prince Sisowaath Yutevong, won the


elections. Prince Yutevong was the main architect of the Khmer Constitution of


1947 , which he modelled after the Fourth Republic of France. On 6 May 1947 ,


King Sihanouk proclaimed the birth of the new Khmer Constitution.


Prince Yutevong did not live to see the fruits of his victory, dying on 17 July


1947 , aged only thirty-four. His mysterious death ushered in a period of instability,


with numerous changes in leadership. In 1953 , King Sihanouk went to France to


demand full independence for Cambodia, but the French demurred, thinking him


an alarmist who exaggerated the anti-French sentiments building up in Cambodia.


The king increased the stakes by declaring that until the French granted Cambodia


independence, he would live in self-imposed exile in Thailand. The Thais did not


welcome him and King Sihanouk left for the autonomous zone of Siem Reap where


he collaborated with Lieutenant-Colonel Lon Nol to fight the French.


On 3 July 1953 , the French surrendered. The process for independence was swift,


and King Sihanouk succeeded in obtaining his demands. Khmer Independence


Day was proclaimed on 9 November 1953. The 1947 constitution, which gave


tremendous powers to the king, was amended in 1957 to guarantee fundamental


rights and liberties to the people.


King Norodom Sihanouk ruled until 1955 , when he abdicated in favour of his


father to form his own political party, the Sangkhum Reastr Niyum (People’s


Socialist Community), and become prime minister. King Sihanouk continued to


dominate politics in Cambodia until 1970 when Lon Nol – by then his armed-


forces chief – overthrew him in a coup d’e ́tat. Sihanouk left for exile in China while


the American-backed Lon Nol presided over an economically ruined and wartorn


Cambodia from 1970 to 1975.


The Khmer Rouge and after ( 1975 – 1991 )


In April 1975 , the communist anti-government insurgent group the Khmer Rouge


(‘Red Cambodians’) overthrew Lon Nol. The Khmer Rouge, under the genocidal


Pol Pot regime, began a programme of social reconstruction, plunging Cambodia


into the Dark Ages. Throughout this period, the Cambodian constitution was


suspended and law and legal institutions hardly existed. On Christmas Day 1978 ,


Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia and overthrew the Pol Pot regime. A new


Vietnamese-backed government headed by Hun Sen was established and ruled


with the support of occupying Vietnamese troops from 1979 to 1989. The Hun Sen


regime battled against three resistance groups: the royalist Front Uni National pour
un Cambodge Inde ́pendant Neutre Pacifique et Coope ́ratif (National United

230 Tan

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