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Prince Neak Ang Mechas '''Norodom Chantaraingsey''' ([[1924]] - ?[[1976]]) was a member of the [[Cambodian]] royal family who became a general in the [[Khmer National Armed Forces]] (FANK) during the [[Cambodian Civil War]]. |
Prince Neak Ang Mechas '''Norodom Chantaraingsey''' ([[1924]] - ?[[1976]]) was a member of the [[Cambodia|Cambodian]] royal family, and Cambodian nationalist, who became a general in the [[Khmer National Armed Forces]] (FANK) during the [[Cambodian Civil War]]. |
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==Biography== |
==Biography== |
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Revision as of 20:04, 22 May 2009
Prince Neak Ang Mechas Norodom Chantaraingsey (1924 - ?1976) was a member of the Cambodian royal family, and Cambodian nationalist, who became a general in the Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK) during the Cambodian Civil War.
Biography
Norodom Chantaraingsey, a grandson of Norodom of Cambodia and uncle of King Norodom Sihanouk, was born in 1924 in Phnom Penh. Under French colonial rule he was a prominent member of the Khmer Issarak, and led armed resistance in the provinces of Kompong Speu and Kompong Thom,[1] later associating himself with the forces of Son Ngoc Thanh in Siem Reap.
Despite his rivalry with Sihanouk and his apparently republican stance, Chantaraingsey aligned with the government after Cambodia achieved independence under Sihanouk's regime. However, after being discovered to be conspiring, along with other former members of the Issarak, to stage a coup against Sihanouk, Chantaraingsey was stripped of his military rank and royal title, though he suffered no other serious punishment.[2]
Subsequent to the successful 1970 coup against Sihanouk, Lon Nol appointed Chantaraingsey commander of FANK's 13th Brigade; he became FANK's most popular and effective commander during the subsequent civil war.
After the fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge, Chantaraingsey is thought to have retreated with his men to the area around Kiriom, where he had considerable support. Chantaraingsey was still known to be alive, and continuing resistance against the Khmer Rouge, in May or June 1975, at which point he was commanding some 2000 men in the Cardamom Mountains. The FANK's 13th Brigade was still fighting as late as 1977.[3] The exact date of Chantaraingsey's death is still unknown; other accounts suggest he may have been killed in the Dâmrei Mountains in 1976.[4]
The poet and journalist James Fenton was invited by Chantaraingsey to lunch on a battlefield in 1973; Fenton used the surreal experience in one of his most famous poems, Dead Soldiers, noting that Chantaraingsey's aide was the brother of Pol Pot.
References
- ^ Dommen, A. The Indochinese experience of the French and the Americans, Indiana University Press, 2001, p.197
- ^ Savoeun, H.A Biography of Prince Norodom Chantaraingsey, accessed 22-05-08
- ^ Corfield, J. A History of the Cambodian Non-Communist Resistance 1975-1983, Monash University, 1991.
- ^ All in a Day's Work, Phnom Penh Post,, 09-02-07
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