Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation
The Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation (KUFNS; Khmer :; French សាមគ្គី សង្គ្រោះ ជាតិ កម្ពុជា uni national pour le salut du Front Kampuchea , FUNSK; German National United Front for the Salvation of Kampuchea ), often simply Salvation Front , or according to the French acronym FUNSK called , was a heterogeneous Cambodian politico-military organization that legitimized the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in December 1978, which resulted in the defeat of the Democratic Kampuchea of the Khmer Rouge . This led to the founding of the Vietnam-supported new state of the People's Republic of Kampuchea (English People's Republic of Kampuchea , PRK; French République populaire du Kampuchéa , RPK) and to the reconstruction of the broken country that was completely impoverished by the Khmer Rouge regime.
history
The organization has been renamed several times due to expansions and adjustments to changing circumstances. It still exists today, but has lost much of its original meaning in modern Cambodian politics.
Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation (1978–1981)
The Salvation Front was founded on December 2, 1978 in the province of Kratie , near the border with Vietnam, liberated from the Khmer Rouge by Cambodian communists and defectors . The occasion was a so-called “Reunion Congress” by the founders of 70 Cambodian regime critics who were determined to overthrow the Pol Pot government. They condemned the growing personality cult around Pol Pot and its increasingly anti-Vietnamese politics. Many also felt personally threatened by the bloody purges in East Cambodia in 1977, especially after So Phim's suicide in a hopeless situation after an attack by Pol Pot's troops. The December 2nd memorial in Phnom Penh commemorates the establishment of the front.
Heng Samrin was elected leader. Within a few weeks, she gained considerable influence on both sides of the border.
Politically, the Salvation Front was a pro- Vietnam organization of the Marxist Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party of Kampuchea ( KPRP), which opposed the Communist Party of Kampuchea - also known as Angkar - of the Khmer Rouge. Their goal was to establish themselves as the Cambodian front to overthrow Pol Pot's terror regime. She formulated eleven points for the reconstruction of the country, which, after the founding of the People's Republic of Kampuchea, were to motivate the Cambodians to support the reconstruction efforts and the pro-Soviet structure of the new state in order to start the revolution with a moderate, pragmatic and humane in contrast to the Khmer Rouge Anchoring the approach permanently. Although the front was largely controlled by KPRP communists, there were a number of non-communists in its leadership, such as Cambodian Buddhists and also non-communist women.
The Central Committee of the Salvation Front consisted of 15 members, Heng Samrin was Chairman, Chea Sim Vice-President, and Ros Samay General Secretary. The Revolutionary People's Council voted on January 8, 1979 also Heng Samrin as Chairman and Pen Sovan as his deputy. He also owned Hun Sen (foreign affairs), Keo Chenda (culture and information), Mot Sakun (economics), Chea Sim (internal affairs), Pen Sovan (defense), Nu Beng (health and social affairs) and Chan Ven (education) on.
Kampuchean United Front for National Construction and Defense (1981-2006)
In 1981, two years after the liberation of the capital Phnom Penh , the Salvation Front was renamed Kampuchean United Front for National Construction and Defense (KUFNCD; French Front d'union pour l'édification et la défense de la patrie du Cambodge , UFCDK; German United Front for National Construction and Defense of Kampuchea ). Years after the founding of the People's Republic of Kampuchea , the front remained the most important political organization in the Cambodian pro-Vietnam state. The role of the front in the political life of the nation was officially established in the PRK Constitution, which stated in Article 3: “The Kampuchean United Front for National Construction and Defense and the revolutionary mass organizations form a solid basis for the support of the state and encourage the people to fulfill his revolutionary tasks. ”Chea Sim became chairman, Heng Samrin honorary chairman.
Solidarity Front for Development of the Cambodian Motherland (2006 to date)
At the 5th Congress of the Front on April 29, 2006 in Phnom Penh, it was renamed the Solidarity Front for Development of the Cambodian Motherland (SFDCM; French Front de solidarité pour le développement de la patrie du Cambodge , FSDPC; German Solidarity Front for the development of the Cambodian homeland ).
Today the SFDCM, the last descendant of the Salvation Front, organizes national and international events in sports facilities and at trade fairs on behalf of the Cambodian government. The chairman is now Heng Samrin again, and Chea Sim was honorary chairman until his death in 2015.
Original tasks
The original tasks of the Salvation Front consisted primarily of transferring party politics to the masses, serving as a point of contact for complaints and mobilizing the people for the regime's efforts to consolidate the so-called “worker-peasant alliance”. The cadres of the front had to stay in close contact with the people, report their needs and problems to the authorities and carry out mass campaigns to strengthen support for the regime or to create incentives to motivate the population to make greater efforts in pursuing the party’s goals .
The cadres were also responsible for organizing networks of frontline activists in communities and coordinating their actions with cadres of various mass organizations. This often meant long indoctrination sessions and induced villagers to produce banners and posters with the propaganda of the Salvation Front . On the other hand, it angered people who felt that efforts should be directed toward productive work.
The Salvation Front was also responsible for conducting “friendship activities” aimed at improving the climate for close cooperation with “the Vietnamese people and the Vietnamese army and their experts”. Another important function of the front was to re-educate Buddhist monks so that they would "break the narrow-minded habit of splitting into groups and factions" and participate more actively in the front line's revolutionary endeavors.
Organizations
The most important mass organizations under the umbrella of the Salvation Front were:
- Kampuchean Federation of Trade Unions (KFTU). In December 1983 it had 62,000 members and was officially referred to as the “training center for the working class for economic and administrative management”.
- Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Youth Union (KPRYU), an important reservoir of candidates for the KPRP and a “school of Marxism” for young people between the ages of 15 and 26. In March 1987, when the Youth Union was holding its second National Congress, it had more than 50,000 members in villages, factories, businesses, hospitals, schools, public offices and the armed forces.
- Kampuchean Revolutionary Youth Association (KRYA), an organization for children (9-16 years old) with 800,000 members
- Kampuchean Young Pioneers Organization (KYPO), an organization for preschool children under the general leadership of KPRYU and KRYA, both part of KYPO, with 450,000 members
- Kampuchean Revolutionary Women's Association (KRWA) with (October 1983) 923,000 members
Commemorative dates
All organizations under the Salvation Front umbrella held rallies at national commemorative events such as the following to raise public awareness:
- February 18: Kampuchea-Vietnam Solidarity Day
- May 20th: National Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Khmer Rouge
- June 19th: day of solidarity between the people and the army
See also
literature
- Jacques Bekaert: Cambodian Diary. Vol. 1: Tales of a Divided Nation 1983-1986. White Lotus Press, Bangkok 1997, ISBN 974-8496-95-3 .
- Evan Gottesman: Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge. Inside the Politics of Nation Building. Yale University Press, New Haven / London 2003.
- Michael Vickery: Cambodia 1975–1982. South End Press, Boston 1984.
Web links
- Cambodia - A Country Study , Library of Congress Country Studies , Federal Research Division
- Margaret Slocomb: The K5 Gamble: National Defense and Nation Building under the People's Republic of Kampuchea. In: Journal of Southeast Asian Studies. Vol. 32, No. 2, June 2001, pp. 195-210
Individual notes
- ^ David P. Chandler : A History of Cambodia. Westview Press, Allen & Unwin, Boulder, Sydney 1992.
- ↑ Michael Vickery: Cambodia 1975-1982. South End Press, Boston 1984.
- ^ Kathleen Gough : Interviews in Kampuchea. In: Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars. Vol. 14, Cambridge 1982 (PDF; 4.9 MB).
- ↑ Ben Kiernan : The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power, and Genocide in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, 1975-79. Yale University Press, New Haven (CT) 2008, ISBN 978-0-300-14434-5 , p. 400.
- ^ Margaret Slocomb: The People's Republic of Kampuchea, 1979-1989: The Revolution after Pol Pot. Silkworm Books, Chiang Mai 2004, ISBN 978-974-9575-34-5 .
- ↑ Ben Kiernan: The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power and Genocide in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, 1975-1979. Yale University Press, New Haven 1996, ISBN 978-0-300-14434-5 , p. 442.
- ^ Russell R. Ross: Cambodia. Role of Buddhism in Cambodian Life. In: Cambodia. A Country Study. Library of Congress Country Studies , Washington 1987.
- ^ Russell R. Ross: Major Political and Military Organizations. In: Cambodia. A Country Study. Appendix B. Library of Congress Country Studies , Washington 1987.
- ^ Cambodge: Le PPC veille à la grande union nationale. Vietnamese News Agency, April 29, 2006.
- ↑ Soizick Crochet: Le Cambodge. Karthala, Paris 1997, ISBN 2-86537-722-9 .
- ↑ Holiday World Champions: Cambodia has 28 days off per year. In: The time . April 28, 2018.