SteelBird
Colonel
Today is the 15th anniversary of the coup in Phnom Penh in 1997 and I, SteelBird, was there. I call it "Coup without sign-board" (or you may call it "Untitled coup" whichever sound better). I call this because when people running business, they put on a sign board to let other know what kind of business they are doing but the then Phnom Penh authority denied that they were conducting a coup. They called the action "to demolish the rebel joint by Khmer Rouge".
The two days coup (5 and 6 of July, 1997) left hundreds dead, and many thousand flee from their homes. After the coup, the then first Prime Minister, Prince Norodom Ranarith, were ousted and replaced by a puppet, Mr. Ung Hout. Many military general of the FUNCINPEC party were killed and some other fled to the Thai-Cambodian border and continued to fight. One thing worth to mention; soldiers and civilians started to loot business in suburbs of the city. Their targets were mainly vehicle selling business and foreign investment.
The then 2nd Prime Minister, Mr. Hun Sen, expelled Taiwan representative office in Phnom Penh in exchange for China's support by executing the Taiwanese representative office to have relationship and military support to the FUNCINPEC party. It's when I remember Cambodia-China relationship started its honey moon.
The two days coup (5 and 6 of July, 1997) left hundreds dead, and many thousand flee from their homes. After the coup, the then first Prime Minister, Prince Norodom Ranarith, were ousted and replaced by a puppet, Mr. Ung Hout. Many military general of the FUNCINPEC party were killed and some other fled to the Thai-Cambodian border and continued to fight. One thing worth to mention; soldiers and civilians started to loot business in suburbs of the city. Their targets were mainly vehicle selling business and foreign investment.
The then 2nd Prime Minister, Mr. Hun Sen, expelled Taiwan representative office in Phnom Penh in exchange for China's support by executing the Taiwanese representative office to have relationship and military support to the FUNCINPEC party. It's when I remember Cambodia-China relationship started its honey moon.