Anonymous said...
During the Vietnam War, Americans did not know that they were fighting with two different kinds of communists: Communist Vietnam and the Khmer Rouge. The Americans thought that communist is communist and they did not make any distinction between the two. It is the fact that these two communists had joined hands to fight the Americans in South East Asia. When the Americans retreated from South East Asia, these two communists had become at odd with one another. One communist is a Stalinist Vietnamese Regime which got their support from USSR, and the other communist is the Maoist Khmer Rouge Regime which stayed under the umbrella of People's Republic of China. These two communists were looking for way to dominate the region. So, when the Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia, they have only one goal: that is to capture the country and put Cambodia under their confederation.
They did not care what has happened inside Cambodia. They actually used the Khmer Rouge's killing machine as a designing purpose to aim for the invasion of Cambodia. Whatever the reason is, the real fact is that the Cambodian people were happy to see the Vietnamese troops marching into Cambodia. Who wouldn’t? Most of the Cambodian people know that their days are numbered.
I have told myself not to write long comment, but I just need to explain and remind some of us, the source of the conflict. Again, I’m not trying to write an article, even though it seems to be.
During the Vietnam War, Americans did not know that they were fighting with two different kinds of communists: Communist Vietnam and the Khmer Rouge. The Americans thought that communist is communist and they did not make any distinction between the two. It is the fact that these two communists had joined hands to fight the Americans in South East Asia. When the Americans retreated from South East Asia, these two communists had become at odd with one another. One communist is a Stalinist Vietnamese Regime which got their support from USSR, and the other communist is the Maoist Khmer Rouge Regime which stayed under the umbrella of People's Republic of China. These two communists were looking for way to dominate the region. So, when the Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia, they have only one goal: that is to capture the country and put Cambodia under their confederation.
They did not care what has happened inside Cambodia. They actually used the Khmer Rouge's killing machine as a designing purpose to aim for the invasion of Cambodia. Whatever the reason is, the real fact is that the Cambodian people were happy to see the Vietnamese troops marching into Cambodia. Who wouldn’t? Most of the Cambodian people know that their days are numbered.
I have told myself not to write long comment, but I just need to explain and remind some of us, the source of the conflict. Again, I’m not trying to write an article, even though it seems to be.
1 comment:
Your comment makes perfect sense to me, and as long as it stays reasoned and calmly balanced like this, no one in their fair judgement would mind reading it even if it's much longer!
Your previous point about the American civil war and slavery is well made and pertinent. The man who waged that war to save the Union declared that if the war ended slavey in the process, so be it. However, if the war didn't free the slaves, 'we would still wage it in order to save the Union'.
In fact, many former slaves opted to stay with their former masters after the war out of economic necessity, while some migrated North or East in search of a new life in industrial cities like Chicago.
I sense that too many Cambodians are too blinded by their gratitude to grasp the distinction between incidental events and deliberate policies of their neighbours that have been pursued to their nation's long term enslavement and disadvantage.
In coming to Cambodia in 1979, the Vietnamese, in fact, had done no more than cleaning up the mess they had a hand in creating in the first place. There were other factors that also forced them to commit themselves vis a vis Cambodia at that particular point in time, other than humanitarian calculations. But, to elaborate on this will make my comment even longer!
Personally, I have nothing against Vietnam, even less ordinary Vietnamese people, provided they have nothing of ill intent against Cambodia. However, I remain unconvinced that the present form of relations between the 2 countries are fair or equitable. Others will differ - of that I'm certain - no matter what. That's because they fear what an independent, free Cambodia would mean for their selectively propped up status within the present arrangement.
Thank you for reading.
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