Cambodia (Kampuchea) Country Info

Cambodia has a tropical monsoonal climate with average temperatures from 82?-83? F (28? C) in January to 95? F (35? C) in April. Annual rainfall (mostly from the southwest monsoon) varies from up to 200 inches (5,000 mm) on the southwestern mountain slopes to 55 inches (1,400 mm) in the central plains. The climate is favourable for natural vegetation, and about three-fourths of Cambodia's land area is forested. Animal life includes elephants, wild oxen, leopards, and bears.

History

Neolithic peoples inhabited present-day Cambodia during the 2nd and 1st millennia BC. Khmer civilization developed over several distinct periods. The first was marked by the small, somewhat decentralized Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms of Funan and Chenla, beginning in the 1st century AD and extending into the 8th century. In the late 8th and early 9th centuries, Jayavarman II founded the dynasty that by the early 10th century had become established at Angkor. This era has been called the classical period of Khmer civilization (802-1432).

Jayavarman's successors constructed great architectural monuments at Angkor. The power of the Khmer empire peaked in the 12th century under Suryavarman II, who built the temple complex of Angkor Wat. His armies ranged as far west as northern Siam (now northern Thailand) and into the Red River delta (now in Vietnam) to the east. The Khmer empire's strength was based on a well-developed system of irrigated rice cultivation and the control exerted over Khmer manpower by an elaborate bureaucracy. In the early 13th century, Jayavarman VII extended the empire farther than had any of his predecessors, but it quickly crumbled in the 13th and 14th centuries. Domestic instability caused by the accession of weak rulers left the Khmer exposed to the attacks of their neighbours, and their difficulties were compounded when Buddhism began to undermine the hierarchy of the state, which was based on Hinduism. By the 15th century the Khmer could no longer defend their capital at Angkor.

The next 400 years were a period of political and social decline in which Khmer rulers were often involved in wars with Vietnam and Siam. Many times the Khmer rulers became vassals of one or the other.

In 1864 the French established a protectorate that lasted until after World War II, when Cambodia became an autonomous state within the French Union. During the war the Japanese occupied the country but left the Vichy French administration in place. In 1941 the French installed Prince Norodom Sihanouk on the throne. In 1953 Cambodia received its independence from France, and the next year Sihanouk's government was recognized as the legitimate authority within the country.

Sihanouk's capable rule, a cornerstone of which was noninvolvement with either side in the Vietnam War, ended in 1970 when he was deposed by General Lon Nol and others opposed to the tacit presence of Vietnamese communists in the country.

Lon Nol's attempts to suppress the Vietnamese presence and the small Cambodian communist group known as the Khmer Rouge disrupted the country. A massive and largely indiscriminate U.S. bombing campaign over much of the country during the early 1970s alienated large segments of the population, enabling the Khmer Rouge to grow rapidly by recruitment. Despite U.S. aid, Lon Nol's government was overthrown by the Khmer Rouge in 1975. In 1976 the republic of Democratic Kampuchea was proclaimed, and the Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot became its premier. The next year the Communist Party of Kampuchea was officially recognized as the country's governing body.

Phnom Penh was immediately evacuated by the Khmer Rouge after they overran the city in 1975, and Cambodia's other urban populations were forcibly relocated to rural areas and set to digging immense irrigation and other public works in an effort to foster agricultural production. Miserable living and working conditions throughout the country bred starvation and disease, and these factors, along with the Khmer Rouge's systematic extermination of the educated and middle classes and any other perceived enemies of the regime, had resulted in the deaths of at least 1,000,000 Cambodians by 1979. The Khmer Rouge's combative stance toward their powerful neighbour, Vietnam, prompted the latter to launch a military invasion of Cambodia in 1979. The Vietnamese drove the Khmer Rouge into the western hinterlands and established a client Cambodian government composed largely of defectors from the Khmer Rouge. This socialist government was relatively benign compared with the preceding regime, but the reconstruction efforts that it undertook were severely hampered by meagre foreign aid and a dearth of skilled Cambodian technicians and professionals. Meanwhile, fighting continued between Khmer Rouge guerrillas, Cambodia's Vietnam-backed government, and Cambodian royalist and anticommunist factions.

A peace accord was reached by most of the Cambodian factions under UN auspices in 1991, and a UN-supervised interim government held free elections in 1993. Sihanouk soon afterward returned as the country's monarch, heading a coalition government that was opposed only by the Khmer Rouge.

Economy

Cambodia has a developing economy, and it is one of the world's poorest countries. Agriculture employs three-fourths of the workforce and is dominated by subsistence farming. Rice is the chief staple, and rubber is the major cash crop. Authorities have successfully encouraged farmers to plant paddies with local strains of rice, which germinate at higher rates than do imported strains. Limited quantities of cassava, sugarcane, sweet potatoes, and corn (maize) are also produced. Livestock raising (mainly cattle, pigs, and water buffalo) and maritime fishing have increased.

Manufacturing industries are inconsequential and centre on the processing of locally grown rubber, rice, and other agricultural commodities. Small quantities of rubber, agricultural products, and wood (such as teak) are exported. Most capital and consumer goods must be imported.

Only about one-fifth of Cambodia's roads are paved. Inland waterways include the Mekong and Sab rivers and Tonle Sap. The country's principal deepwater port is K?mp?ng Sa?m on the Gulf of Thailand. There is an international airport near Phnom Penh.

Culture

Cambodia was a totalitarian state under the communist Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979 and was then governed by a more moderate communist party supported by neighbouring Vietnam from 1979 to 1991. After a period of interim government under United Nations (UN) supervision from 1991, free, multiparty elections for a new National Assembly were held in 1993. A new constitution was adopted that made the country a constitutional monarchy, with Prince Norodom Sihanouk presiding over a coalition of all the major political parties except the Khmer Rouge.

Infectious diseases such as malaria and schistosomiasis are prevalent, and malnutrition is widespread. The educational system includes primary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education; compulsory education between the ages of 6 and 12 has been introduced.

Cultural life. Cambodia's culture descends from the rich achievements of the past, notably the architecture and sculpture of the Angkorean period (802-1432), seen in the restored temples at Angkor. These, together with other cultural relics, have been greatly damaged by vandalism, looting, and neglect in recent years

Facts for the Traveller

VISAS: Required by all. Types of visa and cost: Tourist and Business (single- and multiple-entry). Visas cost Ffr120 (US$20) for stays of up to 1 month and Ffr240 (US$40) for stays up to 3 months. Visitors arriving by air can obtain a visa for stays of up to 30 days on arrival at Pochentong International Airport, Phnom Penh or Siem Reap, Angkor, but visitors are advised to check current situation before travelling.

Validity: 30 days-3 months. Extensions may be granted by the Immigration Office in Phnom Penh. In some cases, business travellers may exceptionally be granted a 6-month visa.

Application to: Consulate (or Consular section of Embassy); see Useful Contacts section. Business visas are obtainable through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Phnom Penh or by official invitation. Tourists on package tours will normally have their visas arranged by the tour operator.

Application requirements: (a) 2 completed application forms. (b) 2 passport-size photos. (c) Valid passport. (d) Fee. (e) Proof of sufficient funds to cover stay. (f) For business trips, a business card and letter from employer.

Working days required: 48 hours.

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