កម្ពុជាឆ្នាំ ១៩៨៨

 1988 Chronology Of Cambodian History

• Jan. 2, 1988 PRK PM Hun Sen telegram to Prince Sihanouk in Paris “…I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of Samdech’s telegram dated December 30th 1987….I am ready to pay a visit to Samdech and to pursue our dialogue in France before Samdech’s departure.”  Prince Sihanouk replied to the Premier’s telegram “….your telegram dated January 2nd 1988, I have the honor to let you know that I will received you in France for a second round of talks on Cambodia on a date that you would like to choose.” (FAB #27)
• Jan. 3, 1988 Prince Sihanouk, in Paris, said he would meet with PM Hun Sen this month in France, not in Pyongyang as previously announced, citing the request by French PM Jacques Chirac for him (Prince Sihanouk) to remain in France until the end of the month. (FAB #27)
• Jan. 5, 1988 CGDK PM Son Sann appealed to the Kampuchean people to pray for Vietnamese troops withdrawal from Kampuchea on the ninth anniversary of the Vietnamese capture of Phnom Penh. Prince Sihanouk’s aid, in Paris, said the second round of talks between the Prince and PM Hun Sen would start around January 20th.
• Jan. 11, 1988 SPK announced the departure of PM Hun Sen from Phnom Penh for a second round of talks with Prince Sihanouk. (FAB #27)
• Jan. 14, 1988 Thai PM Prem Tinsulanonda, in the opening statement at the ASEAN summit in Manila, urged Vietnam “to take ASEAN’s proffered solution seriously and get down to genuine exploration with Prince Sihanouk of the terms of a political settlement to the Kampuchean problem.  It is unrealistic for Vietnam to avoid talking directly with Prince Sihanouk if it is truly seeking a political solution.” (FAB #27)
• Jan. 16, 1988 CGDK PM Son Sann appealed “to all supporters of the Kampuchean cause to continue their sanctions against the Vietnamese aggressors to prevent the subjugation of the Kampuchea people, as these measure are essential to our present struggle for survival.” (FAB #27)
• Jan. 19, 1988 Prince Sihanouk and Son Sann met in Paris to discuss their differences, especially, Son Sann’s refusal to negotiate with PRK without Vietnam’s participation and Vietnamese promise in writing to withdraw its troops from Cambodia.
• Vietnamese FM Nguyen Co Thach, in Ho Chi Minh City, said that talks between opposing Kampuchean leaders starting in Paris tomorrow could “create conditions for a breakthrough.”  He also said the resistance group did not control a single district of Kampuchea and that their attacks were “just a skin disease, not a cancer.” (FAB #27)
• Jan. 20, 1988 Prince Sihanouk and PRK PM Hun Sen met for second round of talks in Saint Germain-en-Laye, France.
• Jan. 23, 1988 Thai FM Siddhi Savetsila, talking to the Nation Review, said that he had not seen any real sign of Hanoi’s readiness to accept a political solution to the Kampuchean conflict
• Jan. 24, 1988 PRK, for the first time, officially said it was willing to deal with Khmer Rouge leaders Khieu Samphan.  Vice-premier Chea Soth, however, said the offer did not extend to Pol Pot or to other certain unnamed Khmer Rouge figures, and his government would have no objection to Prince Sihanouk as the chief of state in some new coalition government.
• Jan. 25, 1988 PRK PM Hun Sen, in Phnom Penh, said he and Prince Sihanouk would meet in Pyongyang in April, again in Paris at the end of 1988, and for the fifth time in New Delhi in 1989.
• Jan. 26, 1988 KPNLF’s Bangkok office, in a statement to news agencies, said “the KPNLF views the formation of a two-party government envisaged at the second round of talks between Prince Sihanouk and PM Hun Sen in France, if realized without negotiations with the CGDK and all parties concerned, as falling within the Vietnamese ploy.”  Prince Sihanouk, however, said his latest idea of a new governing system in Kampuchea would be a quadripartite rather than a bipartite one, and it would be an interim government. (FAB #27)
• Jan. 27, 1988 Thai FM Siddhi, in his address to the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand, said on the Kampuchean problem “so far, there seems to be no sign yet of the light at the end of the tunnel….  the talks probably will continue to drag on without any significant breakthrough.” (FAB #27)
• Jan. 28, 1988 PRK PM Hun Sen arrived in Hanoi from Moscow for meetings with Vietnam FM Nguyen Co Thach and to report on session with Prince Sihanouk in France.
• Jan. 30, 1988 Prince Sihanouk, in Beijing, announced his resignation as president of CGDK, citing Son Sann and KPNLF’s hostility “the KPNLF and its President have not hesitated to unjustly accuse me of ‘national treason’ by playing the games of the Vietnamese colonialists”, and named his son Prince Ranariddh as his representative to the CGDK.  Prince Sihanouk also cancelled his upcoming meeting in Pyongyang with PRK Premier Hun Sen. (FAB #27)
• Feb. 1, 1988 Khieu Samphan and Son Sann, according to Xinhua News Agency, sent an appeal to Prince Sihanouk in Beijing urging him “to continue his post as president of Democratic Kampuchea and continue to lead the CGDK.” (FAB #28)
• Feb. 2, 1988 Indonesian FM, Mochtar Kusumaatmadja, said the meeting between Prince Sihanouk and PRK PM, Hun Sen, in France did not produce great results, but the two leaders did allow the two opposing sides to discuss their own affairs for the first time. (FAB#28)
• Feb. 3, 1988 Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Li Jinhau, at a weekly briefing, expressed her government support of Prince Sihanouk’s effort to open a dialogue with Vietnam, “as a major party on the question of Kampuchea, Vietnamese should talk with Prince Sihanouk and the relevant parties concerned in Kampuchea,” asked about proposals that the Khmer Rouge be disarmed as part of a peace process, the spokeswoman said, “while Vietnam still persists in its aggression and occupation of Kampuchea, how could the patriotic troops and people of Kampuchea lay down their arm?”   In an interview with the Nation Review in Bangkok, Son Sann said that Prince Sihanouk would go to France again to meet the Vietnamese after the Prince meeting in Beijing with Chinese leaders.  Son Sann also said Hanoi would propose a two-party government between the Vietnamese-backed PRK and the Sihanoukist faction, with the Prince as Head of State, but Prince Sihanouk would reject the offer and would instead suggest a four-party government to include the other Khmer resistance factions.
• Feb. 4, 1988 Radio Hanoi quoted spokesman Trinh Xuan Lang as saying that Vietnam welcomed Prince Sihanouk’s resignation from his post of President of CGDK.  But Lang added that despite Prince Sihanouk’s appeal for Vietnam to join future peace talks, Hanoi would not participate until Cambodians warring factions had reached an agreement among themselves.
• Feb. 5, 1988 The Soviet official news agency Tass reported that USSR leader, Mikhail Gorvachev, met with Indonesian FM, Machtar Kusumaatmadja, in Moscow to discuss international issues including the Kampuchea conflict.
• Feb. 6, 1988 Khmer Rouge leader, Khieu Samphan, arrived in Beijing to ask Prince Sihanouk to reverse his decision of resigning from the presidency of CGDK.
• Feb. 8, 1988 Prince Sihanouk met in Beijing with Khieu Samphan, who later said he expected the Prince to resume his leadership position in the CGDK.
• Feb. 11, 1988 The CGDK held it cabinet meeting attend by Son Sann, Khieu Samphan, Prince Ranarridh and other officials; the meeting issued a communiqué refusing to acknowledge Prince Sihanouk’s resignation.
• Feb. 10, 1988 Prince Sihanouk, in a statement to the French newspaper Le Monde, said China was unhappy over his peace talks with the Vietnam-backed government of PM Hun Sen and hoped his bid to seek a solution through negotiation would fail.
• Feb. 17, 1988 Prince Sihanouk issued a statement denying the rumor, which he blamed on the anti-Sihanouk Khmer Bleu in Paris, that he received $50,000 from Hun Sen and Vietnam, accepted the post as PRK president and would return to Phnom Penh soon. (FAB #44)
• Feb. 22, 1988 PRK PM Hun Sen, in an interview with a journalist in Phnom Penh, said it would not matter at all if the KPNLF does not participate in future peace talks or in a future coalition government.  He also added that Son Sann’s KPNLF faction does not even deserve consideration; the group is self-destructing and would dissolve itself. Sponsored by 22 Non-Aligned countries and introduced by Pakistan, the UN Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva passed a resolution demanding for the ninth successive year that foreign troops get out of Cambodia and Afghanistan.  The Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Belarussia, Ethiopia, and East Germany voted against the resolution, while Algeria, Cyprus, India, Iraq, Nicaragua and Nigeria abstained.
• Feb. 25, 1988 Prince Sihanouk again, in Beijing, denied rumor that he had signed a secret agreement with the PRK to return to Phnom Penh to serve as Head of State. (FAB #44)
• Feb. 26, 1988 Indonesian FM, Mochtar Kusumaatmadja, told journalists in Jakarta that Prince Sihanouk would again lead the CGDK but would not formally take the title of President, which enable the Prince to have more room to maneuver to meet with Vietnam, which refused to talk with the leadership of the CGDK.
• Feb. 29, 1988 Prince Sihanouk issued a statement announcing his resumption of the presidency of the CGDK.
• March 10, 1988 The Bangkok Post published a report obtained from resistance’s sources, saying two KPNLAF commanders, Chea Chhut and Liv Ne, would be relieved from their duties at the request of the U.S., who accused the two of human rights violations. (FAB #29)
• March 11, 1988 PRK PM Hun Sen sent a telegram to Prince Sihanouk expressing his satisfaction at the Prince’s decision to resume talks and his intention for the next meeting with Prince Sihanouk. (FAB #29) PRK announced plans to establish the University of Phnom Penh which consists of 11 facilities: mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, geography, history, philosophy, education, Cambodian literature, Russian/Occidental language and literature, and Vietnamese/Oriental language and literature.
• March 16, 1988 Speaking to Singaporean reporters in New Delhi, India, the visiting Singapore PM, Lee Kuan Yew, said with the Cambodian conflict were on the course towards the Vietnamese withdrawal, the next major problem was how to prevent the Khmer Rouge from returning to a dominant position in the next Cambodian government. (FAB #29)
• March 18, 1988 Prince Ranariddh, ANS Commander-in-Chief, accompanied by Princess Marie Ranariddh and two officials paid a friendly visit to Singapore as guest of Singapore second Minister of Defense Brigadier General Lee Hsien Loong. (FAB #28)
• March 29, 1988 Vietnamese FM Nguyen Co Thach, in an interview, ruled out a meeting with Prince Sihanouk but said he would correspond with the Prince if necessary.  Thach also said half of the original Vietnamese forces in Kampuchea had left the country and that the remaining would leave in the next three years.
• April 2, 1988 The Bangkok Post reported that international relief workers at “SITE TWO CAPM” were to have armed escorts following a shoot-out in which 2 persons were killed and 3 relief workers were held at gunpoint. Prince Sihanouk wrote a letter to PM Hun Sen explaining his refusal to meet for third round of talks saying, “the government of PRK cannot do anything without authorization of Hanoi. [Text of the letter]
• April 5, 1988 The new Indonesian FM, Ali Alatas, assured Thailand and other Asean countries that the planned informal meeting in Jakarta to solve the Cambodian problem had not lost its relevance. (FAB #30)
• April 11, 1988 The 44th session of ESCAP was held in Jakarta, Indonesia; CGDK sent a 7-members delegation to the conference: Chak Sarik and Truong Mealy (FUNCINPEC); Pech Bun Ret and Kheang Khaon (Khmer Rouge); and Bou Say, Son Soubert and Ok Sereisopheak (KPNLF). (FAB #29)
• April 12, 1988 Prince Sihanouk announced that he had turned down a personal appeal from the PRK PM Hun Sen to resume peace talks. (FAB #30)
• April 13, 1988 A DK delegation to the 44th session of ESCAP, in Jakarta, led by Bun Say, was received by the new Indonesian FM, Ali Alatas, whom informed the delegation that Indonesia, despite the change of foreign minister, would continue to promote the Cocktail party idea, in order to settle the Cambodian problems. (FAB #30)
• April 16, 1988 The Soviet Deputy FM, Igor Rogachev, said his country couldn’t pressure Vietnam to withdraw its troops from Cambodia because Vietnam is a sovereign country and nobody can dictate to it. (FAB #30)
• April 18, 1988 The Press Trust of India reported that Vietnamese leaders have suggested to Indian PM, Rajiv Gandhi, that a round of talks on the war in Cambodia be held in New Delhi. (FAB #30)
• April 28, 1988 Vietnamese Deputy FM, Tran Quang Co, said that his country refused to discuss peace with Prince Sihanouk. (FAB #30)
• April 29, 1988 Soviet Deputy FM, Igor Rogachev, said that the quickest way to end nine years of conflict in Cambodia would be for Cambodian warring factions to start direct talks. (FAB #30)
• May 6, 1988 Vietnam’s proclaimed withdrawal of 20,000 troops from Cambodia last year was genuine and not a simple troop rotation according to Major Timothy Pfister, spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Commander-in-Chief. (FAB #31)
• May 16, 1988 Thai Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs M.R. Kasemsamosorn Kasemsri, in a TV interview, said Thailand would not ask the USSR to pressure Vietnam to pull out its forces from Cambodia.  He added that the forthcoming trip to the USSR of Thai PM Prem Tinsulanonda was aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the Cambodian conflict which had threatened Thailand’s security for more than nine years. (FAB #31)
• May 18, 1988 A Conference on Cambodia, organized by the Center for the study of the European Reality, was held in Rome, Italy.  Attended the Conference were Prince Sirivudh, representing FUNCINPEC-France, and Ek Sereywath, representing the Office of the Personal Representative of Prince Sihanouk in Cambodia and Asia. (FAB #29)
• Thai PM Prem Tinsulanonda urged the Soviet Union to play a “constructive role” in solving the Cambodian conflict, which had “violently destabilized” the Southeast Asian region in the last nine years. (FAB #31)
• June 27, 1988 CGDK President Prince Sihanouk, in the area controlled by ANS, received credentials from six ambassadors: (1) Taki Ould Sidi of Mauritania; (2) Dzon Siroka of Yugoslavia; (3) Mohammed Magdi Sabri El Gheriany of Egypt; (4) Abdorahamane Sow of Guinea; (5) Farooq Sobhan of Bangladesh; and (6) Akran M. Saki of Pakistan. (FAB #30)
• July 10, 1988 Prince Sihanouk, in Bangsaen, Thailand, issued a statement announcing his resignation as President of DK. [Text of the statement] (FAB #31)
• July 25, 1988 The Jakarta Informal Meeting (JIM) was held in the City of Bogor, Indonesia, from July 25-28.  The purpose of JIM was to provide a framework for informal discussions among the parties directly involved and other concerned countries in the search for a comprehensive solution to the Cambodian conflict. (FAB #31)
• July 27, 1988 The four Cambodian parties representative, Prince Ranariddh of FUNCINPEC, Son Sann of KPNLF, Khieu Samphan of DK and Hun Sen of PRK, met with Prince Sihanouk. (FAB #31)
• Aug. 8, 1988 U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution H.J.RES.602 declaring that all parties seeking a settlement of the conflict in Cambodia, including the U.S., should have among their highest priorities the restoration of an independent Cambodia and the protection of the Cambodian people from a return to power by the Khmer Rouge.  Calls on Vietnam to withdraw its forces from Cambodia and deny haven to the Khmer Rouge.  Declare that the U.S. and the international community should use all means available to prevent a return to power of Pol Pot.
• Oct. 6, 1988 U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution H.CON.RES.303, among others, urging the Vietnamese government to cease its occupation of Cambodia.
• Oct. 11, 1988 President Ronald Reagan met with Prince Sihanouk at the White House.
• Nov. 3, 1988 The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution A/RES/43/19 reiterating its call for the immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops from Cambodia.
• Nov. 14, 1988 Directive Number 319 concerning U.S. policy toward Indochina. [---]