PHNOM PENH: Hun Sen blasts US government for 1970 coup

Prime Minister Hun Sen today blasted the United States for rallying behind the removal of Prince Norodom Sihanouk in 1970 and accused it of supporting Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge.

Speaking at a university graduation ceremony in Phnom Penh, Mr Hun Sen said the US backed the removal of the Prince and the establishment of Marshal Lon Nol’s Khmer Republic until its fall in 1975. He then accused the US of supporting the Khmer Rouge regime in the United

Nations until 1991.

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Mr Hun Sen praised Prince Sihanouk’s regime from 1955 to 1970 as a peaceful period. He said the civil war that followed the Prince’s removal was because of foreign interference.

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“Even if there were problems, our country had peace,” Mr Hun Sen said, referring to the US’ bombing campaign during the Vietnam War. “But after that coup on March 18, 1970, our country fell into war and everything was destroyed.”

He said that the US government should be held accountable for this.

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