Red Prince or Prince of Darkness? A legacy that still casts its uneasy shadow over Cambodia today

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Sihanouk [right] welcomed Chinese Premier and respected statesman Zou En Lay on his official state visit to Cambodia during Sihanouk's Popular Socialist regime heyday [the Sangkum Reastr Niyum]. Also a founding member of the Non-Aligned movement Sihanouk needed the political and diplomatic support of socialist countries to offset his break in diplomacy with Washington and its allies and to cement his country's historical reliance upon and entanglement with China as a means of counterbalancing what he perceived as Vietnam's threat and over-ambitious designs over his small country, but his stratagems and manoeuvrings had come at a heavy price, particularly, for the "little people" of Cambodia whom he claimed to have loved as he was pressured into making sacrifices to both Beijing and Hanoi in later years as both these communist powers found their common ground in resisting the US's ill fated involvement and crusade in Indochina. Perhaps, on this very visit that Zhou and Sihanouk enjoyed their retreat at the seaside resort of Kep when Zhou pointed to the island of Koh Tral and tentatively offered to help him and Cambodia regain the island from Vietnam by, in Sihanouk's words, saying: 'You can have the island back if you want [to]', to which Sihanouk politely responded: 'Thank you. We would be just happy to hold on to what we have'; a sentiment echoed by his son Rannariddh when he became First PM of Cambodia, and by other Cambodian analysts whom I need not name here - School of Vice

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KI Media reader:

'នយោបាយ សម្តេចសីហនុ ដូរចុះ ដូរឡើង ពិបាកនឹង ស៊ូរស់ ស៊ូស្លាប់ ជាមួយព្រះឣង្គណាស់ !!! បង ប្ឣូនណា ដែលស្ឣប់ កុម្មុនិស គួរគិត … He died in China !

ខ្ញុំបាទឣានសៀវភៅពេលថ្មីៗនេះ… មិត្តរបស់ សម្តេចសីហនុ ភាគច្រើនសុទ្ធតែ Communism មាន ៖

Abder Gamel Nasser (Egypt): ?
Haile Sellasia (Ethiopia ) : ?
Léonid Brejnev (Russia) : Communism
Nicola Ciaucescu (Romania) : Communism
Josip Broz Tito (Yugoslavia ) : Communism
Kim Il Sung (North Korea) : Communism
Mao Zedong (China) : Communism
Chou En-lai (China) : Communism
Ho Chi Ming (North Vietnam) : Communism
And so on… The last one
HUN Sen CPP : the former Communist Party created in 1951 by Yuon !!!

សូមឣស់លោកទាំងឣស់គ្នាជួយពិភាក្សា ខ្ញុំបាទផង … បើមិនពិតសូមជួយកែ ! គឹមានតែ ម៉ែ ឪ បងប្ឣូន យើងទេ ! ដែលរួមសុខ រួមទុក្ខ ជាមួយយើង…'