Chhun Yasith
Encyclopedia
Chhun Yasith is a Cambodian American
who led a failed coup d’état
in Cambodia
in 2000.
régime
from power. He emigrated to the United States in 1982 and became a tax accountant
in Long Beach
, California
. In 1988, he returned to Cambodia
and joined the opposition Sam Rainsy Party
. He left the party a year later after he came to believe that the non-violent opposition was ineffective.
In 1998, he established the Cambodian Freedom Fighters
(CCF) an anti-communist organization and serves as its President. The group’s aim was to unseat the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen
, a former Khmer Rouge commander who had defected to Vietnam in the 1970s and returned to Cambodia with the Vietnamese troops in 1979. The group—controlled by Chhun from a base in Thailand—carried out a series of small attacks. On 24 November 2000, dozens of rebels armed with rockets and grenades attacked government buildings in Phnom Penh
. Several people were killed in this attack and several others injured. Following the attack, dozens of people were arrested and jailed. Chhun was tried in absentia by a Phnom Penh court. On June 22, 2001, the Cambodian Criminal Court found Yasith guilty and sentenced him to life in prison on charges of conspiring to commit terrorism
, along with Richard Kiri Kim and Thong Samien.
The government of Cambodia issued an international Interpol
warrant
for Chhun Yasith's arrest.
On April 17, 2008, Chhun Yasith was convicted in a U.S. court of masterminding the failed coup attempt in 2000.. He was sentenced in Los Angeles on June 22nd 2010 to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Cambodian American
A Cambodian American is an American who is born, raised, or from Cambodia usually of Khmer descent but also including Chinese Cambodians, Vietnamese Cambodians, Cham people and other ethnicities of Cambodia...
who led a failed coup d’état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
in 2000.
Biography
Yasith left Cambodia in the early 1980s, amid the disarray following the Vietnamese invasion that deposed the Khmer RougeKhmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
régime
Regime
The word regime refers to a set of conditions, most often of a political nature.-Politics:...
from power. He emigrated to the United States in 1982 and became a tax accountant
Accountant
An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...
in Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. In 1988, he returned to Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
and joined the opposition Sam Rainsy Party
Sam Rainsy Party
The Sam Rainsy Party is a personalist and more or less liberal party in Cambodia. The party is a member of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats...
. He left the party a year later after he came to believe that the non-violent opposition was ineffective.
In 1998, he established the Cambodian Freedom Fighters
Cambodian Freedom Fighters
The Cambodian Freedom Fighters is an anti-communist political and paramilitary organization that was established on October 21, 1989, by its founder, Chhun Yasith, at Poipet near the Cambodian-Thai border. Their headquarters are in Long Beach, California, United States...
(CCF) an anti-communist organization and serves as its President. The group’s aim was to unseat the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen
Hun Sen
Hun Sen is the current Prime Minister of Cambodia.He has been the sole leader of the Cambodian People's Party , which has governed Cambodia since the Vietnamese-backed overthrow of the Khmer Rouge in 1979...
, a former Khmer Rouge commander who had defected to Vietnam in the 1970s and returned to Cambodia with the Vietnamese troops in 1979. The group—controlled by Chhun from a base in Thailand—carried out a series of small attacks. On 24 November 2000, dozens of rebels armed with rockets and grenades attacked government buildings in Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...
. Several people were killed in this attack and several others injured. Following the attack, dozens of people were arrested and jailed. Chhun was tried in absentia by a Phnom Penh court. On June 22, 2001, the Cambodian Criminal Court found Yasith guilty and sentenced him to life in prison on charges of conspiring to commit terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
, along with Richard Kiri Kim and Thong Samien.
The government of Cambodia issued an international Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
warrant
Warrant (law)
Most often, the term warrant refers to a specific type of authorization; a writ issued by a competent officer, usually a judge or magistrate, which permits an otherwise illegal act that would violate individual rights and affords the person executing the writ protection from damages if the act is...
for Chhun Yasith's arrest.
On April 17, 2008, Chhun Yasith was convicted in a U.S. court of masterminding the failed coup attempt in 2000.. He was sentenced in Los Angeles on June 22nd 2010 to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Quotes
- "I felt that nonviolence cannot do anything to the dictatorship in Cambodia."
- "Yeah, we tried to remove this government from power. We have a non-violent demonstration many times, but never change this government. That's why we have to use force to remove this government."
See also
- General Vang PaoVang PaoVang Pao was a Lieutenant General in the Royal Lao Army. He was an ethnic Hmong and a leader of the Hmong American community in the United States.-Early life:...
- former Major General in the Royal Lao Army. Leader of the Hmong AmericanHmong AmericanA Hmong American is a resident of the United States who is of ethnic Hmong descent. Hmong Americans are one group of Asian Americans. Many Lao Hmong war refugees resettled in the U.S. following the communist takeover of Laos in 1975...
community in the United States, arrested for his alleged plot to overthrow the Communist government of LaosLaosLaos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
. - Government of Free VietnamGovernment of Free VietnamProvisional Government of Free Vietnam is a paramilitary political organization headquartered in Garden Grove, California and Missouri City, Texas...