Pracheachon
Encyclopedia
The Krom Pracheachon often referred to simply as Pracheachon, was a Cambodia
n political party that contested in parliamentary elections in 1955, 1958 and 1972.
For much of its existence the party was a legal front organisation for the clandestine Communist Party of Kampuchea
, then known as the Khmer People's Revolutionary Party.
of 1954. This guaranteed Cambodia's independence and neutrality, with parliamentary elections to be held the following year. Many of the Cambodians fighting for independence (notably members of the United Issarak Front
) had been associated with the Viet Minh
, who now agreed to withdraw their units from Cambodia: a large number of Khmer leftists, led by veteran Issarak Son Ngoc Minh
, departed for Hanoi
, where they were to remain for the next twenty years.
Those leftists who remained were encouraged to form a legal political party to contest elections: this was the Krom Pracheachon, which had a socialist platform. The Communist Party itself (led by Tou Samouth
and Sieu Heng, and including later prominent figures such as Saloth Sar (Pol Pot) and Ieng Sary
) continued as a purely clandestine organisation.
The Pracheachon was led by Non Suon, Keo Meas
and Penn Yuth, all former Issaraks. It adopted the symbol of a plough
.
party of Prince Norodom Sihanouk
, the Pracheachon was able to field only 35 candidates, winning 31,034 votes in total and gaining no seats.
According to the historian Ben Kiernan
, Sihanouk later appeared to admit that many districts had in fact voted for socialist candidates, even when the official result showed them receiving few or no votes.
/ North Vietnam
ese domination of Cambodia. To coincide with the election, he published a series of articles tracing the history of Cambodian communism: though the articles were perceptive in their analysis of communist tactics, they stressed the leftists' links with Vietnam and presented them as a threat to the Cambodian nation. Pressure on the Pracheachon was increased by posters showing buildings and trains destroyed by the Viet Minh, and slogans such as "The Pracheachon ruins the nation and sells the country to foreigners" and "The Pracheachon is not part of the Sangkum" appeared on walls and banners.
In the election itself, the Pracheachon managed to field only 5 candidates: 4 of these were to withdraw following police harassment, leaving only Keo Meas himself, who officially received 396 votes. Meas was forced to sit out the election from a safe haven on the Vietnamese border, fearing arrest.
Sihanouk's police arrested 14 of its remaining members, including Secretary-General Non Suon; they were charged with possessing documents incriminating them in seeking the overthrow of the Sangkum regime by North Vietnam
. They were initially sentenced to death by a military court, with the sentences later being commuted to life imprisonment. The Pracheachon dissolved, and many of the remaining leftists fled Phnom Penh
for the forests, with the exception of several prominent figures (Khieu Samphan
, Hou Yuon
and Hu Nim
) who had joined the Sangkum. At around this time Communist leader Tou Samouth disappeared; Saloth Sar assumed the clandestine Party's leadership.
's expulsion of Sihanouk in the Cambodian coup of 1970
and the subsequent declaration of the Khmer Republic
, the Pracheachon was resurrected, and fielded some candidates against Nol's Socio-Republican Party
in the 1972 elections.
It was initially expected that its leader would be the leftist Hang Thun Hak
; Hak instead joined the PSR, and Penn Yuth emerged as its leader. Yuth, now an officer in the Khmer National Armed Forces
was however by this time a close associate of Lon Nol, and it was widely thought that the Pracheachon had been reorganised by Nol's brother Lon Non
specifically to provide a 'token' opposition to the PSR. Figures associated with the Pracheachon in this period included Saloth Chhay
, a left-wing journalist who was the brother of Pol Pot (Saloth Sar). All seats in the elections were won by the Socio-Republican Party.
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
n political party that contested in parliamentary elections in 1955, 1958 and 1972.
For much of its existence the party was a legal front organisation for the clandestine Communist Party of Kampuchea
Communist Party of Kampuchea
The Communist Party of Kampuchea, also known as Khmer Communist Party , was a communist party in Cambodia. Its followers were generally known as Khmer Rouge .-Foundation of the party; first divisions:...
, then known as the Khmer People's Revolutionary Party.
Formation
The Pracheachon came into existence as a result of the Geneva AccordsGeneva Conference (1954)
The Geneva Conference was a conference which took place in Geneva, Switzerland, whose purpose was to attempt to find a way to unify Korea and discuss the possibility of restoring peace in Indochina...
of 1954. This guaranteed Cambodia's independence and neutrality, with parliamentary elections to be held the following year. Many of the Cambodians fighting for independence (notably members of the United Issarak Front
United Issarak Front
The United Issarak Front was a Cambodian anti-colonial movement 1950–1954., organized by the left-wing members of the Khmer Issarak movement. The UIF coordinated the efforts of the movement as of 1950, and waged war against the French Union forces...
) had been associated with the Viet Minh
Viet Minh
Việt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pac Bo on May 19, 1941. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China...
, who now agreed to withdraw their units from Cambodia: a large number of Khmer leftists, led by veteran Issarak Son Ngoc Minh
Son Ngoc Minh
Son Ngoc Minh , also known as Achar Mean, was a Cambodian communist politician whose first notable career achievement was in 1950 when he was appointed the head of provisional revolutionary government of the United Issarak Front organized at Hongdan...
, departed for Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
, where they were to remain for the next twenty years.
Those leftists who remained were encouraged to form a legal political party to contest elections: this was the Krom Pracheachon, which had a socialist platform. The Communist Party itself (led by Tou Samouth
Tou Samouth
Tou Samouth , also known as Achar Sok, was a Cambodian Communist politician. One of the founder members of the Party in Cambodia, and head of its more moderate faction, he is mainly remembered for mentoring Saloth Sar, the man who later became Pol Pot.-Career in the Khmer resistance:Samouth, one of...
and Sieu Heng, and including later prominent figures such as Saloth Sar (Pol Pot) and Ieng Sary
Ieng Sary
Ieng Sary was a powerful figure in the Khmer Rouge. He was the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Democratic Kampuchea from 1975 to 1979 and held several senior positions in the Khmer Rouge until his defection to the government in 1996....
) continued as a purely clandestine organisation.
The Pracheachon was led by Non Suon, Keo Meas
Keo Meas
Keo Meas was a Cambodian communist politician. Keo Meas, then a fourth-year student at the Phnom Penh Teachers Training College was recruited to the Indochinese Communist Party by Son Sichan in 1946. In 1950, he became a leading figure within the United Issarak Front...
and Penn Yuth, all former Issaraks. It adopted the symbol of a plough
Plough
The plough or plow is a tool used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting. It has been a basic instrument for most of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture...
.
The 1955 election
The Cambodian elections of 1955 were the first in which the Krom Pracheachon took part. Due to severe harassment of its members by forces loyal to the SangkumSangkum
The Sangkum Reastr Niyum , commonly known simply as the Sangkum, was a political organisation set up in 1955 by Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia...
party of Prince Norodom Sihanouk
Norodom Sihanouk
Norodom Sihanouk regular script was the King of Cambodia from 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 until his semi-retirement and voluntary abdication on 7 October 2004 in favor of his son, the current King Norodom Sihamoni...
, the Pracheachon was able to field only 35 candidates, winning 31,034 votes in total and gaining no seats.
According to the historian Ben Kiernan
Ben Kiernan
Benedict F. Kiernan is the Whitney Griswold Professor of History, Professor of International and Area Studies and Director of the Genocide Studies Program at Yale University. He is a prolific writer on the Cambodian genocide...
, Sihanouk later appeared to admit that many districts had in fact voted for socialist candidates, even when the official result showed them receiving few or no votes.
1958 election
In the period before the 1958 election, Sihanouk appeared deeply concerned with the possibility of Viet MinhViet Minh
Việt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pac Bo on May 19, 1941. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China...
/ North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
ese domination of Cambodia. To coincide with the election, he published a series of articles tracing the history of Cambodian communism: though the articles were perceptive in their analysis of communist tactics, they stressed the leftists' links with Vietnam and presented them as a threat to the Cambodian nation. Pressure on the Pracheachon was increased by posters showing buildings and trains destroyed by the Viet Minh, and slogans such as "The Pracheachon ruins the nation and sells the country to foreigners" and "The Pracheachon is not part of the Sangkum" appeared on walls and banners.
In the election itself, the Pracheachon managed to field only 5 candidates: 4 of these were to withdraw following police harassment, leaving only Keo Meas himself, who officially received 396 votes. Meas was forced to sit out the election from a safe haven on the Vietnamese border, fearing arrest.
1962 election
The Krom Pracheachon was again subject to repressive measures (ostensibly for reasons of "security") in the run-up to the 1962 elections, in which its members hoped to participate.Sihanouk's police arrested 14 of its remaining members, including Secretary-General Non Suon; they were charged with possessing documents incriminating them in seeking the overthrow of the Sangkum regime by North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
. They were initially sentenced to death by a military court, with the sentences later being commuted to life imprisonment. The Pracheachon dissolved, and many of the remaining leftists fled 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,...
for the forests, with the exception of several prominent figures (Khieu Samphan
Khieu Samphan
Khieu Samphan was the president of the state presidium of Democratic Kampuchea from 1976 until 1979. As such, he served as Cambodia's head of state and was one of the most powerful officials in the Khmer Rouge movement, though Pol Pot was the group's true political leader and held the most...
, Hou Yuon
Hou Yuon
Hou Yuon was a veteran of the communist movement in Cambodia, and was of Sino-Khmer descent. A member of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, also known as the Khmer Rouge, he served in several ministerial posts during the 1960s and 1970s.Yuon, who repeatedly clashed with other members of the Khmer...
and Hu Nim
Hu Nim
Hu Nim, alias "Phoas" was a Cambodian Communistintellectual and politician who held a number of ministerial posts.His long political career included spells with the Sangkum regime...
) who had joined the Sangkum. At around this time Communist leader Tou Samouth disappeared; Saloth Sar assumed the clandestine Party's leadership.
1972 election
Following Lon NolLon Nol
Lon Nol was a Cambodian politician and general who served as Prime Minister of Cambodia twice, as well as serving repeatedly as Defense Minister...
's expulsion of Sihanouk in the Cambodian coup of 1970
Cambodian coup of 1970
The Cambodian coup of 1970 refers to the removal of the Cambodian Head of State, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, after a vote in the National Assembly on 18 March 1970. Emergency powers were subsequently invoked by the Prime Minister Lon Nol, who became effective head of state...
and the subsequent declaration of the Khmer Republic
Khmer Republic
The Khmer Republic or République Khmère, was the republican government of Cambodia that was formally declared on October 9, 1970. The Khmer Republic was disestablished in 1975 and was followed by the totalitarian communist state known as Democratic Kampuchea.-Background:Formally declared on October...
, the Pracheachon was resurrected, and fielded some candidates against Nol's Socio-Republican Party
Social Republican Party
The Social Republican Party or Socio-Republican Party was a political party in Cambodia, founded by the then Head of State Lon Nol in June 1972 to contest the National Assembly Elections of the Khmer Republic held on September 3, 1972.-History:...
in the 1972 elections.
It was initially expected that its leader would be the leftist Hang Thun Hak
Hang Thun Hak
Hang Thun Hak was a Cambodian radical politician, academic and playwright.Hak studied theatre in Paris, where he became associated with the group of radical students centred on Keng Vannsak, which included several future leaders of the Cambodian Communists...
; Hak instead joined the PSR, and Penn Yuth emerged as its leader. Yuth, now an officer in the Khmer National Armed Forces
Khmer National Armed Forces
The Khmer National Armed Forces , often abbreviated to FANK, were the official armed defense forces of the Khmer Republic, a short-lived state that existed from 1970 to 1975, known today as Cambodia...
was however by this time a close associate of Lon Nol, and it was widely thought that the Pracheachon had been reorganised by Nol's brother Lon Non
Lon Non
Lon Non was a Cambodian politician and soldier who rose to his greatest prominence during the Khmer Republic .Non was the younger brother of Prime Minister Lon Nol...
specifically to provide a 'token' opposition to the PSR. Figures associated with the Pracheachon in this period included Saloth Chhay
Saloth Chhay
Saloth Chhay was a Cambodian left-wing journalist and political activist, who was prominent in the country's politics during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s...
, a left-wing journalist who was the brother of Pol Pot (Saloth Sar). All seats in the elections were won by the Socio-Republican Party.