Cambodia: the great and the terrible (by Laura)

At the top of any tourist 'must-see' list in Cambodia are Angkor Wat and the Killings Fields outside Phnom Penh. The two stand in stark juxtaposition evoking on the one hand the golden age of Cambodian history, the Angkorian era and on the other the dark days of the Khmer Rouge's regime.

The Angkor Empire was the greatest in South East Asia over four centuries. It produced a period rich in art and architecture, culminating in the famous temple of Angkor Wat, said to be the still the largest religious building in the world.

Cambodia has had a torrid time since it gained independence from the French in 1953; however it was the reign of the Khmer Rouge, from 1975-79, which brought most notoriety.

King Sihanouk was ousted from power by a US-supported coup in 1970. Exiled to Beijing, he forged an opportunist alliance with his country's revolutionary party, the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge's popularity soared as the King urged his people to fight against the government. Cambodia was essentially at civil war.

Meanwhile, the US was withdrawing from Vietnam and no longer had funds to support the Cambodian government it had installed. The Khmer Rouge took Phnom Penh just two weeks before the US fled Saigon.

The new regime's approached its goal of a communist agrarian revolution with a ferocity not previously witnessed. There followed executions, displacement of families and quasi-slavery for Cambodians as they were forced to work in the fields for the 'benefit of the state'. It is estimated that 2 million people were murdered during their time in power.

Vietnam finally took action against the regime following incursions into its territory in the Mekong Delta. Pol Pot and his men were ousted from power in 1979.

Although eventually defeated, for years the Khmer Rouge's presence continued to be felt in the country as they received indirect support from, it is said, Thailand and the US (the common factor being anti-Vietnamese sentiments). They even continued to represent Cambodia at the UN.

The future for Cambodia now seems unclear. There is huge poverty, as well as little infrastructure and few basic services.

Great and terrible, both the Angkor Empire and the Khmer Rouge left their own legacies. It is as yet unclear what legacy any future government may leave.

Laura