S3 Ep8: Terrorism, Rock and Roll and the Battle of Angkor Wat

At the beginning of 1972, Khmer Rouge and Vietnamese forces fought each other in the temple complex at Angkor. In Phnom Penh, a city swollen with refugees and rocked by bombings, the radios played Sinn Sisamouth and Ros Serey Sothea. It was the peak of Cambodia's golden age of music, and it had three years left.

Time Period Covered: 1972

How did a golden age of music emerge during the Cambodian Civil War? How did Lon Nol survive the fallout of Chenla II? What did the clashes between communists and government produce around Angkor?

In this episode, Lachlan returns to the view from Phnom Penh as the Cambodian Civil War truly begins to live up to its name. The Khmer Rouge had amassed tens of thousands of troops and were challenging not only Lon Nol's struggling regime, but also their Vietnamese comrades in arms. Most notably, at Angkor -- where fighting will erupt around the temple complex at the beginning of the year.

Meanwhile while the government lost more control of the countryside, Lon Nol continued to consolidate his own power. Sidelining much more capable politicians, while the United States stood idly by as his dastardly little brother, Lon Non, used violent and grubby means of propping up the new president - and his own position.

The refugee crisis in Phnom Penh continues, and Lachlan looks into the different stories of individuals effected by the war who fled to the capital.

And, the backdrop to all of this chaos? Cambodia's golden age of rock & roll.

Dont forget to check out the complete history of Angkor on YouTube.

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Sources:

Wilfred Deac -The Road to the Killing Fields
Sutsakhan -The Khmer Republic at War
David Chandler -Tragedy of Cambodian History
Shawcross -Sideshow
New York Times -Various Reporting 1972
Craig Etcheson -The Rise and Demise of Democratic Kampuchea
Oral History Project -Brigham Young College
Haing Ngor -A Cambodian Odyssey
Jim Laurie -Last Helicopter
Dee Peyok -Away from Beloved Lover
New Cambodia Magazine 1972 -various issues