10th and 13th centuries: The Angkor Empire that extended over much of Southeast Asia and reached its zenith 1863: The king placed the country under French protection 1887: it became part of French Indochina
1953: Cambodia gained full independence from France 1975: Communist Khmer Rouge forces captured Phnom
Penh. Over 1.5 million
Cambodians died from execution, forced hardships, or starvation during
the Khmer Rouge regime under POL POT 1978: Vietnamese
invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into distinction
1991: Paris Peace Accords mandated democratic elections and a
ceasefire 1993: UN-sponsored elections helped restore some
normalcy under a coalition government 1997: Factional fighting ended
the first coalition government 1998: Second round of national
elections led to the formation of another coalition government
and renewed political stability 1999: The remaining elements of the Khmer
Rouge surrendered. Some of the surviving Khmer Rouge
leaders are awaiting trial by a UN-sponsored tribunal for crimes
against humanity.
WEDNESDAY IN CAMBODIA: the latest travel at: angkor.co
2003: Elections in July were relatively peaceful, but
it took one year of negotiations between contending political parties
before a coalition government was formed. 2004: King Norodom
SIHANOUK abdicated the throne and his son, Prince Norodom SIHAMONI, was
selected to succeed him. 2007: Local elections were held in Cambodia in April, and there was little in the way of pre-election violence that
preceded prior elections. 2008: National elections in July were
relatively peaceful.
