Khmer–Chinese Friendship Association

Khmer–Chinese Friendship Association
Abbreviation AAKC
Formation September 1964 (1964-09)
Extinction September 1, 1967 (1967-09-01)
Purpose Promotion of ties between Cambodia and China
Headquarters Cambodia
President
 Leng Ngeth

The Khmer–Chinese Friendship Association (French: Association d'amitié khmero-chinoise, abbreviated AAKC) was an organization in Cambodia, seeking to promote ties between Cambodia and China.

Leng Ngeth was the president of the association.[1] Phouk Chhay was the general secretary of AAKC. Hu Nim served as its vice president.[2][3] Other leading members of the association included Hou Youn and Tiv Ol.[1][4] Khieu Samphan was a member of the press and periodicals sub-committee of AAKC.[5] The association had a sister association based in Peking, the China–Khmer Friendship Association.[6]

The association was founded in September 1964. At the time Cambodia and the People's Republic of China enjoyed good bilateral relations. Different political tendencies were represented in the association.[1] As the Chinese Cultural Revolution progressed, the AAKC became increasingly vocally Maoist.[1]

Prince Sihanouk banned the association on September 1, 1967 (all other national friendship associations in Cambodia were also banned).[1][7] Several key functionaries of AAKC were arrested, including Phouk Chhay. He was released after the 1970 coup d'état. A new Cambodia–China friendship organization was founded immediately after the disbanding of AAKC, the National Committee for Khmer–Chinese Friendship. The new organization lacked any left-wing leaders.[1] The China–Khmer Friendship Association protested against the prohibition of AAKC in Cambodia.[6]

The group that had been active in the AAKC continued to exist as a pro-Chinese faction inside the Communist Party of Kampuchea. The pro-Chinese faction was mainly influential in the south-western region until 1975, when they were subdued by the Pol Pot group. The pro-Chinese faction was purged in 1977, and its main leaders were executed.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Martin, Marie Alexandrine. Cambodia: A Shattered Society. Berkeley: University of California press, 1994. p. 109
  2. ↑ Yearbook on international communist affairs. Hoover Institution Press., 1971. p. 531
  3. ↑ Kiernan, Ben. Genocide and Resistance in Southeast Asia: Documentation, Denial & Justice in Cambodia & East Timor. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 2008. p. 206
  4. 1 2 Le Communisme en Asie Du Sud-est, in Communisme, No. 14. L'Age d'homme, 1987. p. 54
  5. ↑ Jackson, Karl D. Cambodia, 1975-1978: Rendezvous with Death. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1989. p. 24
  6. 1 2 Armstrong, J. D. Revolutionary Diplomacy: Chinese Foreign Policy and the United Front Doctrine. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980. p. 206
  7. ↑ Kirk, Donald. Wider war: the struggle for Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos. Praeger, 1971. p. 63
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