Kingdom of Cambodia

Flag Description

The national flag of the Philippines was first conceptualized by Emilio Aguinaldo, a freemason (the design shows the ideas of freemasonry according to some analysts). The first flag was sewn in Hong Kong by Marcela de Agoncillo, her daughter Lorenza, and Doña Delfina Herbosa de Natividad, niece of José Rizal. (In other sources, the niece's name was Delfina Herbosa de Natividad.)

The significance of the colors, red, white, and blue, are currently attributed as follows: the white triangle stands for equality and fraternity; the blue for peace, truth and justice; and red for patriotism and valor. However, the original Declaration of Independence stated that the three colors were inspired by the American flag as a manifestation of the Filipino's gratitude towards American help against the Spanish.



Modern History

Cambodia continued as a protectorate of France from 1863 to 1953, administered as part of the French colony of Indochina. After war-time occupation by the Japanese empire from 1941 to 1945, Cambodia gained independence from France on November 9, 1953. It became a constitutional monarchy under King Norodom Sihanouk.
In 1955, Sihanouk abdicated in favour of his father in order to be elected Prime Minister. Upon his father's death in 1960, Sihanouk again became head of state, taking the title of Prince. As the Vietnam War progressed, Sihanouk adopted an official policy of neutrality until ousted in 1970 by a military coup led by Prime Minister General Lon Nol and Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak, while on a trip abroad. From Beijing, Sihanouk realigned himself with the communist Khmer Rouge rebels who had been slowly gaining territory in the remote mountain regions and urged his followers to help in overthowing the pro-United States government of Lon Nol, hastening the onset of civil war.
Operation Menu, a series of secret B-52 bombing raids by the United States on suspected Viet Cong bases and supply routes inside Cambodia, was acknowledged after Lon Nol assumed power; U.S. forces briefly invaded Cambodia in a further effort to disrupt the Viet Cong. The bombing continued and, as the Cambodian communists began gaining ground, eventually included strikes on suspected Khmer Rouge sites until halted in 1973. Estimates of the number of Cambodians killed during the bombing campaigns vary widely. [5] The Khmer Rouge reached Phnom Penh and took power in 1975, changing the official name of the country to Democratic Kampuchea, led by Pol Pot.
Estimates vary as to how many people were killed by the Khmer Rouge regime. Depending on whether or not one includes deaths from starvation and subsequent deaths in refugee camps, estimates range anywhere from 1.7 million[6] to 3 million Cambodians.[7][8] Many were in some way deemed to be "enemies of the state", whether they were linked to the previous regime, civil servants, people of education or of religion, critics of the Khmer Rouge or Marxism, or simply offered resistance to the brutal treatment of the cadres. Hundreds of thousands more fled across the border into neighbouring Thailand.
In November 1978, Vietnam invaded Cambodia to stop Khmer Rouge incursions across the border and the genocide of Vietnamese in Cambodia.[9] Violent occupation and warfare between the Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge holdouts continued throughout the 1980s. Peace efforts began in Paris in 1989, culminating two years later in October 1991 in a comprehensive peace settlement. The United Nations was given a mandate to enforce a ceasefire, and deal with refugees and disarmament.[10]
After the brutality of the 1970s and the 1980s, and the destruction of the cultural, economic, social and political life of Cambodia, it is only in recent years that reconstruction efforts have begun and some political stability has finally returned to Cambodia. The democracy established following conflict was shaken in 1997 during a coup d'état[11], but has otherwise remained in place.


Background Information :

Head of State
:His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni

Head of Government
:Prime Minister Hun Sen

Capital
:Phnom Penh

Land area
:181,035 sq.km

Population
:14,131 thousands (2004)

Language
:Khmer

Religion
:Buddhism

Member of
:ASEAN, CTBTO, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, ITU, LDC, UNO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPO, UNIDO, WIPO, WHO

Currency
:Riel

GDP
:US$ 4,215 million (2003) at current market prices

Major Industries
:Textiles and Garments, Beverages, Food Processing, Wood Processing

Major Exports
:Garments, Textile Product Sawn, Wood Furniture and Rubber

Major Imports
:Transport equipment and machinery, manufactured goods, food chemicals