Khmer Republic

The Khmer Republic (Khmer: សាធារណរដ្ឋខ្មែរ, Sathearonaroat Khmae; French: République khmère) was a Cambodian state under the United States-backed military dictatorship of Marshal Lon Nol from 1970 to 1975. Its establishment was formally declared on 9 October 1970, following the 18 March 1970 coup d'état which led to the overthrow of Norodom Sihanouk's government and the subsequent abolition of the federalist Cambodian monarchy in favour of a centralised republic. After the coup, Sihanouk fled to Pyongyang and later Beijing in exile. The main cause of the coup was Norodom Sihanouk's tolerance of North Vietnamese military activity within Cambodia's borders; communist North Vietnam and its Viet Cong had gained de facto control over vast areas of eastern Cambodia as a result. Another important factor was the dire state of the Cambodian economy, an indirect result of Sihanouk's policies of pursuing neutrality. After Chief of State Sihanouk was overthrown on 18 March 1970, the Kingdom of Cambodia became a republic on 9 October, officially removing Queen Sisowath Kossamak. The character of the new regime was far-right and militaristic, and was also marked by massacres of Vietnamese Cambodians. Diplomatically, right before Sihanouk was overthrown, the Kingdom of Cambodia under Prime Minister Lon Nol ended its covert cooperation with North Vietnam. Following the removal of Sihanouk, the Kingdom of Cambodia and later the Khmer Republic had aligned themselves with South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) in the ongoing Vietnam War. The Khmer Republic promulgated its own constitution in 1972. It was opposed within the Cambodian borders by the National United Front of Kampuchea (Front uni national de Kampuchéa, FUNK), a relatively broad alliance between Sihanouk, his supporters, and the Communist Party of Kampuchea. The insurgency itself was conducted by the CPNLAF, the Cambodian People's National Liberation Armed Forces: they belonged to the communist Khmer Rouge and...