Western Responses to Human Rights Abuses in Cambodia, 1975–80

277 Pages·1996·26.98 MB·English

by  Jamie Frederic Metzl (auth.)

WESTERN RESPONSES TO HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES
IN CAMBODIA, 1975-80
Western Responses to
Human Rights Abuses in
Cambodia, 1975-80
Jamie Frederic Metzl
Lecturer, Harvard LAw School
~
in association with
~
Palgrave Macmillan
Pirst published in Great Britain 1996 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills. Basingstoke. Hampshire RG21 6XS
and London
Companies and representatives throughout the world
This book is published in the SI Antony's Series
General editor: Alex Pravda
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-349-24719-6 ISBN 978-1-349-24717-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-24717-2
Pirst published in the United States of America 1996 by
ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC.,
Scholarly and Reference Division.
175 Pifth Avenue.
New York. N.Y. 10010
ISBN 978-0-312-12849-4
SIUliies in EaSI Asian Law, Harvard University
The Harvard Law School. in cooperation with the John King Pairbank Center for
East J,\.sian Research. the Harvard-Yenching Institute. and scholars from other
institutions, conducts a program of training and research designed to further
scholarly understanding of the legal systems of Japan. China. Korea. and other
jurisdictions in East Asia. In conjunction with this program a series of publications
was established in 1967.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Metzl. Jamie Frederic.
Western responses to human rights abuses in Cambodia. 1975-80/
Jamie Prederic Mett\.
p. em.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-312-12849-4 (cloth)
I. Civil rights-Cambodia. 2. Human right~-Cambodia.
3. Cambodia-Politics and government-I975- 4. World
politics-1975-1985. I. Title.
JC599.C16M47 1996
323.4'9·0959~c20 95-19153
CIP
© Jamie Prederic Metzl 1996
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1996
All right~ reserved. No reproduction. copy or transmission of
this publication may be made without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced. copied or
transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with
the provisions of the Copyright. Designs and Patents Act 1988.
or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying
issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. 90 Tottenham Court
Road. London WI P 9HE.
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this
publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil
claims for damages.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
05 04 03 02 01 00 99
For my family
and for the children of
future Cambodias
Contents
List of Tables ix
Acknowledgements x
List of Abbreviations and Notes on the Text xi
Introduction xiii
1 HJstorical Background: March 1970-AprU 1975 1
i. Historical Background 1
ii. Western Perceptions of War 7
1 Aprll 1975-December 1975 16
i. Situation in Cambodia 16
ii. Western Responses 21
iii. International Context 32
3 January 1976-March 1977 37
i. Situation in Cambodia 37
ii. International Context 41
iii. Western Responses 46
4 March 1977-March 1978 66
i. Situation in Cambodia 66
ii. International Context 68
iii. Western Responses 78
5 Aprll 1978-December 1978 97
i. International Context 97
ii. Situation in Cambodia 106
iii. Western Responses 107
" January 1979-September 1979 126
i. Situation in Cambodia 126
ii. Western Responses to Invasion 128
iii. Famine and Refugees 144
iv. The Representation Debate 150
vii
viii Contents
7 September 1979-December 1980 156
i. Situation in Cambodia 156
ii. International Context 158
iii. Famine, Relief and Resistance 162
iv. The Representation Debate 178
Conclusion 181
Appendix: Total Coverage of Cambodia in Eight Major
Western Newspapers, 1975-1980 192
Notes 195
Bibliography of Primary Sources 244
Index 255
List of Tables
2.1 Newspaper coverage of Cambodia, 1975 31
3.1 Newspaper coverage of Cambodia, 1976-7 51
4.1 Newspaper coverage of Cambodia, 1977-8 91
5.1 Newspaper coverage of Cambodia, 1978 112
6.1 Newspaper coverage of Cambodia, 1979 147
7.1 Newspaper coverage of Cambodia, 1979-80 164
ix
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Dr Rosemary Foot and Dr Peter Carey for their
invaluable input into this work and careful consideration of earlier drafts
of it. Professor Adam Roberts and Professor Ralph Smith read the manu
script in its entirety and made numerous helpful comments. Professor
Judith Brown and Roger Newton read specific chapters and offered advice
as well. Steven Heder and Ben Kiernan kindly provided me with docu
ments from their private collections. I am also grateful for the assistance
I received from librarians in the Bodleian, Queen Elizabeth House, and St
Antony's College libraries at Oxford, the British Library and School of
Oriental and African Studies Library in London, the Library of Congress
and George Washington University Library in Washington, DC, the Olin
Library in Ithaca, New York, and the National Libraries of Cambodia and
Vietnam in Phnom Penh and Hanoi, respectively. Martha Williams and
Margaret Roman of the State Department's Freedom of Information Office
put a kind face on the four years it took to get many relevant US docu
ments released. Financial support for study at Oxford was provided by the
Overseas Research Studentship scheme. Research in the United States was
funded by the Cyril Foster Fund and by the Oxford University Committee
for Graduate Studies. Work and research in Cambodia was largely made
possible by a generous grant from the Samuel Huntington Fund. Finally,
I would like to thank my parents, Drs Kurt and Marilyn Metzl, for their
inestimable and greatly appreciated moral and financial support.
x
List of Abbreviations and
Notes on the Text
ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations
COMECON Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA)
CPT Communist Party of Thailand
DK Democratic Kampuchea
FBIS Foreign Broadcast Information Service
FOIA Freedom of Information Act
FUNK National United Front for Cambodia
GRUNK Royal Government of National Union of Cambodia
ICJ International Commission of Jurists
ICP Indo-China Communist Party
ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross
KPRC Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Council
KUFNS Kanipuchean Union for National Salvation
NLF National Liberation Front
NSC National Security Council
NUFK National United Front of Kampuchea
PLA People's Liberation Army
PRC People's Republic of China
PRG Provisional Revolutionary Government
PRGSVN Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam
PRK People's Republic of Kampuchea
SALT Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty
SPK Sapordarmean Kampuchea
SWB Summary of World Broadcasts
UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund
WFP World Food Programme
As is common practice in a number of scholarly works on Cambodia, I
have used the terms "Cambodia" and "Kampuchea" interchangeably. I
have also used the general term "Chinese" to refer to the PRC. Any mention
of the Republic of China (Taiwan) is identified specifically as such.
xi