Party of Democratic Kampuchea - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Party of Democratic Kampuchea

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Party of Democratic Kampuchea was a political party in Cambodia, formed as a continuation of the
Communist Party of Kampuchea in December 1981.[1] In the mid-1980s it publicly claimed that its ideology
was "democratic socialism,"[2] having ostensibly renounced Communism.[3]

History
The dissolution of CPK and formation of PDK was, according to the party itself, prompted by the need for
broader unity against Vietnam, a unity which an explicit communist line would hamper. The National Army of
Democratic Kampuchea was the armed wing of the party, while the Patriotic and Democratic Front of the Great
National Union of Kampuchea was a mass organization controlled by it.
The General Secretary of the party at the time was Pol Pot. The party led the deposed Democratic Kampuchea
government. Its followers were generally called Khmer Rouge.
At the time of the formation of the PDK, the Khmer Rouge forces had been pushed back by the Vietnamesebacked KPRP government to an area near the Thai border. The PDK began cooperating with other
anti-Vietnamese factions, and formed the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea in 1982.
Although Pol Pot relinquished party leadership to Khieu Samphan in 1985, he continued to wield considerable
influence over the movement.
Ahead of the 1992/1993 elections, the PDK was largely succeeded by the Cambodian National Unity Party (aka
CNUP),[4] which publicly stated its wish to participate in the elections but eventually did not register and vowed
to sabotage the election. Subsequently, UNTAC decided not to conduct elections in areas under PDK control.[5]
At the time it was estimated that approximately six percent of the population in Cambodia lived in areas under
PDK control.[6]
The PDK was declared illegal in July 1994, after which its activities continued under the Cambodian National
Unity Party and the self-proclaimed "Provisional Government of National Union and National Salvation of
Cambodia"[7]

See also
Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea
Phnom Malai

References
1. Glossary - Thai / Cambodia Border Refugee Camps Website (http://www.websitesrcg.com/border/glossary.html)
2. Alan John Day, Richard German, and John Campbell (Ed.). Political Parties of the World. 1996. New York:
Stockton. p. 109.
3. Bogdan Szajkowski (Ed.). Revolutionary and Dissident Movements of the World. John Harper Publishing. 2004. p.
54.
4. Arthur S. Banks, Thomas C. Muller, William Overstreet, Sean M. Phelan, Hal Smith (Ed.). Political Handbook of the

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World 1999. 2000. p. 154.

5. CAMBODIA (Radhsphea Ney Preah Recheanachakr Kampuchea - National Assembly) (http://www.appf.org.pe
/members/002about.htm)
6. CPSR - document_view (http://cpsr.org/prevsite/cpsr/privacy/privacy_international/country_reports
/1993_us_state_dept_human_rights_guide/cambodia.txt)
7. The Europa World Year Book Volume I. Europa Publications Limited. 1997. p. 775.

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Categories: Asian political party stubs Cambodia stubs Khmer Rouge Communist parties in Cambodia
Rebel groups in Cambodia
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