Chapter 5

CASE STUDY OF DEMOBILISATION IN CAMBODIA

Background

Following the Cold War, the international system entered an era where many of the Cold War conflicts have lost their international relevance and, in some cases, have fundamentally changed. In cases where conflict has been replaced by peace, large numbers of combatants and traumatised communities have found themselves in an unfamiliar situation. The lessons of the past ten years have taught that, in a conflict environment where peace is made, one of the major priorities must be the demobilisation, demilitarisation and reintegration of combatants. Should this not be achieved, the prospects of a lasting peace are substantially reduced, and it is likely that former combatants will eventually return to conflict or banditry.

In no country has this lesson been more effectively illustrated than in Cambodia. Cambodia’s modern history reflects a situation of extraordinary violence, crisis, trauma and conflict. Starting with the aerial bombing by the US during the Vietnam War, Cambodia then fell prey to the Khmer Rouge in 1975, beginning one of the most brutal and traumatic periods of civil conflict in modern history. In 1978, Cambodia was rescued from the Khmer Rouge by its historic enemy, Vietnam, and a period began of the effective colonisation of Cambodia by the Vietnamese government, in which groups of combatants fought one another and the Vietnamese army for influence, power and control of the resources of the country. It was only with the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s that Cambodia was relieved from the victimisation of foreign powers. A civil war for control of the country ensued and lasted until October 1991 when the four main competing parties signed the Paris peace agreement. This ushered in an era of peace, stability, economic growth, foreign investment and general optimism. However, the failure of a suitable initiative to separate armed groups from political parties and substantially disarm and demobilise conflicting parties led to the re-emergence of civil conflict and a coup in July 1997, which effectively erased the gains of the previous six years of relative peace. With the formation of a stable coalition government in 2000, the lessons of the past are obvious: proceed with urgency and purpose towards the effective demilitarisation of Cambodia in order to create a sustainable state of stability in which development and economic empowerment of the people can occur.

Unlike the other case studies in this monograph, Cambodia is only beginning its process of demilitarisation, and the contents of this chapter will therefore be far more forward-looking and advisory than the other case studies. However, it will be structured in a similar way to make comparison easier. For this purpose, it will evaluate the current situation in Cambodia and point to reasons why demilitarisation is a national priority. In doing this, demilitarisation is seen not as a military or even a social imperative, but rather as an economic imperative. It will look at the obstacles and challenges to demilitarisation in Cambodia, and from this perspective, hope to make the process in South Africa more informed and effective.

Economic pressures

The key issue relating to demobilisation in Cambodia is economic. Cambodia is a relatively small country with a population in excess of 50 million people. The land area of Cambodia is mainly low-lying with bodies of water accounting for 10% of its surface area during the dry season, and much more than this during the rainy season. The population is mostly rural (80%) and dispersed in about 7 000 villages, many of which do not have access to basic services, utilities and infrastructure. Another example of the poverty in the country is that, out of 100 pregnancies, nine deaths occur — a rate twice as high as that of India and much of Africa. The terrible legacy of international and civil conflict is reflected in the fact that Cambodia has the highest proportion of physically disabled people in the world (one out of every 238 people is an amputee), there are more than 200 000 child orphans, and 35% of women over the age of 18 are heads of households.33

Economic statis