The National United Front of Kampuchea ( or , FUNK; km, រណសិរ្សរួបរួមជាតិកម្ពុជា, ) was an organisation formed by the deposed then
Chief of State of
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...
,
Norodom Sihanouk in 1970 while he was in exile in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
.
History
The front was supposed to be an
umbrella organization of forces that opposed
Lon Nol
Marshal Lon Nol ( km, លន់ នល់, also ; 13 November 1913 – 17 November 1985) was a Cambodian politician and general who served as Prime Minister of Cambodia twice (1966–67; 1969–71), as well as serving repeatedly as defence min ...
's seizure of power; however, the
Communist Party of Kampuchea/
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979 ...
guerrillas formed the basic military force of the Front. Apart from the communists, there were two distinct factions that participated in the insurgency: the pro-Sihanouk royalists (
Khmer Rumdos), who never held real power in the front, and secondly, the pro-North Vietnamese cadres of
Khmer Issarak
The Khmer Issarak ( km, ខ្មែរឥស្សរៈ, or 'Independent Khmer') was a "loosely structured" anti- French and anti-colonial independence movement. The movement has been labelled as “amorphous”. The Issarak was ...
.
The territories controlled by the guerrillas were nominally led by a Royal United National Government of Kampuchea (
GRUNK
The Royal Government of the National Union of Kampuchea (french: Gouvernement royal d'union nationale du Kampuchéa, GRUNK; km, រាជរដ្ឋាភិបាលរួបរួមជាតិកម្ពុជា) was a government-in-exile ...
). The government was based in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
. Sihanouk remained the head of state in that government,
Penn Nouth was the prime minister and
Khieu Samphan the deputy prime minister, minister of defense and commander-in-chief of the GRUNK forces. The possibility to exploit peasant masses' traditional adherence to Cambodia's monarchs greatly helped the Khmer Rouge to recruit members to the front. China, the USSR and North Vietnam backed the 'Royal Government', whereas North Vietnamese retained a more pro-Sihanouk stance as the Khmer Rouge began to consolidate their positions in 1971.
Stephen J. Morris, ''Why Vietnam invaded Cambodia: political culture and the causes of war''
/ref> The deposed king remained a figurehead of the front and nominal head of state until Khmer Rouge victory over Lon Nol in 1975.
NUFK Central Committee
On 5 May 1970, the politburo members of the NUFK Central Committee were:
*Chairman: Penn Nouth
*Politburo members:
**Chau Seng
Chau Seng ( km, ចៅ សេង, 15 March 19291977) was a Cambodian left-wing politician.
Seng was a Khmer Krom. Born in commune of Tri Tôn, Châu Đốc Province, Cochinchina (in present-day An Giang Province, Vietnam). He was a cousin of C ...
(Khmer Rouge)
**Hu Nim
Hu Nim (, 25 July 1930 or 1932 – 6 July 1977), alias "Phoas" (), was a Cambodian Communist intellectual and politician who held a number of ministerial posts. His long political career included spells with the Sangkum regime of Prince Norodom ...
(Khmer Rouge)
**Major Gen. Duong Sam Ol (Royal Cambodian Army)
**Huot Sambath Huot may refer to:
* Huot, Minnesota, an historic river crossing and site in Northwest Minnesota, now a ghost town
* Old Crossing Treaty Park, a county park in Red Lake County, Minnesota
*Huot automatic rifle, a Canadian automatic weapons program
...
** Chan Youran
** Khieu Samphan (Khmer Rouge)
** Chea San
** Sarin Chhak
**Hou Yuon
Hou Yuon ( km, ហ៊ូ យន់, 1930 – August 1975 (or later)) was a veteran of the communist movement in Cambodia. A member of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, also known as the Khmer Rouge, he served in several ministerial posts du ...
(Khmer Rouge)
**Thiounn Mumm
Thiounn Mumm (8 December 1925 – 22 March 2022) was a Khmer civil servant, who served as Minister under the Khmer Rouge. He was also the first Cambodian to attend the Ecole Polytechnique. While some considered him a "racist political dynast" ...
Footnotes
See also
* Cambodian Civil War
* Viet Minh
*Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979 ...
* Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea
Bibliography
*Milton Osborne, ''Sihanouk, Prince of Light, Prince of Darkness.'' Silkworm 1994
External links
Political programme of the National United Front of Kampuchea (NUFK) : (adopted unanimously by the Congress held in Peking on Sunday, May 3, 1970)
The Armed struggle and life of the Khmer people in the liberated areas in pictures.
{{DEFAULTSORT:National United Front Of Kampuchea
Defunct political parties in Cambodia
Factions of the Vietnam War
Guerrilla organizations
Khmer Rouge
Popular fronts of communist states
Rebel groups in Cambodia
Political parties established in 1970
Cambodian Civil War