Space Program of Cambodia

------The Cambodian Space Agency------

Level = 0                                         Development: Very Low

  

Country Overview

What has been going on in Cambodia?

 

 

Space Agency and its Activity

What kind of space power do they have?

 

 

Weapons and Power Projection

Does Cambodia have space weapons?

 

 

Timeline and the Future

What are they planning over there?

 

Population: 14,500,000 / Language: Khmer / GDP: $2000 / Cities: Phnom Penh

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OVERVIEW

 

 

   

   The fate of Cambodia shocked the world when the radical communist Khmer Rouge under

their leader Pol Pot seized power in 1975 after years of guerrilla warfare.

 

The Khmer Rouge immediately abolished money and private property, and ordered city dwellers into the countryside to cultivate the fields.

 An estimated 1.7 million Cambodians perished during the next three years - many died from exhaustion or starvation, others were systematically tortured and executed for being "enemies of the state".

 Only now is Cambodia beginning to put the mechanism in place to bring those responsible for the "killing fields" to justice. Cambodia and the UN have agreed to set up a tribunal to try the surviving leaders of the genocide years.

 Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world and it relies heavily on aid. Foreign donors have urged the government to clamp down on rampant corruption.

Subsistence farming employs 70% of the workforce, with the Mekong River providing fertile, irrigated fields for rice production.

 Tourism is important to the economy. The imposing temple complex at Angkor, built between the ninth and 13th centuries by Khmer kings, is a UN heritage site and a big draw for visitors.

 Well over half of Cambodia is forested, but illegal logging is robbing the country of millions of dollars of badly-needed revenue. The environment is also suffering, with topsoil erosion and flooding becoming prevalent.

 The spread of Aids is another threat; however, public health campaigns have reduced the rate of infection.

  Full name: Kingdom of Cambodia

 Head of state: King Norodom Sihamoni

The son of former king Norodom Sihanouk, King Sihamoni was sworn in as monarch on 29 October 2004. The former king had abdicated because of poor health.

Cambodia's kings once enjoyed a semi-divine status; today, the monarch's role is mainly ceremonial.

Prime minister: Hun Sen

Hun Sen, one of the world's longest-serving prime ministers, has been in power in various coalitions since 1985.

He was re-elected by parliament in July 2004 after nearly a year of political stalemate. His Cambodian People's Party (CPP) won general elections in 2003, but without enough seats for it to rule alone.

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 Cambodia's Space Infrastructure

 

Cambodia is troubled by the ongoing insurgency throughout the country against the occupation of it by American forces. Its space program is not suprisingly, nonexistent. Not only does it not have an agency, but also not much of an infrastructure in which one would arise. The Royal University of Phnom Penh offers a degree in engineering but nothing specific to space related educational architecture, such as astrophysics, astronomy, astronautics or aeronautics. It focuses mostly on agriculture in this rural, mountainous country. The government has no ministry devoted to science of this type.

Cambodia has no history of being part of any organization dealing with space, nor has launch capability.

Cambodia lacks the industrial base, the educational base and the political foundation for a process like this to occur within it. It has no functioning university with an astrophysics or astronautics program, and marginal industry.

Cambodia operates no satellites and, not having an orbital presence, has no space power.

The government of Cambodia in in Phnom Penh has no plans for attempting to further any ambition in space development or research, but may once things stabilize, if they ever do.

 

 

 

 

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WEAPONS AND POWER

 

 

 

 None

 

 

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Timeline of Events in Cambodia

...From the Past to the Future

 

 

 1863 - Cambodia becomes a protectorate of France. French colonial rule lasts for 90 years.

1941 - Prince Norodom Sihanouk becomes king. Cambodia is occupied by Japan during World War II.

1945 - The Japanese occupation ends.

1946 - France re-imposes its protectorate. A new constitution permits Cambodians to form political parties. Communist guerrillas begin an armed campaign against the French.

Independence

1953 - Cambodia wins its independence from France. Under King Sihanouk, it becomes the Kingdom of Cambodia.

1955 - Sihanouk abdicates to pursue a political career. His father becomes king and Sihanouk becomes prime minister.

1960 - Sihanouk's father dies. Sihanouk becomes head of state.

1965 - Sihanouk breaks off relations with the US and allows North Vietnamese guerrillas to set up bases in Cambodia in pursuance of their campaign against the US-backed government in South Vietnam.

1969 - The US begins a secret bombing campaign against North Vietnamese forces on Cambodian soil.

1970 - Sihanouk is deposed in a coup while abroad. The prime minister, General Lon Nol, assumes power. He proclaims the Khmer Republic and sends the army to fight the North Vietnamese in Cambodia. Sihanouk - in exile in China - forms a guerrilla movement.

Early 1970s - Cambodian army faces two enemies: the North Vietnamese and communist Khmer Rouge guerriillas. Gradually, the army loses territory.

 

Cambodia Year Zero

1975 - Lon Nol is overthrown as the Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot occupy Phnom Penh. Sihanouk briefly becomes head of state, the country is re-named Kampuchea.

All urban dwellers are forcibly evacuated to the countryside to become agricultural workers. Money becomes worthless, basic freedoms are curtailed and religion is banned. The Khmer Rouge coin the phrase "Year Zero".

Hundreds of thousands of the educated middle-classes are tortured and executed in special centres. Others starve, or die from disease or exhaustion. The total death toll during the next three years is estimated to be at least 1.7 million.

1976 - The country is re-named Democratic Kampuchea. Sihanouk resigns, Khieu Samphan becomes head of state, Pol Pot is prime minister.

1977 - Fighting breaks out with Vietnam.

1978 - Vietnamese forces invade in a lightning assault.

Angkor Wat, thought to be the world's largest religious structure 2006: Cambodia temple 'faces collapse'

1979 January - The Vietnamese take Phnom Penh. Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge forces flee to the border region with Thailand. The People's Republic of Kampuchea is established. Many elements of life before the Khmer Rouge take-over are re-established.

1981 - The pro-Vietnamese Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party wins the elections to the National Assembly. The international community refuses to recognise the new government. The government-in-exile, which includes the Khmer Rouge and Sihanouk, retains its seat at the United Nations.

1985 - Hun Sen becomes prime minister. Cambodia is plagued by guerrilla warfare. Hundreds of thousands become refugees.

1989 - Vietnamese troops withdraw. Hun Sen tries to attract foreign investment by abandoning socialism. The country is re-named the State of Cambodia. Buddhism is re-established as the state religion.

 

An uneasy peace

1991 - A peace agreement is signed in Paris. A UN transitional authority shares power temporarily with representatives of the various factions in Cambodia. Sihanouk becomes head of state.

1993 - General election sees the royalist Funcinpec party win the most seats followed by Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP). A three-party coalition is formed with Funcinpec's Prince Norodom Ranariddh as prime minister and Hun Sen as deputy prime minister. The monarchy is restored, Sihanouk becomes king again. The country is re-named the Kingdom of Cambodia. The government-in-exile loses its seat at the UN.

1994 - Thousands of Khmer Rouge guerrillas surrender in government amnesty.

1996 - Deputy leader of Khmer Rouge Ieng Sary forms a new party and is granted amnesty by Sihanouk.

Coup

1997 - Hun Sen stages a coup against the prime minister, Prince Ranariddh, and replaces him with Ung Huot. The coup attracts international condemnation and Cambodia's membership of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is delayed. The Khmer Rouge put Pol Pot on trial and sentence him to life imprisonment. Pol Pot is filmed and interviewed by a western journalist.

1998 - Ranariddh is tried in his absence and found guilty of arms smuggling, but is then pardoned by the king. Pol Pot dies in his jungle hideout. Elections in July are won by Hun Sen's CPP, amid allegations of harassment. A coalition is formed between the CPP and Funcinpec. Hun Sen becomes prime minister, Ranariddh is president of the National Assembly.

2001 - Senate approves a law to create a tribunal to bring genocide charges against Khmer Rouge leaders.

2001 June - International donors, encouraged by Cambodia's reform efforts, pledge $560 million in aid at a donor conference in Tokyo.

2001 June - Five Cambodians, three of them US citizens, are sentenced to life for involvement in armed attack by US-based Cambodian Freedom Fighters (CFF) on government buildings in Phnom Penh in 2000. CFF says it will continue campaign to overthrow Prime Minister Hun Sen.

2001 December - First bridge across the Mekong River opens, linking the east and west of the country. The 1.36km bridge cost $56 million.

2003: THAI TENSIONS
Resentments over the Angkor temples spilled over into violence

2002 February - First multi-party local elections; ruling Cambodian People's Party wins in all but 23 out of 1,620 communes.

2002 May - Prince Norodom Chakrapong sets up his own Norodom Chakrapong Khmer Soul Party; his half-brother Prince Norodom Ranariddh heads the Funcinpec party, part of the ruling coalition.

 

2003 January - Serious diplomatic upset with Thailand over comments attributed to a Thai TV star that the Angkor Wat temple complex was stolen from Thailand. Angry crowds attack the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh. More than 500 Thai nationals are evacuated by military aircraft.

2003 July - Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party wins general elections but fails to secure sufficient majority to govern alone.

Hun Sen re-elected

2004 July - After nearly a year of political deadlock, Prime Minister Hun Sen is re-elected after his ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) strikes a deal with the royalist Funcinpec party.

2004 August - Parliament ratifies kingdom's entry into World Trade Organisation (WTO).

2004 October - King Sihanouk abdicates and is succeeded by his son Norodom Sihamoni.
2005 February - Opposition leader Sam Rainsy leaves Cambodia after parliament strips him of his immunity from prosecution, leaving him open to defamation charges brought by the ruling coalition.

2005 April - Tribunal to try surviving Khmer Rouge leaders gets green light from UN after years of debate about funding.

2005 October - Prime minister signs a controversial border agreement with Vietnam. Legal action is taken against some critics of the deal, prompting international concern.

2005 December - Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, in exile in France, is convicted by a Cambodian court of defaming PM Hun Sen and is sentenced to nine months in prison.

2006 February - Sam Rainsy receives a royal pardon and comes home after a year in exile.

2006 May - Parliament votes to abolish prison terms for defamation. The legislation had been used to jail some government critics.

2006 July - Ta Mok, one of the top leaders of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, dies aged 80.

2006 October - Royalist Funcinpec party, a junior partner in the ruling coalition, drops Prince Norodom Ranariddh as its leader.

TODAY AND INTO THE FUTURE

 

 

Nothing Planned

 

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