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Removal of Pen Sovann

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Removal of Pen Sovann
Lê Đức Thọ
Lê Đức Anh
Say Phouthang
Hun Sen
Three images and one burst of the people involved in Pen Sovann's removal
Date2 December 1981; 44 years ago (1981-12-02)
Time17:45/05:45 p.m (UTC+07:00)
Location
Cause
Motive
Perpetrators
Organized by
Participants
  • Policemen of the A-21 Police Unit
  • Circa. 900 soldiers of the PAVN
Outcome
Arrests Pen Sovann

On 2 December 1981, the Co-De Facto Leader, Prime Minister and General Secretary of the KPRP Pen Sovann was removed from his office or title as co-de facto leader and, three days later, from his prime minister and general secretary positions.[1]

Background

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From the beginning of the People's Republic of Kampuchea, Pen Sovann was the co-de facto leader with Heng Samrin. Pen Sovann, who was in the beginning pro-Vietnam[2] became more critical of the Vietnamese occupation of Kampuchean and started a campaign against the occupation.[3][4] Pen Sovann tried to resist the influence of Vietnam,[5] he made it clear that he wanted the People's Army of Vietnam out of Kampuchea[6][7][8][9][10] and he planned the creation of a army of five regiments, the Vietnamese leadership opposed it and Lê Đức Thọ went to the Soviet Union,[11] where he complained about Pen Sovann.[12] Further the Vietnamese were against the "overfriendly" relations of Pen Sovann and other politicians with the USSR, Vietnam, didn't wanted a decline in the "special relationship" to Kampuchea with is also important for the security of Vietnam.[13] Another factor of the removal of Sovann, was the tensions between Sovann and Lê Đức Thọ, that rose after Lê Đức Thọ interfered in the internal policies of Cambodia, while it was agreed that he wouldn't intervene,[14] that Sovann's military authority was ignored by Lê Đức Anh, also wasn't in the likeing of Pen Sovann.[15]

Besides Vietnam's opposition to Pen Sovann, even internal in the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party, members like Say Phouthang and Hun Sen opposed him.[16][17]

Removal

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On the recommendation of both Lê Đức Thọ and Lê Đức Anh, the Politburo in Hanoi accepted an ‘appeal’ from several members of the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party to remove Pen Sovann from his offices he held.[18] At 17:45 (05:45 p.m) on 2 December 1981, Say Phouthang and Hun Sen led the A-21 Police Unit and circa. 900 soldiers of the People's Army of Vietnam, they surrounded the house of Pen Sovann with twelve tanks and arrested him.[19][20]

Aftermath

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With Pen Sovann, imprisoned Say Phouthang was seen as the new co-de facto leader.[26] Even while arrested Pen Sovann still hold the offices of prime minister and general secretary of the KPRP until 5 December 1981. On 5 December, co-l'de facto leader Heng Samrin became the new general secretary of the KPRP, while Chan Sy became acting prime minister on the same day. As the reason for the new officeholders, the government announced that Sovann's health had declined.[27][28] Later the government said that Pen Sovann lived in Hanoi, after a drug overdose.[29]

During this time, Sovann was imprisoned in the Hà Ðông prison near Hanoi; he remained there until 1988. Afterwards, he was kept under house arrest until 1992, when he was allowed to return to Cambodia.[30]

In July 2002, Pen Sovann gave an interview in which he also discussed his arrest. Pen Sovann named three reasons wjy why he was arrested, which were, as he said, free markets, discrimination and nationalism against Vietnamese who lived in Cambodia and that he didn't respect the orders given by Vietnam. He said that the first accusation came from Lê Đức Thọ and that Phan Dinh Vinh said to him that he would remain in prison until his death. Further, Sovann claimed that Hun Sen was pressured by Vietnam to appoint him as Deputy Prime Minister; he also said that Ngo Dean was the advisor of Hun Sen. Sovann was also the one who claimed that Hun Sen was involved in his removal; this is, however, disputed.[31][32]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "Cambodia 1988". Michael Vickery.
  2. ↑ "Post-Khmer Rouge PM Dies". Khmer Times. 31 October 2016.
  3. ↑ "Ex-Prime Minister Pen Sovann dies at 80". Phnom Penh Post. 31 October 2016.
  4. ↑ "Former PM who led Cambodia after Khmer Rouge dies". Anadolu Ajansı. 30 October 2016.
  5. ↑ "Hundreds Bid Farewell to Pen Sovann at Cremation Ceremony". Cambodia Daily. 7 November 2016.
  6. ↑ "Cambodia's first post-Khmer Rouge prime minister dies at 80". AP News. 30 October 2016.
  7. ↑ "Pen Sovann,80, Cambodias first Prime Minister after Khmer Rouge". Boston Globe. 4 November 2016.
  8. ↑ "Pen Sovann, Cambodia's First Prime Minister After Khmer Rouge, Dies at 80". New York Post. 30 October 2016.
  9. ↑ "Cambodia's 1st post-Khmer Rouge premier dies at 80". Fox News. 30 October 2016.
  10. ↑ "Cambodia's 1st post-Khmer Rouge PM dies". SBS news. 30 October 2016.
  11. ↑ "Cambodian Political History: The Case of Pen Sovann". Monthly Review. November 2013.
  12. ↑ Quoted by Margaret Slocomb in The People's Republic of Kampuchea, 1979-1989: The revolution after Pol Pot ISBN 978-974-9575-34-5
  13. ↑ "Vietnam-Soviet alliance: close but uneasy". The Christian Science Monitor. 3 March 1982.
  14. ↑ "Cambodian Political History: The Case of Pen Sovann". Monthly Review. November 2013.
  15. ↑ "Ex-Prime Minister Pen Sovann dies at 80". Phnom Penh Post. 31 October 2016.
  16. ↑ "Ex-Prime Minister Pen Sovann dies at 80". Phnom Penh Post. 31 October 2016.
  17. ↑ "Cambodia's first post-Khmer Rouge prime minister dies at 80". AP News. 30 October 2016.
  18. ↑ "Ex-Prime Minister Pen Sovann dies at 80". Phnom Penh Post. 31 October 2016.
  19. ↑ "Pen Sovann – former revolutionary and Prime Minister". Phnom Penh Post. 19 July 2002.
  20. ↑ "Ex-Prime Minister Pen Sovann dies at 80". Phnom Penh Post. 31 October 2016.
  21. ↑ Jeerawat, Na Thaland (2016-06-26). "Tearful farewell for the Thai-bornkingmaker who crowned Hun Sen". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  22. ↑ "Cambodia After the Khmer Rouge Inside the Politics of Nation Building". Evan Gottesman. 2004.
  23. ↑ "Cambodia After the Khmer Rouge Inside the Politics of Nation Building" (PDF). Evan Gottesman. 2003.
  24. ↑ "CPP 'main hero' Say Pouthang dies aged 96". Phnom Penh Post. 14 June 2016.
  25. ↑ "Book Examines the Effort to Rebuild Cambodia in the 1980s". Evan Gottesman. 5 April 2003.
  26. ↑ [21][22][23][24][25]
  27. ↑ "Around the World; Heng Samrin Is Named Cambodian Party Leader". The New York Times. 6 December 1981 – via NYTimes.com.
  28. ↑ "Chan Sy Is Confirmed As Cambodia Premier". New York Times. 11 February 1982.
  29. ↑ "DIGGING STOPS AND THE HEALING STARTS IN CAMBODIA; The Talk of Phnom Penh". New York Times. 7 May 1983.
  30. ↑ "Cambodian Political History: The Case of Pen Sovann". Monthly Review. November 2013.
  31. ↑ "Pen Sovann – former revolutionary and Prime Minister". Phnom Penh Post. 19 July 2002.
  32. ↑ "Ex-Prime Minister Pen Sovann dies at 80". Phnom Penh Post. 31 October 2016.
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