The French reestablished control over Cambodia in late 1945 but a new spirit of
independence posed a challenge to the French. Cambodia was granted autonomy
within the French Union on January 7, 1946. Although a Cambodian army was
created as a symbol of independence, the French retained control over public
order, foreign relations, and public services. France succeeded in maintaining
its control until 1953.
Although Prince [Norodom] Sihanouk owed his crown to the French, he was well
aware of the growing demand for independence and decided to pursue the route of
negotiation rather than armed conflict. As the opposition became more
impatient, Sihanouk dissolved the Assembly and declared martial law in 1952.
The next step in his campaign was to travel to France to demand independence
for Cambodia but he was ignored by the French. The French were preoccupied with
their war in Vietnam, a more valuable colony than Cambodia. To embarrass the
French, Sihanouk departed for voluntary exile in Bangkok and then Battambang,
proclaiming his refusal to return to his palace until Cambodia was independent.
The French conceded and Sihanouk returned home to an independent Cambodia. The
Geneva Peace Accords proclaimed that Cambodia would be guaranteed the right to
remain neutral and non-aligned. It also committed Cambodia to a constitutional
monarchy with elections open to
everyone.
Despite the growth of his popularity after achieving independence, Sihanouk was
apprehensive about his powers if the republican-minded Democratic Party, who
was determined to abolish the monarchy, won the next election. His strategy was
to abdicate the throne in favor of his father and to pursue his political
aspirations. Sihanouk announced that he would establish a truly democratic
party and end the rule of privilege. He formed a political movement called the
Sangkum Reastr Niyum (People's Socialist Community) and because of his
popularity, he had the support of the mass of the peasantry and several other
political parties who feared annihilation at the polls. In 1955, Prince
Sihanouk was elected premiere.
Over the next ten years, tension between Sihanouk and the United States
intensified as American armed forces in South Vietnam made sorties over the
Cambodian border and the U.S. attempted to shift Sihanouk's loyalty from
pro-communist neutrality to pro-American.
Sihanouk was not really interested in democracy and therefore he ignored the
Geneva accords by closing the opposition newspapers and harassing the
opposition leaders. His strong-arm tactics did not backfire because of a strong
political base among the peasantry.
The United States pressured Sihanouk to join the Southeast Asia Treaty
Organization (SEATO) which included the U.S., Britain, France, Pakistan,
Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand. Washington viewed SEATO as an
organization capable of containing China and protecting Southeast Asia from
Chinese domination. Sihanouk refused to recognize SEATO because of his policy
of pro-communist neutrality.
Other actions on the part of Sihanouk were cause for alarm to the Americans
such as his establishing relations with the Soviet Union and Poland, accepting
aid from China, and making overtures to North Vietnam. Although he seemed to be
courting relations with communist countries, he did not hesitate to criticize
them when Cambodia's neutrality was threatened.The United States employed two
strategies to pressure Sihanouk to move more into the American camp. One was
the use of aid and the other was to step up military activities along the
Thai-Cambodian and VietnameseCambodian borders.
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