Writing for Raksmey. A Story of Cambodia. Joan Healey. Monash University Press. (2016).
https://publishing.monash.edu/product/writing-for-raksmey/
There is also an audio podcast narration website.
Writing for Raksmey. Stories and Musings. Joan Healey.
https://joanhealywriting.com/writing-for-raksmey/
Cambodian king appoints Hun Sen’s son as new prime minister. (2023).
Without Naming Names. September 1, 2023 – Joan Healy
https://joanhealywriting.com/2023/09/01/without-naming-names/
‘Mafia state’: protesters rally against Cambodia PM Hun Sen’s visit to Australia. Naaman Zhou. Guardian. (March. 2018).
Cambodian scholarship students systematically recruited in Australia by CPP. by Eleanor Whitehead on PM. ABC Radio. September 10. 2018.
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/pm/cambodian-scholarship-students-recruited-in-australia-by-cpp/10224148https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/pm/cambodian-scholarship-students-recruited-in-australia-by-cpp/10224148
Cambodian regime figures splash millions on Melbourne properties as death threats escalate. ABC News. The World. Nino Bucci, ABC Investigations and Ted O’Connor, Asia Pacific Newsroom. October 25, 2018.
https://www.abc.net.auhttps://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-25/cambodian-pm-henchmen-splash-millions-on-melbourne-property/10355246/news/2018-10-25/cambodian-pm-henchmen-splash-millions-on-melbourne-property/10355246
Victorian MP Hong Lim warned he will be attacked if he returns to Cambodia. Melissa Davey. Guardian. (October. 2016).
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/oct/13/victorian-mp-hong-lim-warned-he-will-be-beaten-if-he-rehttps://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/oct/13/victorian-mp-hong-lim-warned-he-will-be-beaten-if-he-returns-to-cambodiaturns-to-cambodia
Among other articles which one may choose to look there is also a Wikipedia entry on Sam Bith who was the Khmer Rouge commander.
Champagne with Dictators. by Sophie McNeill has thus far been available to view online via the following link:
https://www.abc.net.auhttps://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-31/champagne-with-dictators/10053664/news/2018-07-31/champagne-with-dictators/10053664
THE STRAIT TIMES by Tam Yee Cambodian election: High turnout gives Hun Sen’s party the win, but spoilt votes signal discontent. (July 30. 2018).
https://www.sthttps://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/cambodia-election-high-turnout-gives-hun-sens-party-the-win-but-spoilt-votes-signalraitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/cambodia-election-high-turnout-gives-hun-sens-party-the-win-but-spoilt-votes-signal
‘I need my family.’: how a refugee held on Nauru is struggling to make a new life in Cambodia by Per Liljas. Guardian Australia (14/1/2018).
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/14/i-need-my-family-how-a-refugee-held-on-nauru-is-struggling-to-make-a-new-life-in-camhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/14/i-need-my-family-how-a-refugee-held-on-nauru-is-struggling-to-make-a-new-life-in-cambodiabodia
ABC News: Syrian refugee reunited with family in Cambodia after Nauru, Christmas Island detention. Erin Handley. 8/1/2019. ABC News Australia.
https://www.abchttps://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-08/syrian-refugee-reunited-with-family-in-cambodia/10688506.net.au/news/2019-01-08/syrian-refugee-reunited-with-family-in-cambodia/10688506
See Community groups in Cambodia say logging surged with approaching election by Mongabay. July 29. 2018.
https://nehttps://news.mongabay.com/2018/07/community-groups-in-cambodia-say-logging-has-surged-as-election-day-approached/ws.mongabay.com/2018/07/community-groups-in-cambodia-say-logging-has-surged-as-election-day-approached/
Cambodia adrift. Community Stories. Cambodians Speak of Threats, Intimidation During Election by Narin Sun and Thida Win / VOA Khmer / August 3, 2018.
Does Australia have the political will – or leverage – to support change in Cambodia? by Jean (Jonathan) Bogais. The Conversation. August 7, 2018.
https://theconversation.com/does-australia-have-the-political-will-or-leverage-to-support-change-in-cambodia-100829https://theconversation.com/does-australia-have-the-political-will-or-leverage-to-support-change-in-cambodia-100829
How Cambodia’s Prime Minister rigged an election. (August 14. 2018).
https://theconversation.com/how-cambodias-prime-minister-rigged-an-election-101511
Cambodia’s ruling party says it has won a landslide victory in elections. Reuters. (July 24. 2023).
https://www.reuthttps://www.reuters.com/world/us-pauses-some-aid-imposes-visa-bans-after-neither-free-nor-fair-cambodia-2023-07-24/ers.com/world/us-pauses-some-aid-imposes-visa-bans-after-neither-free-nor-fair-cambodia-2023-07-24/
Cambodian construction boom built on ‘blood bricks’ and slavery by Jared Ferrie. Reuters. October 15. 2018.
Cambodian constructihttps://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Cambodian+construction+boom+built+on+‘blood+bricks’+and+slavery+by+Jared+Ferrie.+Reuters.+October+15.+2018.&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8on boom built on ‘blood bricks’ and slavery by Jared Ferrie. Reuters. October 15. 2018.
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Internet References.
Matter of Fact. Stan Grant. ABC News. However, as a first literary ‘port of call’ I note a program whose availability to be viewed now online seems to be defunct at the moment and that was ABC News 24’s Matter of Fact which was hosted by Stan Grant. Although I can no longer check their veracity in some earlier notes I had written down that Stan Grant had spoken to two distinguished Cambodians who have opposed Hun Sen: Mu Sochua a feminist, activist and politician and Sawathey Ek a lawyer and activist. Stan Grant had also spoken to Gareth Evans who had apparently made the. point (from what I had previously written down) that whenever Hun Sen feels threatened he will resort to intimidate his opponents. Hun Sen also feels less inclined to bow to international pressure while he is gaining economic support from a new powerful benefactor: China.
It should be noted that Australia played an influential diplomatic role in the Cambodian peace process which Gareth Evans points out in the following link and although peace came about what did fail was to lead Cambodia onto a genuine democratic pathway.
Cambodia ‘a sad tale’ 30 years after signing peace agreement | The World. ABC News. Interview by Beverly O’Connor with Gareth Evans.
https://youtu.behttps://youtu.be/PRYUY4dJXJQ?si=Y7G7tIBlYWWj_UaN/PRYUY4dJXJQ?si=Y7G7tIBlYWWj_UaN
Gareth Evans on confronting Hun Sen. New Mandala. 11.March. 2018.
https://www.newmandala.org/gareth-evans-on-cambodia/
Another New Mandala link from the same time regarding Cambodia.
What should the region do about Cambodia’s crackdown? New Mandala. 13 March. 2018.
https://www.newmandala.org/cotb-regional-responses/
Elaine Pearson (along with Gareth Evans) is in the above panel discussion and here she is in the following link speaking about the human rights situation in Cambodia:
Human rights in Cambodia: A long history of abuse. Elaine Pearson. Australian Director of Human Rights Watch. Sydney Southeast Asia Centre. 18th October. 2019.
https://www.youtube.comhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzlTIifZ8QQ/watch?v=MzlTIifZ8QQ
While Mu Sochua has written in this article about Hu Manet who is taking over his father’s position as Cambodia’s Prime Minister.
The threat posed by Cambodia's new strongman. Mu Sochua. ASPIStrategist. (April. 2024).
https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-threat-posed-by-cambodias-new-strongman/
Another article about Hu Manet. (While other links on Hu Manet can be found in general links).
Cambodia’s new leader may sound like a reformer in Australia, but little has changed back home. The Conversation. February. 2024.
https://theconversation.com/camhttps://theconversation.com/cambodias-new-leader-may-sound-like-a-reformer-in-australia-next-week-but-little-has-changed-back-home-224726bodias-new-leader-may-sound-like-a-reformer-in-australia-next-week-but-little-has-changed-back-home-224726
In this link is an interview with Sebastian Strangio on Late Night Night Live a journalist who once an editor for the Phnom Penh Post and wrote Hun Sen’s Cambodia. (New Haven and London: Yale University Press. 2014).
A rumble for change in Cambodia. Late Night Live. ABC Radio National. 15 June. 2017.
https://www.abc.net.auhttps://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/latenightlive/what-next-for-hun-sen/8617666/listen/programs/latenightlive/what-next-for-hun-sen/8617666
In the following few links the controversial issue of genocide denialism in relating to Cambodia is raised.
THE KHMER ROUGE CANON 1975-1979: The Standard Total Academic View on Cambodia. Sophal Ear (1995). Department of Political Science University of California, Berkeley. (1995).
https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&typhttps://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=dc9876f874dc9bdddf203e0e2325f207e2a45633e=pdf&doi=dc9876f874dc9bdddf203e0e2325f207e2a45633
Khmer Rouge: Evolution of the Academic Debate. Breanna Atwood. (2010). Faculty of the History Department California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
hhttps://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=histspttps://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=histsp
Genocide and Noam Chomsky: Orientalist Anti-Imperialism in Public Intellectuals. Catherine May. DePaul University. Chicago. (2020).
Other critical points-of-view which one may also see as providing credence to remarks made, for instance, in the above paper. *
Chomsky’s America-Centric Prism Distorts Reality. Yassin al-Haj Saleh. New Lines Magazine. (2022).
https://newlinesmag.com/review/chomskys-america-centric-prism-distorts-reality/
Naming the Genocide Deniers. George Monbiot. (June. 2011).
https://www.monbiot.com/2011/06/13/naming-the-genocide-deniers/
See No Evil. George Monbiot. (May. 2012).
https://www.monbiot.com/2012/05/21/see-no-evil/
Correspondence with Noam Chomsky. George Monbiot. (May. 2012)
https://www.monbiot.com/2012/05/21/2181/
.......Genocide Denial: Expert Assessments. George Monbiot. (May 2012).
https://www.monbiot.com/2012/05/21/genocide-denial-expert-assessments/
The Politics of Denialism: the strange case of Rwanda-review of Herman and Peterson’s Politics of Genocide. Gerard Caplan. (June. 2010). LINKS. International Journal of Socialist Renewal. (2023)
Also the original paper of same title to be found via the following ‘france-genocide-tutsi link:
https://francegenocidetutsi.org/PoliticsOfDenialism17June2010.pdf
Is also this article which one may even choose to surmise takes on a more even-handed stance.
Chomsky and Genocide. Adam Jones. Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal: Vol. 14: Iss. 1: 76-104. " Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal: Vol. 14: Iss. 1: 76-104. (2020).
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/gsp/vol14/iss1/8/
One has also come across the following exhaustive internet archive via MEKONG. NET:
AVERAGING WRONG ANSWERS: NOAM CHOMSKY AND THE CAMBODIA CONTROVERSY. Sha Bruce Sharp.
https://www.mekong.net/cambodia/chomsky.htm
While there is the following Wikipedia article to simply peruse for a general overview:
Cambodian genocide denial. Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodian_genocide_denial
*(i) Apologies to anyone who are adamant that I should only reference links that directly relate to Cambodia. Yet, as George. Monbiot infers in one of the above articles it is bad enough that there is genocide denialism on the Right but it is perhaps more damning that there is also genocide denialism on the Left and I can only agree as certainly at the time I did go to Cambodia and then when afterwards I did some further reading of the mass inhumanity that occurred there naively did not expect that this could depressingly be the case. One reason for posting the various George Monbiot articles and the other article Politics of Denialism is that Edward S. Herman who is critiqued is also involved in controversy over the genocide in Cambodia.
(ii) As it is and perhaps to be deliberately general one may also be of the critical opinion that there can possibly exist an apparent ‘academic malevolence’ - no matter along what point of a seemingly evermore antiquated political spectrum it may ‘magically’ conjure itself up from - that does seemingly ‘righteously’ attempt to dogmatically occupy a moral high ground but – and despite the persuasive rhetorical propaganda that is emphatically employed - for there to truly only be the philosophical or political reality that such so called ‘intelligentsia’ is rather more so akin to be ideologically entrapped within the deepest recesses – ‘Tartarus like’ – of a comprehensive morally wrong underworld abyss.
As for the U.S. bombing of Cambodia it certainly was devastating and here are a few related articles: many more can be found online and elsewhere and it is encouraged to do further individual research beyond what is presented here (and on any particular topic).
1969-1974. Caught in the Crossfire. Frontline World. Operation Breakfast which began the secret U.S. bombing of Cambodia.
https://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/cambodia/tl02.html
Bombs Over Cambodia. Taylor Owen. Ben Kiernan. Yale University. (2006).
hthttps://gsp.yale.edu/sites/default/files/walrus_cambodiabombing_oct06.pdftps://gsp.yale.edu/sites/default/files/walrus_cambodiabombing_oct06.pdf
Henry Kissinger’s bombing campaign likely killed hundreds of thousands of Cambodians − and set path for the ravages of the Khmer Rouge. Sophal Ear. The Conversation. (November. 2023).
Henry Kissinger's Cambodia legacy of bombs and chaos. Ouch Sony & George Wright, BBC News, Phnom Penh and London. BBC. (December. 2023).
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-67582813
One has also learnt that the four students killed by the U.S. National Guard at Kent University were attending a rally that was in protest to President Nixon’s 1970n announcement of sending U.S. troops into Cambodia.
Kent State Shooting. History.
https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/kent-state-shooting
As to the Khmer Rouge induced genocide in Cambodia here are some randomly selected introductory links of which so many more can be found online and I’m sure there are also videos.
Cambodian Genocide. USC Shoah Foundation.
https://sfi.usc.edu/collections/cambodian-genocide
Khmer Rouge: Cambodia's years of brutality. BBC. (2018).
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-10684399
Pol Pot. History. (2009/2018).
https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/pol-pot
The Khmer Rouge and the Cambodian Genocide. Sean Bergin (A Google Books link).
https://books.google.com.au/books?id=WTGDDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA39&lpg=PA39&dq=cambodian+genocide&source=bl&ots=Y_KJT3e1ie&sig=ACfU3U2u82moyhWDE7k3VdUbAb4aMHuPAQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjp7avX7viFAxULmlYBHWcPCeA4KBDoAXoECAIQAw#v=onepage&q=cambodian%20genocide&f=false
Cambodian genocide. Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodian_genocide
Cambodian Genocide Program. Yale University.
https://gsp.yale.edu/case-studies/cambodian-genocide-program
War Closes In On Cambodia. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. One webpage which can lead onto others relating to Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge.
https://www.ushmm.org/genocide-prevention/countries/cambodia/war-closes-in
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KHMER VOICES: SURVIVING WITNESSES TO THE GENOCIDE.
A friend who visited Cambodia in April, 2024 purchased the following book after visiting Toul Sleng (S-21) which is a testimony of a survivor of this torture centre of whom my friend’s tour group met.
Bou Meng. A Survivor From Khmer Rouge Prison S-21. Justice for the Future Not Just Justice for the Victims. Huy Vannak. Foreword by Seth Mydang. Phnom Penh: Documentation Centre of Cambodia. (2010).
Khmer Rouge: I survived the ‘Killing Fields’. Sokphal Din. Witness History. BBC. July. 2019.
https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-48839738
Worms from Our Skin. Teeda Butt Man. (Chapter One. Children of Cambodia’s Killing Fields. Memoirs by Survivors. Compiled by Dith Pran. Yale University. 1997). New York Times archive.
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/p/pran-cambodia.html
Killing Fields of Cambodia – A Love Story In The Face of Death. J Almon Polk. (June. 2020) on the Experimental Traveller website.
https://www.experimentaltraveler.com/killing-fields-of-cambodia-a-love-story-in-the-face-of-death/
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China and Cambodia.
Reviewing China’s Elite-Centric Approach in its Relations with Cambodia. Chhay Lim. Yusof Ishak Institute. (2023).
https://www.iseas.edu.sg/articles-commentaries/iseas-perspective/2023-101-reviewing-chinas-elite-centric-approach-in-its-relations-with-cambodia-by-chhay-lim/
Cambodia and China shore up ties with new agreements. rfa Khmer. Radio Free Asia. (2023).*
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/bilateral-relations-02102023172640.html
Cambodian Perspective on the Belt and Road Initiative. Chapter One. Vannarith Chheang and Heng Pheakdey.
https://www.nids.mod.go.jp/english/publication/joint_research/series17/pdf/chapter01.pdf
Cambodia–China Relations: A Positive- Sum Game? Heng Pheakdey. Journal of Current South-East Asian Affairs. (2012).
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/186810341203100203
Why Cambodia is leaning towards China and not the US. Sokvy Rim. Think China. (May. 2022).
https://www.thinkchina.sg/politics/why-cambodia-leaning-towards-china-and-not-us
The Cambodian Regime Is a Key Element in China’s Regional Expansion Strategy. Mu Sochua & Jianli yang. The Diplomat. (October. 2023).
https://thediplomat.com/2023/10/the-cambodian-regime-is-a-key-element-in-chinas-regional-expansion-strategy/
Cambodia’s strategic positioning between the United States and China. Sovindo Po & Christopher Primiano. East Asia Forum. (January. 2024)
https://eastasiaforum.org/2024/01/27/cambodias-strategic-positioning-between-the-united-states-and-china/
China’s grip on Cambodia as strong as ever. Brice Pedroletti. Le Monde. (June. 2023).
Cambodia's Outreach to the West Does Not Change China's Centrality. Lye Laing Fook. FULCRUM. Analysis on South East Asia. (May. 2024).
https://fulcrum.sg/cambodias-outreach-to-the-west-does-not-change-chinas-centrality/
US monitoring reports of Chinese warships at Cambodian base. David Brunnstrom. Reuters. (December 2023)
*There are also a couple of other interesting articles by rfa that my laptop security software will not allow me to open but have accessed by way of my smartphone with no issue so I am not sure what is going on especially when I did a safe search and both articles came up with green ticks but still my security software blocked access. However, not being technical savvy I mention this issue but if interested the title of the two articles are: China-Cambodia Relations: A History Part One. Radio Free Asia & China-Cambodia Relations: A History Part Two. Radio Free Asia. (Yet there was no security issue with the above rfa article).
General links.
The King & Royal Family of Cambodia: A Comprehensive Guide. SIEMREAP.NET. (May. 2023).
https://www.siemreap.net/guides/cambodia/royal-family/
(It’s important to keep in mind the Monarchy in Cambodia and the role the former king Norodum Sihanouk played in modern day Cambodian history which the above article touches upon).
Khmer Rouge's Slaughter is Ruled a Genocide. Hannah Beech. NY Times. (November 2018).
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/15/world/asia/khmer-rouge-cambodia-genocide.htmlodia-genocide.html
As Cambodia’s economy grows, low-income residents left behind. PBS Hour. June 3. 2017.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/cambodias-economy-grows-low-income-residents-left-behind
Free Jailed Land Rights Activist. Second Anniversary of Tep Vanny’s Imprisonment. HRW. (2018).
https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/08/13/cambodia-free-jailed-land-rights-activist
Cambodian government critic flees after receiving threats. Peak Chan Thul. Reuters. (September. 2018).
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cambodia-politics-idUSKCN1LJ1NW/
Borei Keila residents awarded property titles. The Phnom Penh post. (February. 2023).
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/borei-keila-residents-awarded-property-titles
Angkor's traditional villages under threat. Brice Pedroletti Le Monde. (January. 2024).
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/archeology/article/2024/01/07/cambodia-traditional-villages-in-angkor-under-threat_6410967_173.html
The Indigenous World 2023: Cambodia. The Indigenous World. (March. 2023).
https://www.iwgia.org/en/cambodia/5113-iw-2023-cambodia.html
Activists say assault of Australian-Cambodian visiting homeland was politically motivated. Will Jackson. ABC. (April. 2024).
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-20/attack-on-cambodian-australian-visiting-cambodia/103740436
We Thought We Were Safe. Repression and Forced Return of Refugees in Thailand. Human Rights Watch. (May. 2024)
https://www.hrw.org/content/388041
James Ricketson: Cambodia, jail and being a 'spy'. Late Night Live. Radio National. (ABC. Australia. October 8. 2018).
James Ricketson: Australian filmmaker says he was held by Cambodian police for six days without charge. Matt Bloomberg. ABC News. (August. 2018).
Khmer Riche. How relatives and allies of Cambodia’s leader amassed wealth overseas. Claire Baldwin. Andrew RC Marshall. Nicosia, Cyprus/London. Reuters. (October. 2019).
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/cambodia-hunsen-wealth/
Cambodia's new Hun clan heir. Evidentcity. Link In. (October. 2023).
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/cambodias-new-hun-clan-heir-evidencity-inc-qfx0e
Who is Hun Manet? PM’s son anointed as Cambodia’s next leader. Rebecca Root. Guardian. (December. 2021).
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/29/who-is-hun-manet-pms-son-anointed-as-cambodias-next-leader
Hun Met’s Cambodia? Neil Loughlin.
https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/31679/1/Loughlin_HunManet'sCambodia.pdf
West Point trained the heir to Cambodia’s autocracy. Who is Hun Manet? Frances Vinali. Washington Pot. (July. 2023. Please note there will possibly be limited access to this article).
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/24/cambodia-hun-manet-sen-succession/
A Hereditary Dictatorship Looms on Cambodia’s Horizon. Steve Mollman. QUARTZ. (August. 2018).
https://qz.com/1349047/a-hereditary-dictatorship-looms-on-cambodias-horizon
Hun Sen’s youngest son named Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister. Mike Firn. Radio Free Asia (rfa. February. 2024).
.................Hun Manet: Cambodia’s rising son. Charles Dunst. East Asia Forum. (February. 2023).
https://eastasiaforum.org/2023/02/28/hun-manet-cambodias-rising-son/
A Discreet Start to A New Political Era in Cambodia. East Asia Forum.
https://eastasiaforum.org/2024/02/06/a-discreet-start-to-a-new-political-era-in-cambodia/
Cambodia’s democracy deficit. Australia’s role and responsibility. Gareth Evans & Gordon Conochie. The Interpreter. Lowy Institute. (August. 2023).
https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/cambodia-s-democracy-deficit-australia-s-role-responsibility
Opinion: We’re welcoming a ‘reformer’ PM but its his despot dad who calls the shots. Gareth Evans. Gordon Conochie. Sydney Morning Herald. (March. 2024).
https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/we-re-welcoming-a-reformer-pm-but-it-s-his-despot-dad-who-calls-the-shots-20240301-p5f94c.html
Cambodia authoritarianism. The Diplomat. A webpage which leads to several articles.
https://thediplomat.com/tag/cambodia-authoritarianism/
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ART REFERENCES
Dacchi Dang. The Boat. 26th October- 17th November. 2001. 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art.
https://4a.com.au/exhibitions/the-boat
Dacchi Dang: An Omen Near and Far. June 9 to July 30. 2017. A retrospective exhibition at the 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art.
https://4a.com.au/exhibitions/dacchi-dang-an-omen-near-and-far
Dacchi Dang. An overview of all his exhibitions under the auspices of 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art.
https://4a.com.au/creatives/dacchi-dang
Dacchi Dang website. (I would suggest examining his Portfolios webpage which does include a The Boat link).
https://www.dacchidang.com/about-me
Australian War Memorial Dacchi Dang article. (October. 2019).
https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/dacchi-dang-and-the-gillespie-bequest
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The Killing Fields. Roland Joffe. Official film trailer. (1984). Mention should be made of this film which cinematically brought the reality of the Khmer Rouge genocide to a wider global audience.
https://youtu.be/0Um2j1iEj1k?si=y62f832HzOSI1CZJ
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A Cambodian Spring. Documentary. Christopher Kelly. (2017). Three protesters are featured including housing activist Tep Venny and the other two against unjust property development is another housing activist Toul Frey Povand a Buddhist monk known as The Venerable Luon Sovath.
https://youtu.be/Ygrpw7ddlwk?si=fH4Hsti0KDS72oYM
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Sitthixay Ditthavong
This photographer whose work I came across in an annual Head On photo exhibition festival in Sydney has already been mentioned in the footnotes. However, I mention him again who has a photo series that documents unjustly displaced Phnom Penh people (as already stated). Sitthixay Ditthavong provides an excellent introductory overview on this webpage.
Sitthixay Ditthayong. BOREI KEILA
https://www.sitthixay.com/copy-of-news-sport-3
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All That Surrounds Us: New Art from Cambodia.
Several Cambodian artists that mainly look at the post-Khmer Rouge era. A 2023 exhibition that was held at the 16albermale project space gallery in Newtown. Sydney.
All That Surrounds Us: New Art from Cambodia
https://www.16albermarle.com/exhibitions/ex16-all-that-surrounds-us
It was at this exhibition that I learnt about the White Building (or Municipal Apartments) that has since been demolished in 2017 and there are a series of videos on the webpage in relation to this apartment complex that I highly recommend viewing.
WHITE BUILDING. Collections. Media. Themes. People.
http://www.whitebuilding.org/en/themes/history
On this website there is a large array of information including videos and randomly came across the following of these two sisters (one in contemporary dress the other traditional costume) performing in a complex space.
White Building. Sisters.
http://www.whitebuilding.org/en/film/white-building-–-sisters
The last days of Phnom Penh's iconic White Building. BBC. 24 July. 2017.
Two other online references to the White Building:
The last days of Phnom Penh's iconic White Building. BBC. 24 July. 2017.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40652014
The White Building; The Fall of an Icon. by Luciengrey. (August. 2017) in Phnom Penh Spotlight (May 3. 2024).
https://phnompenhspotlight.wordpress.com/2017/08/07/the-white-building-the-fall-of-an-icon/
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Angkor Wat.
Angkor Wat. Khan Academy.
Among the vast plethora of academic articles, online videos etc. in relation to the art of Angkor Wat this particular website seemed to be one that provided an accessible introductory overview.
Angkor Wat. Khan Academy
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/cambodia-art/a/angkor-wat
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H’mong Batik. A Textile Technique from Laos by Jane Mallinson. Nancy Donelly. Ly Hang. Silkworm Books. Chang Mai. Thailand. 1988.
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The Sorrow of War. Bao Ninh. (1991).
The Sorrow of War is a haunting meditation on the war in Vietnam which one feels can apply to the whole of war ravaged Indochina. I highly recommend this novel. I include an introductory Wikipedia article:
The Sorrow of War
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sorrow_of_War
In The Politics of Cruelty. An essay on the literature of political imprisonment. by Kate Millet. Penguin. (1994) one came across a reference of a 1979 UPI photograph of in a Thai camp of a boy crucified on a cross by the Khmer Rouge who are punishing him for stealing food. Here is one link to this image and with a full explanation:
https://cdm16630.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16630coll3/id/1001/
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U.S. Music
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CAMBODIA Archival Photos late December 1990 - early January 1991. (A week period).
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Three other photos. 1. Vientiane market. 2. Phnom Penh. 1996. 3. Khmer temple. Sydney
‘Luna Park.’ B&W. 8” X 6”. zinc plate. Bayon. (Ankor Wat). Cambodia.
This smiling Buddhist face is based on a stone carved image at the temple complex at Siem Reap known as ‘Bayon.’ These temples are in the same area as Ankor Wat - one of the marvels of Khmer architecture When I first saw this smiling Buddha I was immediately reminded of the smiling face of Luna Park and consequently on either side of the face are the towers which can be found on the facade of Luna Park. It was an extraordinary day for myself and for my travel friend Julia as we were in Cambodia in 1990 while the country was more-or-less still closed off to individual travel. A guide T.T. took us and two middle-aged Frenchmen on a tour of the whole Ankor Wat complex. We had flown in from Phnom Penh and would fly out four hours later as it was too dangerous to go overland or to stay. As we enjoyed our tourist day government troops were passing by in a truck convoy on a long winding dirt road going off to fight the Khmer Rouge. In the distance we could hear the rumblings of battle and the ground would shake from artillery fire. A sight that will stay with me forever is two very young soldiers with Kalashnikovs over their shoulders languidly walking beside two Buddhist monks in orange garb walking through the Khmer ruins - as a shortcut to their village - all sharing a cigarette. At lunch one of the Frenchmen explained to us how he had come back to visit Cambodia as he had been there before as the child of a French diplomat father. He explained that on his first visit to Ankor Wat the jungle had fully surrounded it; when we were there it still had a very remote out of the way feel to it. As for T.T. he worked as a guide in the day and the work was good for improving his English and to supplement his meagre income. At night T.T. said he was often a guard helping to stop Khmer Rouge incursions into the local town Siem Reap. I shall also never forget the $US100 Admission Price for our visit to Ankor Wat which also included a lunch at a nearby government restaurant. There was also a $1 photo charge. We had to tip T.T. when we realised that he was going to see very little of the admission money.
Holiday in Cambodia. Dead Kennedys. (1980).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ub4E2RHwc30
(Please note there are many various versions of this song on the internet).
Lola Rennt (Run Lola Run) - Introduction Theme to the movie.
Internet Archive.
https://archive.org/details/the-gulf-war-did-not-take-place-by-jean-baudrillard/page/n9/mode/2up
Wikipedia article.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gulhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gulf_War_Did_Not_Take_Placef_War_Did_Not_Take_Place
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Children of Men. Alfonso Cuaron.(2006).
There is also mention of Children of Men thus the two following links:
Alfonso Cuaron - Did Children of Men Predict Populism Today? Screenwriters Guild lecture. BAFTA.
https://youtu.be/dh1EGsetbJE?si=SN4MO2oSfjVhekGB
https://youtu.be/2VT2apoX90o?i=
The Afghan Files.
The Afghan Files. Defence leak exposes deadly secrets of Australia’s special forces. ABC National
Reporting Team. Dan Oakes. Sam Clark. July. 2017.
as well as Dark day for democracy as military whistleblower David Mcbrideimprisoned. Human Rights Law centre. May 14. 2024. https://www.hrlc.org.au/news/2024/05/14/mcbride-prosecuted ).
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-11/killings-of-unarmed-afghans-by-australian-special-forces/8466642
Dark day for democracy as military whistleblower David Mcbride imprisoned. Human Rights Law Centre. May 14. 2024. https://www.hrlc.org.au/news/2024/05/14/mcbride-prosecuted
Opinion: Labor’s persistent refusal to fix the Jobseeker payment is shameful. Ross Gittens. Sydney Morning Herald. May 13. 2024.
Documentary Watchers Of The Sky (directed by Edet Belzberg. 2014) about the lawyer Raphael Lemkin who came up with the word genocide and to bring about the Genocide Convention.
A Wikipedia article: Watchers of the Sky. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watchers_of_the_Sky__________________________________________________________________________ Daniel Ortega's Nicaragua in his second Presidency.
Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua’s Nov. 6 Election, and the Betrayal of a Revolution by Dan la Botz New Politics. (October 17, 2016).
Genocides In History. Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocides_in_history
Genocides. Wiener Holocaust Library.
https://wienerholocaustlibrary.org/what-we-do/learn/subject-guides/genocides/
Deaths Inside. Indigenous Australian Deaths in Custody. Database. Guardian. (2021).
This Guardian article by Lorena Allem We Should All be Furious. Aboriginal people make up record 31% of prison population in NSW (May. 2024) certainly backs up the claim of high indigenous incarceration rates.
The story of David Dungay and an Indigenous death in custody. Helen Davidson. Guardian. (June. 2020).
Tanya Day died 17 days after falling asleep on a train. Now her family want answers. Calla Wahlquist. Guardian. (August. 2019).
Lastly, there is an Australian Government real time dashboard on the internet that was initiated in 2023 and provides an up-to-date account of deaths in custody (both indigenous and non-indigenous).
Deaths in Custody in Australia. (Australian Government).
https://www.aic.gov.au/statistics/deaths-custody-australia
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Several somewhat arbitrary selected Cambodia excerpts from the novella size travel memoir.
Holiday in Cambodia
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phonm penh, december, 1990
From the sixth floor of the Hotel Sokhali we had a grand view of Phnom Penh. We could see the hills beyond the outside of the city. We looked down onto a shanty house on the roof of the building opposite us. A lone girl, perhaps only four years old, was brushing her teeth. I shut the windows. This cuts out the noise. I walked out onto our small balcony. I was immediately reminded that the Sokhali was on a T-intersection. I looked over at the local cinema which was on the other side of the main road facing the front of the hotel. Large billboards of beautiful Indian women and macho guys adorned the front of the building. Cinema crowds continually swirled in and out of the large entrance from which came sounds that ranged from mystical rhythms to cowboy music. On either side of the cinema were flats and units filled with families. Underneath the units were shops which sold household goods, cigarettes, jewellery, food, bottled water, Russian vodka and where black-market money was also displayed behind counter windows. There were barbers, hairdressers, bakeries, stalls, cafes with televisions, restaurants and photography places with the latest Fuji technology. The one constant sound throughout the length and breadth of Phnom Penh was the blare of horns. These came from the many motor scooters and few cars which raced up an down the main road outside the Sokhali. Mingled in between these vehicles were hundreds of bicycles and cyclos, carrying goods as well as passengers, which were invariably always ringing their bells. N.G.O four wheel drives would wound their way through this traffic. I saw a tourist bus which was to me like a bubble protecting its occupants from the filth and noise of the city. Near dusk the dirt of the city would swirl up and cover everybody as the traffic became heavier and thousands of people left their daily chores to go home. Along the pavements would be children playing games which included French skipping, plastic sword fights, hoola hoops, cards and throwing whirling things into the air. Some children along with a few women would beg. One -legged soldiers could also be seen limping along the walkways or trying to rush across the roads. The cyclos, when stationary, would gather outside the Sokhali and other hotels. Many people would always be walking about and at the intersections were guard posts manned by traffic police. A lone green figure on top of a stand would direct the traffic to stop and go from the centre of these crossroads. The bicycles and cyclos would strain in neat lines waiting for the hand signal which would allow them to move on. Women wearing Peruvian style hats would cling to their husbands on the back of motor scooters. I saw a truck filled with large blocks of ice. One cyclo had his seat stacked with line after line of Coke bottles in crates. The driver could just peer over them to see where he was going. I saw before me people who were simply getting on with their lives. I had concluded that humanity is the same everywhere. I had concluded that here I Phnom Penh there was the constant spectre that these people were hostages to the machinations of international politics. I considered how there was an underlying sense of fatalism in the scenes before me. I realised these people were not in control of their futures. There was a possibility of a return to power by the Khmer Rouge. Thus I looked at a society which hovered on the fringe of a new hell. Any lingering sense of hope could easily be extinguished in such a foreboding climate. I could faintly comprehend the intrusive influence of the United States of America on the course of this country‟s history. I could see a comparism with the hard expressions I saw on some people‟s faces during the day with similar expressions I had seen on other people‟s faces in other countries such as Guatemala. Such people were puppets. (I contrasted Cambodia‟s plight with the positive scenes I had witnessed in Nicaragua. This other third world society had organised itself into popular organizations from the grassroots up to created their democracy. Until their spirits were worn down by the long drawn out contra war the Nicaraguans had maintained control of their future course). I could easily imagine a curtain of strings, as dense as the seasonal rains, stretching to the sky over Phnom Penh. The warm air of the hot day shrouded each person as the elongated shadows of the sinking sun connected together to bring in the night. There were no street lights. Light would come from the shops. Light would come from the heads of passing vehicles. The noise permeated on, indifferent to whether the world was light or dark. People‟s conversations cluttered the night sounds.
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the killing fields
A man took me on the back of his scooter to the killing fields. This particular day they were officially closed, however, he knew the local guards. For a small amount of money they undid the lock to the swinging gate. I saw the patchwork of group graves on the bushy plain where hundreds of people had been buried. I gazed at the skulls of fifteen year old children which were encased in a high glass tower of skulls built in memory to the deaths of „75 to‟78.I read on an outside notice foreigners were also killed. I saw a photograph of a young bearded man from the N.S.W. south coast. Yet, I had expected to see the gravesites of many thousands. I saw before me the evidence of an amoral universe. Here, in this land of secrets, where there had been secret bombings and a secret genocide. I was uncertain of the truth of the deaths at my feet. I have no reason not to believe the skeletons in the earth below me were placed there by the Khmer Rouge. However, it has been said amongst the million people killed in the Democratic Kampuchea many had died from unavoidable starvation. It is said tribal groups, which were only within a minimal sphere of influence of the Khmer Rouge leadership, had committed their own revengeful massacres. It has been said lives were saved by the Khmer Rouge by forcing the population to leave the cities to work the rice fields. It has been said the genocide figures in the Democratic Kampuchea were exaggerated by the Americans as evidence to justify their own bloody incursion against communism in Indochina. I feel the present government would use these deaths to justify a prolonged hold on power. Thus, the memory of this genocide is used to the advantage of the main power players. I wonder if only the people who lived through this suffering care what happened? However, I do believe the Khmer Rouge are murderers. However, I do believe the American bombing was murderous. I turn to the man who brought me here and tell him I find it hard to believe his fellow Khmers could be so cruel. He agrees.
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on the road to bayon
During the morning drive to Bayon I had also been struck by the sight of a large army truck. The vehicle was overflowing with government soldiers which also had a heavy machine-gun nestled on top of the cabin. It was a classic image which reminded me we were experiencing a pleasant tourist day in a war zone. Those men could have been going to their deaths but such a thought, in the relative comfort of our spacious van, seemed too unreal to take seriously.
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