History & Cambodia: Thirty-three years after the signing of the Paris Peace Accords

Wednesday 23 October 2024 marks the 33rd anniversary of the historic agreement that brought an end to the hostilities that had plagued the country since the 1970s.

Signing of the Paris Peace Accords

In a message posted on his social networks, Prime Minister Hun Manet wrote that two great statesmen, Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk and Samdech Techo Hun Sen, had led Cambodia towards national unification and reconciliation in the spirit of ‘one Cambodia, one cause’, which was an opportunity and an important foundation for the nation's reconstruction and development.

End of the civil war

The agreements aimed to put an end to the civil war between the State of Cambodia on the one hand and a coalition of Khmer Rouge (Democratic Kampuchea), FUNCINPEC (Royalist) and FNLPK (Republican) forces on the other.

The agreements set in motion a transition process supported by the United Nations, which was to lead the country towards a multi-party democracy in 1992, with the first elections to be supervised by the UN. The agreements were intended to pave the way for a Cambodian constitution that would protect citizens' fundamental rights and strengthen political inclusion.

The agreements were signed in the French capital, at the International Conference Centre on Avenue Kléber. They were chaired by France and Indonesia and led to Cambodia being placed under UN trusteeship until elections could be held and a constitution adopted. The documents were initialled by representatives of the United Nations and 18 countries.

Signing of the Paris Peace Accords

Limits

While the agreements undoubtedly made it possible to put an end to several decades of civil war and to disarm the country, they were later widely questioned as to their effectiveness. The many hitches in post-agreement history show that, despite the success of the free elections in 1993, the various political factions found it difficult either to live together or to honour their commitments.

The first hitch occurred in November 1991 when, in accordance with the agreements, the Khmer Rouge leaders Khieu Samphân and Son Sen went to Phnom Penh to open a branch of the Khmer Rouge movement. They narrowly escaped being lynched by a furious mob. Their inglorious escape under police protection made headlines in the Western media.

Shortly afterwards, the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) led by Hun Sen contested the results of the 1993 elections and negotiations began with Prince Sihanouk and the royalist FUNCINPEC party. A political compromise was reached with the creation of two posts of Prime Minister and ministerial portfolios divided equally between the two main parties.

Initially, the cohabitation seemed to go relatively smoothly, but several Khmer Rouge leaders decided to negotiate their allegiance to one of the two ruling parties, at the risk of upsetting the existing fragile balance. The dispute degenerated into armed conflict in 1997 and ended with the ousting of the royalist leader, Prince Norodom Ranariddh.

Criticisms and responses

Today, more than three decades after the signing, critics of the ruling party argue that any progress made in protecting human rights and political participation has faded with Cambodia's transition to a de facto one-party state.

The advocacy group ADHOC said in 2020 that there was a serious deterioration in human rights protections in the country, a central principle of the Paris Peace Agreement. Local rights group Licadho joined the protest, citing several arrests of trade unionists and rights defenders. The organisation described these actions as ‘an attempt to suppress voices critical of the government's response to the pandemic and its economic impact’.

Chin Malin, who was spokesman for the Ministry of Justice at the time, defended the government's actions at the symbolic 30th anniversary and strongly criticised Cambodians with ‘political intentions’, accusing the judicial system of corruption.

The CPP spokesman at the time, Sok Eysan, said that every Cambodian benefited from the protection and peace guaranteed by the agreement and that any law enforcement action was directed against enemies of the state who were trying to destroy the fundamental principles of the agreement:

“For the protection of the Paris Peace Accords, the government has taken measures to curb all hostile activities, which would undermine the spirit of this agreement.”

Members of the opposition in exile regularly use this anniversary to protest against the partnership with China, with more specific allegations of a Chinese military presence in the kingdom.

In 2023, exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy spoke out on the anniversary, publicly declaring during a march in the French capital: ‘The Paris Peace Agreement is still relevant, all signatories must respect this agreement of 23 October 1991. It is an international treaty based on law that aims to guarantee true peace in Cambodia, so that the Khmer people can enjoy freedom and justice within the framework of a regime that adheres to true democracy’.

Paternity of peace

On 23 October 1991, the four main Cambodian parties signed the peace agreement in Paris, in the presence of representatives from 18 countries, to put an end to the civil war in Cambodia’, wrote Samdech Techo Hun Sen in a message on social networks. However, the former head of the royal government was keen to reiterate his role in the negotiations that led to the peace agreements:

“Despite the Paris Peace Agreement of 23 October 1991, Cambodia continued to face civil war provoked by the Democratic Kampuchea group, But the win-win policy launched in Pailin put an end to the civil war in 1998, and since then the whole of Cambodia has known peace...”

The Secretary of State at the Ministry of Information, H.E. Chea Chanboribo, shared this view of this historic event:

‘“in order to value 23 October 1991, it is important for the Cambodian people to understand from which point the realities of the journey towards achieving this agreement began’. The historical facts show that the Paris Peace Agreement of 23 October 1991 was the result of Samdech Techo Hun Sen's initiative in 1985 with talks between Norodom Sihanouk and himself to end the armed conflict between the Khmers and the Khmers,” he said.

As a result, he added, negotiations between H.E. Hun Sen and former king Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk took place twice, first on 2 December 1987 and then in January 1988.

“Consequently, we can conclude that without these two negotiations between H.E. Hun Sen and H.R.H. Norodom Sihanouk, there would have been no Paris Peace Agreement of 23 October 1991.”

Thirtieth anniversary

At the time of the 30th anniversary of these agreements, when the country seemed more preoccupied with the health crisis and the resumption of economic activities, the feeling towards this commemoration seemed to have changed little.

In a message to Agence Kampuchéa Presse, the government recalled that:

“Cambodian leaders are aware of the importance of the Paris Peace Agreement of 23 October and call for an end to political manipulation of these agreements and acceptance of reality in a collective effort for the development of Cambodia”.

The former Minister of Information, H.E. Khieu Kanharith, who also attended the agreement process, strongly emphasised that the claim that the Royal Government took the agreements for granted was disinformation:

“The Royal Government deeply cherishes the agreements insofar as it has incorporated their spirit into the Constitution and has continued to strengthen the country's democracy on the basis of these agreements.”

The Ministry of Information believes that instead of misleading the public, some politicians should seize the opportunity of 23 October to acknowledge the key players who made many sacrifices for the peace agreements, including former Prime Minister Hun Sen and the late King Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk.

Today

Government spokesman Pen Bona recalls that the Paris Peace Accords led to general elections in 1993 and the establishment of a constitution for Cambodia under the aegis of UNTAC, but that ‘these agreements did not bring complete peace to Cambodia because of the Khmer Rouge movement, and it was not until 1998 that the country achieved lasting peace thanks to the “win-win” government policy initiated by Mr Hun Sen.

October 23 was listed as a public holiday in 2012 after the death of King Father Norodom Sihanouk on October 15 that year, but in 2020 it was removed from the list in order to reduce the number of public holidays.

Notes and illustrations: VOA Khmer & AKP