Comments on post-1975 Kampuchea an assessment of internal development and external relations

Abstract

How to assess Post-1975 Kampuchea and its internal and external policies, how to analyse the cause for the profound tribulations to which its people are subjected, how to appraise the just struggle waged by this people today, and how to resolve the Kampuchean problem which has been a focus of world attention, these are the main issues which warrant discussion under the topic of ""Post-1975 Kampuchea-An Assessment of Internal Development and External Relations"". In his paper on Kampuhea, Mr. Heder, on the basis of a large collection of materials from various investigations, dealt with and drew correct conclusions on quite a number of problems. As Mr. Heder correctly pointed out, the Phnom Penh regime ""is held together only by the massive presence of Vietnamese 'experts' and troops""; ""if Vietnamese 'experts' and troops were withdrawn, their colonial regime would collapse""; because the presence of the Vietnamese symbolizes foreign domination, thus the number of Kampuchean people willing to cooperate with Vietnam is decreasing: "the colonial regime is clearly weakest at the village level". He further pointed out correctly that "the Vietnamese, from their point of view, will see the necessity of continued diredt colonial control of Kampuchea, no matter what happens elsewher in the world".