CAMBODIA
RESTRICTED ACCESS NATION

The Kingdom of Cambodia, formerly known as Kampuchea, is a country in Southeast Asia with a population of over 13 million people. Phnom Penh is the capital city. Cambodia is the successor state of the once powerful Hindu and Buddhist Khmer Empire, which ruled most of the Indochinese Peninsula between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries. The country borders Thailand to its west and northwest, Laos to its northeast, and Vietnam to its east and southeast. In the south it faces the Gulf of Thailand.

Cambodia's main industries are garments and tourism. In 2006, foreign visitors had surpassed the 1.7 million mark. In 2005, oil and natural gas deposits were found beneath Cambodia's territorial water, and once commercial extraction begins in 2009 or early 2010, the oil revenues could profoundly affect Cambodia's economy.

HISTORY:

The first advanced civilizations in present-day Cambodia appeared in the 1st millennium AD. During the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries, the Indianite states of Funan and Chenla coalesced in what is now present-day Cambodia and southwestern Vietnam. Their collapse was followed by the rise of the Khmer Empire, a civilization which flourished in the area from the 9th century to the 15th century.

In the mid 15th century, the Khmer Empire began to lose territory to Thai invaders, and during the next three centuries would be alternated as a vassal state of the Thai and Vietnamese kings, with short-lived periods of relative independence between.

Cambodia became a protectorate of France in 1863 and continued as such until 1953. After war-time occupation by the Japanese empire from 1941 to 1945, Cambodia gained independence from France on November 9, 1953. It became a constitutional monarchy under King Norodom Sihanouk.

The Vietnam War in the 1970s would lead to US attacks on Cambodian soil and an eventual, yet short lived, US occupation. The Khmer Rouge regime reached Phnom Penh and took power in 1975, changing the official name of the country to Democratic Kampuchea, led by Pol Pot. Estimates vary as to how many people were killed by the Khmer Rouge regime, ranging from approximately one to three million. Hundreds of thousands more fled across the border into neighboring Thailand.

In November 1978, Vietnam invaded Cambodia to stop Khmer Rouge incursions across the border and the genocide of Vietnamese in Cambodia. Violent occupation and warfare between the Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge holdouts continued throughout the 1980s. Peace efforts began in Paris in 1989, culminating two years later in October 1991 in a comprehensive peace settlement. The United Nations was given a mandate to enforce a ceasefire, and deal with refugees and disarmament.

After the brutality of the 1970s and the 1980s, and the destruction of the cultural, economic, social and political life of Cambodia, it is only in recent years that reconstruction efforts have begun and some political stability has finally returned to Cambodia. The stability established following the conflict was shaken in 1997 during a military coup, but has otherwise remained in place. Cambodia has been aided by a number of more developed nations like Japan, France, Canada, Australia and the United States, primarily economically. Money raised in schools and community groups in these countries has gone towards the rebuilding of infrastructure and housing.

RELIGION:

The majority of Cambodians are Buddhist (roughly 95%), but there are a handful of people belonging to other faiths. Cambodia is a restricted access nation, meaning that missionaries are not welcomed and are often persecuted for their beliefs. Missionaries to Camodia and their ministries must maintain a certain level of secrecy in order to be effective.