The Embattled Prince

Cambodia's tubby Prince Norodom Sihanouk was like a man trapped in a revolving door. At the Viet Nam border there was the U.S.'s 1st Air Cavalry, threatening to pursue the enemy across the Cambodian frontier (see South Viet Nam). To the west, Sihanouk's troops were trading sporadic fire with Thailand. And within the Prince's own uneasy kingdom, there was steadily mounting opposition to his erratic and autocratic rule.

A Friendly Undertaker. All the pressures share a common source: Sihanouk's swing toward Red China. Having severed diplomatic ties with South Viet Nam, Thailand and the U.S., the Prince has gradually become more and more dependent on the Red Chinese, who are playing the role of the friendly undertaker. Eventually they hope to bury Sihanouk. Meanwhile, they can afford to help him, equipping 20,000 members of the Cambodian infantry, also promising some antiaircraft guns, patrol boats and planes. Americans at the border? Let them come, Sihanouk blusters.

"We will repulse each attack," he promises, "and hit back blow for blow. China, we know, will not hesitate to give us all the material aid we need."

Many of his fellow Cambodians, however, are setting fed up. With the cutoff of $10 million a year in U.S. military aid 13 months ago, Sihanouk's army has missed several paydays. Merchants are stewing over a downturn of business. Students and teachers grump about graft and corruption in government. And powerful Buddhists complain about Sihanouk's insistence that Buddhism is a socialist religion, implying that Buddhists can coexist with Communism.

As the opposition grows, so too does an anti-Communist group that calls itself the Khmer Serei, or Free Cambodian Movement. Led by former Cambodian Premier Son Ngoc Thanh, the Khmer Serei claims that it has 10,000 troops sprinkled throughout the steaming Cambodian jungles and the Dangrek Range, with a main force at Stung Treng near southern Laos (see map). On New Year's Eve the group's Radio Free Cambodia declared war on Sihanouk "to free Cambodia from his suicidal policies"; a few hours later Khmer Serei groups raided four Cambodian military forts, capturing some Chinese arms and killing 28 of Sihanouk's men. In another reported attack, 200 rebels stormed a government outpost, left eight dead and nine wounded.

No Mercy. Blaming the raids on both ex-Premier Thanh and Thailand, Sihanouk jailed scores of the ex-Premier's known friends and supporters and opened up with mortars and machine guns on the small Thai frontier village of Haadlek. "We have been armed, morally and militarily," Sihanouk warned, "to confront at all times and victoriously the attacks from these despicable mercenaries. We will show no mercy." Thailand denied the attacks, calling Cambodia's own action an attempt to "provoke us into an unwise incident. We will not be drawn into any foolish move."

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