The following lists events that happened during
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
in
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...
.
Incumbents
*
Monarch
A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power i ...
:
** until 1 April:
Lon Nol
Marshal Lon Nol ( km, លន់ នល់, also ; 13 November 1913 – 17 November 1985) was a Cambodian politician and general who served as Prime Minister of Cambodia twice (1966–67; 1969–71), as well as serving repeatedly as defence min ...
** 1 April-12 April:
Saukam Khoy
** 12 April-17 April:
Sak Sutsakhan
General Sak Sutsakhan ( km, សក់ ស៊ុតសាខន; 8 February 1928Some sources give 2 August. – 29 April 1994) was a Cambodian politician and soldier who had a long career in the country's politics. He was the last Head of State of ...
** starting 17 April:
Norodom Sihanouk
*
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
:
Long Boret (until 17 April),
Penn Nouth
Penn Nouth ( km, ប៉ែន នុត; 15 April 1908 – 18 May 1985) was a Cambodian politician. He served in the French colonial administration, then took active part in Cambodian politics, was several times Prime Minister of Cambodia (19 ...
(starting 17 April)
Events
April
* April 1 -
Neak Leung
Neak Loeung (also romanized as ''Nak Loeung'', km, អ្នកលឿង) is a busy commercial town in Prey Veng Province, Cambodia. Located on the Mekong and astride National Highway number 1, it is the commune centre for Neak Leung commune an ...
fell to
Khmer Rouge insurgency, cutting off a critical supply line to the Cambodian capital of
Phnom Penh. President
Lon Nol
Marshal Lon Nol ( km, លន់ នល់, also ; 13 November 1913 – 17 November 1985) was a Cambodian politician and general who served as Prime Minister of Cambodia twice (1966–67; 1969–71), as well as serving repeatedly as defence min ...
left that nation forever, eventually settling in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
. Senate President
Saukam Khoy took over from Lon Nol as
President of Cambodia, serving until April 12, when he was able to escape the approaching Khmer Rouge on the same helicopter as the American ambassador.
* April 7 - Prime Minister
Long Boret met with representatives of the Khmer Rouge while in
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
,
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
. He returned to Cambodia the next day, refused to leave when officials were offered a chance to escape, and was executed nine days later by the new regime.
* April 12 -
The United States closed its embassy in Cambodia, and began the evacuation of all American citizens. American military helicopters and 180 U.S. Marines arrived at Phnom Penh, from the aircraft carriers USS ''Okinawa'' and USS ''Hancock'', which were in the
Gulf of Thailand. There was no interference from the Khmer Rouge during the rescue.
* April 17 - Following several weeks of successful fighting, the
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
of
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...
surrendered at 7:00 in the morning to the
Khmer Rouge guerillas when they captured
Phnom Penh. That evening, sound trucks operated by the new regime began warning Phnom Penh residents of an imminent bombing attack and directing them to flee the city into the countryside.
* April 18 -
Hang Thun Hak
Hang Thun Hak ( km, ហង្ស ធុនហាក់; 2 August 1926 – 18 April 1975) was a Cambodian radical politician, academic and playwright.
Life
Hak studied theatre in Paris, where he became associated with the group of radical student ...
was executed by the Khmer Rouge government.
* April 19 - Two days after the fall of
Phnom Penh, the new Khmer Rouge regime announced that all former government employees, including soldiers, military officers, and policemen, would be required to register with the new local authorities. Those who complied with the order were told that they would be sent for "reeducation" at a camp in
Battambang
Battambang ( km, បាត់ដំបង, UNGEGN: ) is the capital of Battambang Province and the third largest city in Cambodia.
Founded in the 11th century by the Khmer Empire, Battambang is the leading rice-producing province of the coun ...
on April 28.
[Howard J. De Nike, et al., eds., ''Genocide in Cambodia: Documents from the Trial of Pol Pot and Ieng Sary'' (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000) pp426-428] This would be the start of the
Cambodian genocide.
* April 21 -
Sisowath Sirik Matak
Sisowath Sirik Matak ( km, ស៊ីសុវត្ថិ សិរិមតៈ; 22 January 191421 April 1975) was a Cambodian politician and member of the Cambodian royal family, under the House of Sisowath.
Sirik Matak was mainly notable for h ...
was executed by the Khmer Rouge after choosing to remain in Cambodia rather than to evacuate.
* April 23 -
Pol Pot, the rarely seen Khmer Rouge commander-in-chief and new leader of Cambodia, arrived at Phnom Penh to begin his revolutionary plans to build
Democratic Kampuchea
Kampuchea ( km, កម្ពុជា ), officially known as Democratic Kampuchea (DK; km, កម្ពុជាប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ ) from 5 January 1976, was a one-party totalitarian state which encompassed modern-day Camb ...
.
May
* May 4 - Weeks after taking control of Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge began a fight against the new Communist regime in
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, seizing control of
South Vietnam's
Phú Quốc
Phú Quốc () is the largest island in Vietnam. Phú Quốc and nearby islands, along with the distant Thổ Chu Islands, are part of Kiên Giang Province as Phú Quốc City, the island has a total area of and a permanent population of appr ...
Island and making the first attacks in what would lead to the
Cambodian–Vietnamese War
The Cambodian–Vietnamese War ( km, សង្គ្រាមកម្ពុជា-វៀតណាម, vi, Chiến tranh Campuchia–Việt Nam), known in Vietnam as the Counter-offensive on the Southwestern border ( vi, Chiến dịch Phản ...
.
[
Kin Wah Chin, ''Defence Spending in Southeast Asia'' (Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1987) p296]
* May 8 - The last known foreigners remaining in Cambodia, about 550 occupants of the French Embassy in
Phnom Penh, crossed over the border into Thailand three weeks after Cambodia's fall to Communist guerillas. Transported by a convoy of cars and trucks, and escorted by soldiers of the Khmer Rouge, the group that walked over into
Aranyaprathet
Aranyaprathet (Thai: อรัญประเทศ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in Sa Kaeo province in eastern Thailand . It covers the entire ''tambon'' of Aranyaprathet, in Aranyaprathet district. As of 2005, the town has 16,937 inhabitant ...
consisted of 230 French citizens and about 300 Khmer Muslims, but no Cambodian holders of French passports.
* May 12 - At 2:10 pm local time (3:10 am in Washington DC), the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
merchant ship
SS ''Mayaguez'' was
stopped in international waters by the P-128, a Cambodian gunboat manned by Khmer Rouge forces. Ten minutes later, P-128 fired machine guns across the bow as a warning, and at 2:35, a group of seven Khmer soldiers boarded the ''Mayaguez'', commandeering the ship and taking its 39 crew captive.
[James E. Wise, Jr. and Scott Baron, ''The 14-Hour War: Valor on Koh Tang and the Recapture of the SS Mayaguez'' (Naval Institute Press, 2011) pp3-5]
* May 15 - The American merchant ship ''Mayaguez'', seized three days earlier by Cambodian forces, was rescued after the U.S. Marines landed on Kohn Tang Island, where the 45 crewmen had been held captive. Another contingent of Marines had boarded the ''Mayaguez'' and found it deserted, while the 130-man force sent to the island fought in combat against the Khmer Rouge. Under the white flag of surrender, a Cambodian vessel brought 30 Americans to the destroyer USS ''Wilson''. Thirty-eight U.S. Marines were killed in America's last battle in Indochina. The American assault force that landed on Koh Tang expected only 20 Khmer Rouge defenders, and encountered 150. A Khmer rocket brought down "Knife 31", a U.S. Sikorsky HH-53 helicopter, and 18 of the 231 Americans were unaccounted for when the attack force withdrew. It would later be revealed that three of the Marines (Joseph N. Hargrove, Gary L. Hall, and Danny G. Marshall) and two Navy medics (Bernard Guase and Ronald Manning) may have been alive when they were left behind on the island.
"Missing in Action"
by Ralph Wetterhahn, ''Popular Science'' Magazine (August 1998)
Deaths
* April 18 - Hang Thun Hak
Hang Thun Hak ( km, ហង្ស ធុនហាក់; 2 August 1926 – 18 April 1975) was a Cambodian radical politician, academic and playwright.
Life
Hak studied theatre in Paris, where he became associated with the group of radical student ...
, former Prime Minister of Cambodia
* April 21 - Sisowath Sirik Matak
Sisowath Sirik Matak ( km, ស៊ីសុវត្ថិ សិរិមតៈ; 22 January 191421 April 1975) was a Cambodian politician and member of the Cambodian royal family, under the House of Sisowath.
Sirik Matak was mainly notable for h ...
, former Prime Minister of Cambodia
References
{{Year in Asia, 1975
1970s in Cambodia
Years of the 20th century in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...