Am Rong (1929 – May 1975)Corfield, J and Summers, L. ''Historical dictionary of Cambodia'', Scarecrow Press, 2003, p.9 was a

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 Thailand t ...

n soldier and filmmaker, who acted as a spokesman on military matters for the

Khmer Republic The Khmer Republic ( km, សាធារណរដ្ឋខ្មែរ, ; french: République khmère) was a pro-United States military-led republican government of Cambodia that was formally declared on 9 October 1970. The Khmer Republic wa ...

during the Cambodian Civil War. Western journalists commented on the irony of his name as he gave briefings which "painted a rosy picture of the increasingly desperate situation on the ground" during the war.

Career

Rong was born 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 ...

to a farming family, and was initially educated at the Royal School of Administration. He joined the Cambodian army in 1953 and served as a paratrooper from 1956.Corfield and Summers, p.9

Henry Kamm Henry Kamm (born June 3, 1925, in Breslau, Germany (now Wroclaw, Poland)) was a correspondent for ''The New York Times''. He reported for the ''Times'' from Southeast Asia (based in Bangkok), Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In 1969, Kamm wo ...

, characterised Rong as "affable and intelligent". He studied film in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

at the IDHEC, the French state film school from 1962 to 1964.Kamm, H. ''Cambodia: Report from a stricken land'', Arcade, 1998, p.61 Given that Cambodia's then-ruler Prince

Norodom Sihanouk Norodom Sihanouk (; km, នរោត្តម សីហនុ, ; 31 October 192215 October 2012) was a Cambodian statesman, Sangkum and FUNCINPEC politician, Norodom Sihanouk filmography, film director, and composer who led Cambodia in vari ...

had considered himself the premier filmmaker of the country and did not appreciate rivals, Rong found himself commissioned major, and the army "created a film unit consisting of one lonely major, who had little to do".Kamm, p.62 He was later given the job of giving official war briefings to foreign journalists. By the end of the war, he had been promoted to general, and a subordinate had been made information minister.Kamm, p.62 Am Rong was killed by the

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...

at some point after the fall of

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...

in April, 1975.Cambodian Genocide Program page on Am Rong
/ref>

Films

Am Rong completed a number of short documentary films during his career. At least one, ''The Independence of Cambodia'', is held by

Rithy Panh Rithy Panh ( km, ប៉ាន់ រិទ្ធី; born April 18, 1964) is a Cambodian documentary film director and screenwriter. The French-schooled director's films focus on the aftermath of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. R ...

's Bophana Audiovisual Center.

References

Sources

*Elizabeth Becker ''When the War Was Over: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Revolution'' (Revised edition, 1998) Cambodian propagandists Cambodian anti-communists 1975 deaths People executed by the Khmer Rouge Executed Cambodian people 1929 births Cambodian film directors {{cambodia-film-director-stub