Ros Chantrabot is a Khmer

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

and member of the

Royal Academy of Cambodia The Royal Academy of Cambodia (RAC; km, រាជបណ្ឌិត្យសភាកម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; french: Académie royale du Cambodge) is the national academy and university of Cambodia. RAC was originally established b ...

Biography

Education and early career as a journalist in the turmoil of the Khmer Civil War

Ros Chantrabot was born on September 1, 1945 in Phnom Penh, under the French protectorate of Cambodia. Very early, he discovered a passion for writing and he composed poems on a daily basis. Along with other Khmer authors of his period such as

Soth Polin Soth Polin ( km, សុទ្ធ ប៉ូលីន) is a famous Cambodian writer. He was born in the hamlet of Chroy Thmar, Kampong Siem District, Kampong Cham Province, Cambodia. His maternal great-grandfather was the poet Nou Kan (who wrote ...

, Ros Chantrabot was influenced in his writing style by French writer

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and lit ...

and the philosophy of

existentialism Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...

. He began his career in journalism as the owner and editor-in-chief of Khmer language newspaper ''Ponleu Angkor'' (1967). From 1968 to 1970, he was the editor of the French state-run newspaper ''Le Courier Phnom-Penhois''. In 1970, he received a License es Lettre with an option in French philosophy from the University of Phnom Penh. As a friend of

Lon Non Lon Non ( km, លន់ ណុន; 18 April 1930(?) – 17 April 1975) was a Cambodian politician and soldier who rose to his greatest prominence during the Khmer Republic (1970–1975). Non was the younger brother of Prime Minister (and lat ...

whose secret anti-

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

meetings he had joined in 1968, Ros Chantrabot supported the Khmer Republic when it tipped over the monarchy in 1970 as well as its anti-Vietnamese policies. He rejected the claim that this coup was the work of the United States of America, and explained that its main protagonist were Lon Non and

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 ...

. In 1971, he was elected as a member of the committee drafting of the Constitution of the Khmer Republic, before moving to France in 1973 to flee from the corruption of the Khmer government officials and to study at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

and the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE). In 1978, he eventually obtained his Doctorate in Political Science, International Relations - Political Geography on Southeast Asia and Khmer History.

Research on Khmer history during his exile in France

He worked as an associate researcher at the Center national de Recherche Scientifique in Paris until he could return to Cambodia after the monarchy was restored in 1992.

Restoring an intellectual elite in Cambodia

From 2001 to 2006, he was President of the Institute of Humanities and Sociology at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. From 2005 to 2009, he was Vice President of the

. Ros Chantrabot is also a personal Adviser to

Hun Sen Hun Sen (; km, ហ៊ុន សែន, ; born 5 August 1952) is a Cambodian politician and former military commander who has served as the prime minister of Cambodia since 1985. He is the longest-serving head of government of Cambodia, and ...

, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia with the rank of Senior Minister.

Private life

Ros Chantrabot is married and has three children.

Contribution

Politics: a certain view of Cambodia

Ros Chantrabot is a privileged witness of the disrupted history of Cambodia since the 1960s, having been close to King Sihanouk, Lon Non and currently Hun Sen. He wrote a history of the Khmer Republic in which he blamed the failure of republican politics on the petty motivations and rivalries of Cambodian politicians. Obviously traumatized by the sight of his country after the destruction inflicted by four years of Khmer Rouge tyranny and over a decade of Vietnamese occupation, Ros Chantrabot had a very depressed vision of Cambodia in the early 1990s, which was widely shared with other survivors of this violent regimes. As he returned to Cambodia in 1992, he expressed a certain

scepticism Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the p ...

for the future of democracy in Cambodia. Ros Chantrabot nevertheless defended a patriotic love for Cambodia, which he defined according to the traditional definition of the Khmer Empire as "any parcel of land on which a palm-tree grows", and contributed to shaping the popular image of the Kingdom of Cambodia promoted by Hun Sen. For that reason, in 2007, he opposed the filming of a Thai movie production in Preah Vihear. He joined the effort to rebuild an intelligentsia in Cambodia joining the Royal Academy of Cambodia as a pro-government historian. He has criticized the proliferations of low-quality institutions and diplomas in what he referred to as the “PhD nation”.

Historiography: rediscovering the figure of Sdach Korn

Ros Chantrabot has edited and published Cambodian Royal Chronicles helping to renew the study of Khmer

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...

by integrating folklore and official narratives with

Khmer inscriptions Khmer inscriptions are a corpus of post-5th century historical texts engraved on materials such as stone and metal ware found in a wide range of mainland Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Laos) and relating to the Khmer civilization. ...

. One such figure is Ta Di, a post-Angkorian military commander, whose legend is close to that of ''

neak ta A neak ta () is a Cambodian ancestral or tutelary deity, believed locally to watch over people, places, and things, as long as they are paid proper respect. ''Neak ta'' in Khmer translates as the ancestor. A ''neak ta'' can be either feminine o ...

Khleang Moeung Ta Pech, Khleang Moeung or Sena Moeung, or ''Ghlāṃṅ Mīoeṅ'' is a mythical-historical sixteenth century military leader in Cambodia, and a guardian spirit ''neak ta'' whose field of action extends to the entire west of Tonle Sap Lake. Et ...

, and who was immortalised in the form of a statue in Preah Vihear province with the assent of Ros Chantrabot. He has also actively promoted the figure of

Sdach Korn Sdach Korn (), also known as Srei Chettha II (, ), or Srei Chetha Thireach Reameathiptei (, ), was the King of Cambodia from 1512 to 1525. Korn dethroned the king and attempted to establish a new dynasty. Though little is known about his life as ...

in Khmer history. Since a visit to Srei Santhor in 2001 with Alain Forest, his research, encouraged by Prime Minister Hun Sen who financed and prefaced his book, has resulted in the publication a new biography of the legendary regicide king of Cambodia.

Publications

Publications in Khmer language

* ''ម្ចាស់ប្តីដួងចិត្តអូន ប្រលោមលោក'', ភ្នំពេញ, ១៩៦៥ * ''កម្រងទស្សនវិជ្ជាភាគ ១-១០ បណ្ណាល័យមហាជន'', ភ្នំពេញ, ១៩៦៩-១៩៧១ * ''ប្រវត្តិទស្សវិជ្ជាភាគ ១-៣ បណ្ណាល័យមហាជន'', ភ្នំពេញ, ១៩៧០ * ''អាម៉ុក ឬជនវិកលនៅម៉ាឡេស៊ី'' (Amok ou le fou de Malaisie), ភ្នំពេញ, ១៩៧១ ចុះផ្សាយប្រចាំថ្ងៃក្នុងសារព័ត៌មាន ‘មហាជន’ * ''សូក្រាត'' (Socrate) បណ្ណាល័យមហាជន, ភ្នំពេញ, ១៩៧១ * ''អំពីសេ្នហា'' (De I’Amour) ការសាកល្បង ផ្នែកសង្គមសាស្ត្រ បណ្ណាល័យ មហាជន, ភ្នំពេញ, ១៩៧១ * ''វិបត្តិអំណាច'' (La crise du pouvoir) ផ្នែកនយោបាយ បណ្ណាល័យមហាជន, ភ្នំពេញ, ១៩៧២ * ''ប្រវត្តិសាស្ត្រខ្មែរ ភាគទី១ តាមរឿងព្រេងនិទាន និងសិលាចារិក'' (Histoire du Cambodge), Paris, ១៩៩៨ * ''ប្រាសាទព្រះខ័នកំពង់ស្វាយ, ការសិក្សាស្រាវជ្រាវប្រវត្តិសាស្ត្រ'', ភ្នំពេញ, ២០០៦ * ''ព្រះស្តេចកន ការផ្សាយរបស់អ្នកនិពន្ធ,'' ភ្នំពេញ, ២០០៦ * ''ប្រាសាទព្រះវិហារ អតីតកាលរុងរឿង មោទនភាពជាតិខ្មែរ'' ការផ្សាយរបស់អ្នកនិពន្ធ, ភ្នំពេញ, ២០០៨ * ''ដំណើរស្វែងរកសន្តិភាពនៅកម្ពុជា'' ការផ្សាយរបស់អ្នកនិពន្ធ, ភ្នំពេញ, ២០១៣ * ''ដំណើរស្វែងរកសន្តិភាពនៅកម្ពុជា,'' ភ្នំពេញ, ២០១៦ * ''សាធារណរដ្ឋខ្មែរ'', CamEd Business School, ភ្នំពេញ, ២០១៧ * ''លេខ៥ក្នុងមនោគមន៍វិជ្ជាខ្មែរ'', ភ្នំពេញ, ២០១៧

Publications in English and French language

* ''Les Forces Armées Nationales Khmères (FANK)'', mémoire de L’EPHE-Sorbonne VIe section, inédit, Paris, 1973. * ''La République Khmère et l’Asie du Sud-Est'' (après son écroulement), Thèse de Doctorat de I’EHESS, inédit, Paris, 1978. * * ''Histoire du Cambodge : partie légendaire et lapidaire''. L'Harmattan.

ISBN The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier that is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency. An ISBN is assigned to each separate edition an ...

2-7384-7131-5. OCLC 468853832 * ''Cambodge, la répétition de l’Histoire'' (de 1991 aux élections de juillet 1998), You Féng, Paris, 2000. * ''The Khmer Republic,'' CamEd Business School, Phnom Penh, 2017

References

External links

Biography of Ros Chantrabot on the official website of the Royal Academy of Cambodia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ros, Chantrabot Cambodian writers People from Phnom Penh 20th-century Cambodian writers 21st-century Cambodian writers Cambodian male writers Living people 1945 births