Y Bham Enuol (Y Bhăm Êñuôl; Y Bham for short; 1913–20 April 1975) was a Rhade civil servant and a prominent figure during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. Y Bham Enuol was born in Buôn Ma Thuột, Đắk Lắk Province in 1913. On May 1, 1958, he established BAJARAKA, an organization seeking autonomy for minorities in the Central Highlands. BAJARAKA was the predecessor of the

United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races The United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races (FULRO; french: Front unifié de lutte des races opprimées, vi, Mặt trận Thống nhất Đấu tranh của các Sắc tộc bị Áp bức) was an organization whose objective was auton ...

(FULRO), which played an important role during the Vietnam War. Y Bham was selected president of FULRO. On 20 September 1964, Y Bham was arrested and deported to

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 ...

. Later, he lived in

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 ...

. When the

Communist Party of Kampuchea The Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK),, Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: , Romanization of Khmer#ALA-LC Romanization Tables, ALA-LC: ; french: Parti communiste du Kampuchea also known as the Khmer Communist Party,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. ...

) seized Phnom Penh on 17 April 1975, Y Bham and other FULRO leaders living in Phnom Penh sought refuge in the French Embassy. On 20 April they were all taken out and executed. However, members of FULRO did not know of his death until, after seventeen years American journalist

Nate Thayer Nate Thayer (born April 21, 1960) is an American freelance journalist, whose journalism has focused on international organized crime, narcotics trafficking, human rights, and areas of military conflict. He is notable for having interviewed Pol ...

informed the group that Y Bham had been executed.Nate Thayer, "Forgotten Army: The Rebels Time Forgot," ''Far Eastern Economic Review,'' Sept 10, 1992, pp. 16–22.

References

{{reflist 1913 births 1975 deaths People from Đắk Lắk Province Rade people People of the Vietnam War People executed by the Khmer Rouge