MONATIO, short for Mouvement National (English: "National Movement") was a short-lived, supposedly nationalist, political faction in Cambodia. The exact nature of the group is still obscure. On April 17, 1975, as the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh, this group took out a motor-cavalcade on the streets of the capital welcoming the arrival of the Khmer Rouge.[1]
| Mouvement National | |
|---|---|
| MONATIO | |
 Flag used by MONATIO | |
| Dates of operation | 17 April 1975 |
| Ideology | Khmer nationalism |
| Opponents | Khmer Rouge |
| Battles and wars | Fall of Phnom Penh |
The group consisted of a handful of soldiers, dressed in black uniforms, accompanied by a number of students. MONATIO was led by Hem Keth Dara and the whole group in turn manipulated by Lon Non, brother of Lon Nol.[1][2]
Initially tolerated by the Khmer Rouge, MONATIO members were later rounded up and executed.[2][3] The Khmer Rouge regime later claimed that MONATIO had been a CIA conspiracy against the revolutionary government.[4]
A movie on the events of 1975, called MONATIO, was made by Norodom Sihanouk.[5]
References edit
- ^ a b Ponchaud, François (1978). Cambodia Year Zero. Henry Holt & Co. p. 17. ISBN 9780030403064.
- ^ a b Shawcross, William (1979). Sideshow: Kissinger, Nixon and the Destruction of Cambodia. Andre Deutsch Limited. p. 365. ISBN 0-233-97077-0.
- ^ Swain, Jon (1997). River of Time: A Memoir of Vietnam and Cambodia. St. Martin's Press. pp. 136–7. ISBN 978-0425168059.
- ^ Isaacs, Arnold R. (1999). Without Honor: Defeat in Vietnam and Cambodia. JHU Press. p. 283. ISBN 9780801861079.
- ^ New Page 5 Archived 2009-01-09 at the Wayback Machine
External links edit
Media related to MONATIO at Wikimedia Commons