1974/01/04
Department of State
National Archives and Records Administration 2011-028-doc1 2013/03/11
3.. . SUuation Within Cambodia in· Early S~m~~~er 1973
By the ai4d.L. of ~973 i.e was cl~r t!!Bt KC poHc/ aiJIIed at i.Bolatf.ng the
INA and VC and driving thea at ··least out of areas of KC influence, if not
out of Calabodia fmtirely . Perhapi the RIO&t important of various KC
sae.aaurea vas tha·t prehibiting a lmoat all Casabod iao crade with ·MVA and VC
un~ta. FVA 4588 and FV’4514 deacribe .thie prohibition as extremely effec•
tive. PVA 4500 ·describes a late J1.10e VC An G i.ang Province Coaziitt:ee meeting
·at Olflich the part icipailts discussed a rice short:age: In add it ion tG· KC ~ ‘
establ1 ~ ; haent of a system of st:rict ecoo0111ic controls and the prohibitiou
of rice sales to .any vc · or NVA unit, the VC leaders gave cwo causes for
thia shortage: (a) the heavy bosbi.ng in ·cambodia· in tbe apr,ing and summer
blld caused 8QWle people to abandon normally-productive areas, and (b) t~e KC
policy of forced relocatl.on :resulted i.D further abandoning of nearby rice ·
lands. Prisoners and ralliers in Cbau Doc Province in August and Sept-er
also eonfi~ed this KC policy, reporting that it preci.pi.tat:ed a rice shortage
amOng all HVA . aadt’C unita 1n l!be are.a. They also said the ltC had forced
large all:lllbera of tlw> people in southern Kampot, Talteoo, Jtandal and Prey Vsng
Provinces to .IIDVe to “more secure” areas. (Many people were al>le to aIOid
relocation and have taken refuge in· CVN areas of South Yietnaa> . Some of
tbf!se ethnic Ul!llbod lan refuge!! a told CODCe11 officers they were fleeing
the KC , whom they described as ‘!Wchi more bTUtal than the HVA or VC
under VhOIII they found life to be .rE!Iatively e4SY. .) FUghta along the
border by CooGen officers ~onfirm that thes.e KC are.aa are almost co=pletely
deVoid of population and ~atly uncultlvat~. T.his il particularly true
of th’ IAIIIPQil&. l’rac:h area DO’t’th. of Ra I’ien , Reminh town no-rth of Cbau l)oc
dty, and K.aQb rhom I>istr1ct nort·h· of An Phu Distrti:t of Chau Doc Province.
VC/NVA-occupi~ areas in Cambodia are, iu ~ntrast, more heavily populated,
and che.re . i’s a gre.5t deal of JDOveiDent and com;oerci.ill activity •.