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Operation Pochentong 1 ប្រតិបត្តិការពោធិ៍ចិនតុង ១ ปฏิบัติการโปเชนตง 1
Date 29-30 January 2003 Location Phnom Penh International Airport Result Thai citizens safely left Cambodia
Belligerents
Thailand Cambodian government	Cambodian rioters
Commanders and leaders
Thaksin Shinawatra Surayud Chulanont Somtat Attanand Kongsak Wattana Taweesak Somapha Tea Banh	n/a
Strength
110special forces 5C-130 1Alenia G.222 600 Cambodian officers backup unit: 1aircraft carrier 4frigates	~1300 rioters

In January 2003, aCambodian newspaper article falsely alleged that Thai actressSuvanant Kongying claimed that theAngkor Wat belonged toThailand. Other Cambodian print and radio media picked up the report and furtherednationalistic sentiments, which resulted in riots inPhnom Penh on 29 January where the Thai embassy was burned and commercial properties of Thai businesses were vandalized. The riots reflect the fluid historical relationship betweenThailand andCambodia, as well as the economic, cultural and political factors involving the two countries.

Historically, the relationship betweenSiam (modern Thailand) and Cambodia has been extremely fluid, reflecting the region'sdivision intocity states rather thannation states. These city states were bound together into empires by more or less strong political, military andtributary ties. In the 14th century, the centre of Thai power passed fromSukhothai to the more southerlyAyutthaya, in territory which had formed part of the Khmer empire. The threat posed by Ayutthaya to Angkor increased as its power grew, and in the 15th centuryAngkor itself was besieged and sacked, plunging Cambodia intoPost-Angkor period.

The ensuing centuries saw numerous further incursions by the Siamese. For much of the 19th century, northern Cambodia, including Angkor, was ruled by Siam. The degree of independence enjoyed by Cambodia fluctuated according to the relative fortunes of Siam, Cambodia, Vietnam and the French colonists.

In 1907, Siam ceded northern Cambodia to France. In the 1930s, this loss became the basis of thenationalist government's claim that the area was a "lost territory" which rightfully belonged to Thailand. In 1941, followinga war with Vichy France, Thailand briefly regained the territories ceded to France in 1907. This claim was not abandoned until the 1950s.

Thailand's rapid economic progress during the 1980s and 1990s made its economy one of the strongest in Southeast Asia. Conversely, theCambodian Civil War, theKhmer Rouge government and the subsequent government of thePeople's Republic of Kampuchea, which failed to secure United Nations recognition, kept Cambodia economically weak. As a result, Thai businesses dominate part of the Cambodian economy, fuelling resentment.

Compared to Cambodia, Thailand has a far greater population and is more open to western influences. These factors have given Thailand a substantial cultural influence on Cambodian music and television. This is coupled with a perception on the part of many Cambodians that Thais are arrogant and racist towards their neighbors. While largely untrue, this perception and the former factors led to a very high sense of nationalism throughout the country.

There has been a long history of dispute and misunderstanding between theKhmer andThais. Historical and cultural conflicts and claims from both sides led to a great deal of resentment; this, despite the fact that Thailand's and Cambodia's cultures are extremely similar, . The reason behind Khmer resentment for the Thais stem from the feeling of decline since the days of theKhmer empire, while the Thais have remained dominant in the region.^[1]

There have also been different interpretations in the history of the two countries and the era of theKhmer empire. "This lack of understanding is reflected in the thinking of a number of educated Thais and members of the ruling class, who distinguish between theKhom and the Khmer, considering them to be two separate ethnic groups".^[1] They further go on to assert that "it was the Khom, not the Khmer, who built the majestic temple complexes at Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom and founded one of the world's truly magnificent ancient empires".^[1]

The Khmer resentment towards this attitude of Thai-centric view of historical accounts—true or not, was not newly founded in 2003. Despite the world consensus that the culture and the empire that used to rule the region originated from the Khmer; the fact that there may be Thais that claim otherwise could be seen as an insult by some Khmer. In the 19th century the Khmer kingdom narrowly escaped being swallowed by two stronger neighbors, Thailand on the west andVietnam on the east.^[2] This created a fear in many Khmers that their neighboring countries were out to conquer and erase Khmer identity. This resulted in widespread anti-Thai and anti-Vietnamese sentiment, and a deep reverence of cultural and historical symbols like Angkor Wat.

The riots were prompted by a 18 January article in the Cambodian newspaperRasmei Angkor (Light of Angkor). The article alleged that Thai actressSuvanant Kongying said Cambodia had "stolen" Angkor Wat, and that she would not appear in Cambodia until it was returned to Thailand. The newspaper's editor gave the source for the story as a group of Khmer nationalists who said they had seen the actress on television. No evidence to support the newspaper's claim has ever emerged, and it seems that the report was either fabricated or arose from a misunderstanding of what Suvanant's character had said.^[3]

The report was picked up by Khmer radio and print media, and copies of theRasmei Angkor article were distributed in schools. On 27 January, Cambodian prime ministerHun Sen repeated the allegations, and said that Suvanant was "not worth a few blades of grass near the temple".^[4][5] On 28 January, the Cambodian government then banned all Thai television programs in the country.

Strong nationalistic sentiments were also present during the build up to the riot. "Nationalism has over the years been exploited by the two countries' political leaders to fulfil [sic] a myriad of their own political interests".^[6] Some^[who?] have argued that the rulingCambodian People's Party (CPP) had a political incentive to orchestrate the riots. After the arrest of Mam Sonando, "Phnom Penh's then Governor Chea Sophara, an increasingly popular CPP politician (who had been tipped by some to challenge Hun Sen as a PM candidate) was sacked".^[7] Coincidental or not the events that followed the 2003 riot, was beneficial to thePrime Minister of Cambodia.^[8]

On 29 January, rioters attacked the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh, destroying the building. Mobs also attacked the premises of Thai-owned businesses, includingThai Airways International andShin Corp, owned by the family of then Thai prime minister,Thaksin Shinawatra. A photograph of a Cambodian man holding aburningportrait of the reveredKing ofThailandBhumibol Adulyadej enraged manyThai people.

The Thai government sent military aircraft to Cambodia to evacuate Thai nationals, while Thais demonstrated outside the Cambodian embassy in Bangkok.

Responsibility for the riots was disputed: Hun Sen attributed the government's failure to prevent the attacks to "incompetence", and said that the riots were stirred up by "extremists". The chairman of the National Assembly,Prince Norodom Ranariddh claimed that opposition leaderSam Rainsy had directed the attacks. Rainsy said that he had attempted to prevent the violence.

Some, including the Thai ambassador toCambodia at the time, argue that the 29 January 2003 riot was orchestrated. Cambodians and Thais alike, in online discussions, asserted that "Hun Sen and elements of theCPP were behind the demonstration".^[8] The Cambodian prime minister made a speech, just two days prior to the riot, which further reinforced the allegation that was made about the Thai actress's comment. Also "despite desperate calls from the frantic Thai ambassador to the Cambodian Foreign Minister, police and Defence Ministry, Cambodian official and police did little to discourage the crowd".^[8] The Thai embassy was within very close proximity to the Ministry of Interior and the headquarters of the CPP.

The Thai government closed thecountry's border with Cambodia following the riots, but only to Thai and Cambodian nationals. The border was re-opened on 21 March 2003, following the Cambodian government's payment of US$6 million compensation for the destruction of the Thai embassy. In a 2006 rally against Thai Prime MinisterThaksin Shinawatra, several influential Thai diplomats, including former ambassador to the UNAsda Jayanama and former ambassador to Vietnam Supapong Jayanama, alleged that only half of the compensation was actually paid. The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied this accusation.^[9] The Cambodian government also agreed to compensate individual Thai businesses for the losses which they had suffered, to be negotiated separately.

Shortly after the riots, a wave of arrests which totalled more than 150 persons was criticized by human rights groups, highlighting irregularities in the procedures and denial by the authorities to monitor their detention conditions.^[10] The owner ofBeehive Radio,Mam Sonando, and Chan Sivutha, Editor-in-Chief ofReaksmei Angkor, were both arrested without warrants, charged with incitement to commit a crime, incitement to discrimination and announcement of false information. They were later on released on bail^[11] and no trial was ever held.

• 2013–2014 Cambodian protests

• The Nation BangkokArchived 21 April 2005 at theWayback Machine
• U.S. Department of State Report

• 2003 in Cambodia
• 2003 riots
• 2003 in international relations
• January 2003 crimes in Asia
• January 2003 in Asia
• Anti-Thai sentiment
• Riots and civil disorder in Cambodia
• Cambodia–Thailand relations
• 21st century in Phnom Penh
• Controversies in Thailand
• History of the foreign relations of Thailand
• Controversies in Cambodia
• Angkor Wat

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