Democratic National Union Movement

The Democratic National Union Movement (DNUM) is a Cambodian political party founded after senior Khmer Rouge official Ieng Sary's defection from the Cambodian National Unity Party in August 1996. A magazine entitled Phka Rik (Flower in Bloom) is associated with it.^[1] It was created primarily to facilitate Ieng Sary's reentry into civilian political life, claiming neutrality and that he had broken away from the Khmer Rouge and from the "fascism and cruelty of Pol Pot's regime," naming Nuon Chea, Ta Mok, Son Sen and Yun Yat as Pol Pot's cohorts and "mass murderers of Cambodia."^[2] He stated that he was a supporter of "limited democracy," and named Thailand, Singapore and Japan as examples.^[3]

Despite building up ties with Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party, the DNUM declined to participate in the 1998 elections.^[4] The Movement's support for the CPP-dominated government at the time allowed it considerable autonomy over Pailin, an ex-Khmer Rouge stronghold notable for gem and timber exports.^[5][6]

References

1. ^ Tom Fawthrop & Helen Jarvis. Getting Away With Genocide? Elusive Justice and the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. Sydney NSW: University of New South Wales Press Ltd. 2005. p. 262.
2. ^ Peter H. Maguire. Facing Death in Cambodia. New York: Columbia University Press. 2005. pp. 103-104.
3. ^ Maguire, p. 104.
4. ^ Economist Intelligence Unit. Country Report: Cambodia, Laos. 1998. p. 8.
5. ^ Grant Curtis. Cambodia Reborn? The Transition to Democracy and Development. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press. 1998. p. 42.
6. ^ Susan E. Cook. Genocide in Cambodia and Rwanda: New Perspectives. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers. 2006. p. 205.

See Also

• Provisional Government of National Union and National Salvation of Cambodia
• Khmer National Solidarity Party