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Military Reform – 1996

In June 1996, new legislation was passed that related to the neutralization of the Cambodian military. It prohibited members of political factions from holding positions in the armed forces and required that the armed forces choose between their political and military posts. It also required that the armed forces personnel give up their party positions and their seats in the National Assembly. The bill effectively neutralized the armed forces.¹ The government was also planning on scaling down its military from about 130,000 troops to about 70,000.

1. “Embassy of Cambodia News Letter,” August 1997, accessed August 3, 2010, http://www.embassy.org/cambodia/newsletter/newslett97/aug.htm.