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Paramilitary Groups – 1998

It was reported that the International Monetary Fund had condemned Cambodia’s declining tax-collection efficiency and the reckless and illegal exploitation of forest resources by the rival parties. The state became increasingly impoverished and directionless, and the ordinary people increasingly demoralized. Tension in Phnom Penh mounted in early 1997, as private armies of bodyguards and paramilitary forces loyal to Ranariddh or Hun Sen confronted each other.¹

1. “Some Hope for Peace In Cambodia; Tony Kevin Explains The Recent History Of This Unhappy Country As It Prepares For The Election Planned For July,” Canberra Times (Australia), April 18, 1998.