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The Fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge (17.04.1975)

2009.04.22
Passing Wat Koh on Monivong Boulevard, a crowd cheers the end of the war. Looking back at these images years later, I am surprised at the size of the convoy. I was certainly not aware of it at the time.

17 April 1975. Phnom Penh falls with barely a fight. The victorious forces enter the city from all sides.

A crowd with mostly children has assemble and cheer the victorious Khmer Rouge whilst people surrender weapons.

Truck loads of guns are collected and dumped at the crossroads on Monivong Boulevard until they block the street.

Monivong Boulevard, past the railway station, at about mid-morning. People are assembling on the streets. Some join the convoy of trucks and tanks parading down the avenue for the next couple of hours. I took the picture from the top of a truck as I rode the length of the avenue.

17 April 1975. The date sends a chill down the spine of most Cambodians. It was the start of a nightmare that was to continue for almost four years at the hands of the brutal Khmer Rouge.

Photographer Roland Neveu was one of the few foreigners who stayed behind when most of the press corps left the country as part of US evacuation operation Eagle Pull. The few 35-mm films which he shot that day are some of the only remaining images of that time. He was lucky enough to be able to take them out of the country after his forced sojourn in the French Embassy compound. A book just published by Asia Horizons Books (www.asiahorizons.com) book takes you to Phnom Penh on that fateful day.
1 Comment
RNBKK These pictures are from an EXHIBITION at the FCCT (Foreign Correspondent Club of Thailand) in Bangkok…running until the end of May 2009… The book is also available there.
RNBKK · 2009-04-22: 02:31
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Tagged: sihanouk angkor communist tribunal kr guerilla war indochina penh phnom fall history genocide rouge khmer cambodia
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