97. Editorial Note

On February 20, General Dap Chhuon sent a letter informing Queen Kossamak that he was going into opposition against the government to protect the throne. On the night of February 21, Prime Minister Sihanouk dispatched troops and armored personnel carriers to Siem Reap. They took control of the town and captured Dap Chhuon’s forces without firing a shot, but Dap Chhuon managed to escape. Subsequently he was captured while trying to cross into Thailand on March 3 and apparently died of wounds inflicted during his capture. (Telegram ARMA CX–40 from Phnom Penh, February 23; telegram 1085 from Phnom Penh, February 23; and telegram 1175 from Phnom Penh, March 5; Department of State, Central Files, 751H.00/2–2359, 751H.00/2–2359, and 751H.00/3–559, respectively) For Sihanouk’s own account of this plot, see Norodom Sihanouk as related to Wilfred Burchett, My War With the CIA: The Memoirs of Prince Norodom Sihanouk (New York, 1972), pages 104–109.

President Eisenhower was informed of the coup and its failure on February 24. (Synopsis of State and intelligence material; Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Eisenhower Diaries)