112. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in the United Kingdom0
3065. London 2312.1 Khmer Serei is creation of Cambodian dissident nationalist Son Ngoc Thanh. We know of no armed members of this band in Cambodia and estimate its following at under 400 men divided between Thailand and South Vietnam. Although its members and leaders have found refuge in Cambodia’s neighboring countries, Khmer Serei constitutes no significant military or political threat to Cambodian government.
Khmer Serei clandestine radio broadcasts have been heard off and on over a period of time, re-emerging in August after long silence. We do not know location of transmitter although it has been reported in both Thailand and South Vietnam. We understand immediate cause of Sihanouk’s irritation at the Khmer Serei has been comparisons between Son Ngoc Thanh’s record as Cambodian nationalist and that of Sihanouk’s, with invidious references to Sihanouk’s less consistent position.
We have no means of controlling broadcasts.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL CAMB-THAI. Confidential. Drafted by John S. Thomson of INR; cleared in draft by Arzac and Thomas M. Judd of EUR/BNA; and approved by Allen S. Whiting, Director of the Office of Research and Analysis for the Far East, INR. Repeated to Phnom Penh, Bangkok, and Saigon.↩
- In telegram 2312, November 12, the Embassy in London passed on a request from the British Foreign Office for background on the Khmer Serei so that it could determine if there was substance to Sihanouk’s charges. (Ibid.)↩