The 80-year-old former ruler of Cambodia, Norodom Sihanouk, was installed as head of a coalition government in a country that had been ravaged by war for decades. He was king of Cambodia from 1941 to 1955 and prince from 1960 to 1970, when he was deposed. His selection as head of state did not end Cambodia's problems, however. The rebel Khmer Rouge continued their attacks on the government. Later in the year the National Assembly changed the constitution and restored the monarchy. Sihanouk became king once more, and a new prime minister was appointed.
The four factions involved in the civil war--the Vietnamese-installed Phnom Penh government, the ousted Khmer Rouge, the anti-Communists, and the nationalists loyal to Sihanouk-- agreed in May 1991 to a cease-fire. In an effort to prevent a return to power of the Khmer Rouge, the United States in July scheduled diplomatic talks with the Vietnamese-backed government. The warring Cambodian factions agreed to form a 12-member Supreme National Council (SNC) to work toward a peace settlement. Sihanouk was made head of the SNC to lead Cambodia through the transition. Despite efforts by the Khmer Rouge to disrupt the May 1993 ballot, Cambodians came to the polls in large numbers to elect Sihanouk and his Royalist party to lead the new government. Warfare between the Khmer Rouge and government forces continued, but in August 1996 more than half the Khmer Rouge forces accepted a government offer of amnesty to those who defected to the government side.
In August 1996 a split in the ranks of the Khmer Rouge spurred a round of feverish negotiations between the government and Khmer Rouge defectors that many hoped could finally bring peace to the weary nation. In mid-August, the Cambodian government offered defectors a deal that would allow them to keep their jungle bases and villages, weapons, valuable gem mines, and lucrative logging concessions. The offer also promised to give rebel units autonomy, and officers would be awarded equivalent ranks in the Cambodian army. As rumors began to spread of a split in the Khmer Rouge ranks between war-weary rebels led by Ieng Sary, the second-ranking member of the organization, and hard-liners led by Pol Pot, the government announced an offer on August 23 of full amnesty and aid to any guerrilla who defected to the government. Within days, more than 4,400 of the Khmer Rouge's estimated 7,000-man army had accepted the offer, leading some optimists to predict that the long conflict in Cambodia was nearing an end.
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The 80-year-old former ruler of Cambodia, Norodom Sihanouk, was installed as head of a coalition government in a country that had been ravaged by war for decades. He was king of Cambodia from 1941 to 1955 and prince from 1960 to 1970, when he was deposed. His selection as head of state did not end Cambodia's problems, however. The rebel Khmer Rouge continued their attacks on the government. Later in the year the National Assembly changed the constitution and restored the monarchy. Sihanouk became king once more, and a new prime minister was appointed.