Cambodian Army To Let Angkor Alone

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32322, 13 June 1970, Page 11

Cambodian Army To Let Angkor Alone

(N.Z.P.A..Reuter—Copyright)

PHNOM PENH, June 12.

The Cambodian Army would do nothing to endanger the famed ruins of Angkor Wat, which shelter Viet Cong units, a military spokesman said today.

He also reported new, fighting about 30 miles I north-east and 24 miles; south-west of Phnom Perih early today. Viet Cong forces are reported to have moved into the 900-year-old forest temples and are using them as sanctuaries from which they have attacked the nearby town of Siem Reap and its airport, during the last week. A strong Communist force today attacked Kompong Speu, a provincial capital and military regional headquarters on the only highway open between Phnom Penh and Cambodia's major port, the Associated Press reported. Reports from Kompong Speu indicated that the fighting was still going on. Threat To Capital A Government spokesman said that he considered the attack a threat to Phnom Penh, / en though the Viet Cong B ' North Vietnamese have pt etrated much closer to the capital in the past. “The Communists have never given up the idea of attacking Phnom Penh one day,” the spokesman said.

Kompong Speu is 30 miles south-west of Phnom Penh on Route 4, the only highway still considered open between the capital and the port of Kompong Som. Kompong Som—called Sihanoukville until Prince Norodom Sihanouk was deposed in March—is on the Gulf of Siam, 120 miles south-west of Phnom Penh. It is the port of entry for Cambodia’s petroleum supply, and Phnom Penh Ms only a two-week stock on hand. Several Government battalions were reported to be defending Kompong Speu. Some observers speculated that the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese might be trying to draw more Government forces out of Phnom Penh, further depleting the capital’s strategic reserves. The Cambodian military spokesman reported that fighting had died down in the north-west round the provincial capital of Siem Reap and he added that the Government had declared nearby Angkor and its historic temple ruin an “open city.” This means that even if Communist troops occupied the vast complex of historic temples, the Cambodians would make no move to dislodge them that might result in damage or destruction. A strong attack also was reported at Tonle Bet, 50 miles north-east of Phnom Penh, and this was considered possibly the prelude to

new assaults on Kompong Cham, the provincial capital and regional military headquarters just across the Mekong River. Tonle Bet itself was destroyed in fighting two weeks ago, but Cambodian control of Kompong Cham is a hindrance to North Vietnamese supply traffic down the Mekong to the Communist-led forces in South Vietnam.