People’s Assembly in Cambodia

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34044, 7 January 1976, Page 11

People’s Assembly in Cambodia

(N.Z. Press Assn —Copyright) BANGKOK, Jan. 6. A new constitution has been put into effect in Cambodia which establishes a People’s Assembly of farmers, workers, and soldiers to govern “a Socialist society where there are neither rich nor poor,” Radio Phnom Penh has announced.

The Constitution was approved at the third session of the National Congress on December 14, and was put

into effect after Prince Norodom Sihanouk, the titular Head of State, and a Council of Ministers had voiced their praise for the document.

The radio quoted Prince Sihanouk as saying: “This Constitution is clear, concise, and easy to understand. It is short, and conforms to the voice of the democratic revolution. It is excellent, and I support it absolutely.”

According to the broadcast, the laws will be created by an Assembly of 250 delegates representing the people of Cambodia, and carried out by a government of the Assembly’s choice. The Assembly, composed of 150 representatives of farmers, 50 of workers and 50 of soldiers, is also empowered by the Constitution to appoint a tribunal of justice.

The weighting of the Assembly in favour of the farming sector is another indication of the emphasis the Khmer Rouge has placed on agriculture and the peasant revolution since seizing power last April. The first article of the Constitution, which was hammered out at a special Congress last April, says: “The Cambodian nation is a country of independence, peace, unity, neutrality, nonalignment, democracy, and sovereignty. . . . The official

name of the state is Democratic Cambodia.”

Other provisions of the Constitution, as broadcast by Radio Phnom Penh, say:

The means of production belong to the State and to the people, and the workers, the owners of the factories, and everyone in the country, are guaranteed a job. The delegates to the Assembly are chosen throughout the country by secret ballot for five-year terms. Men and women have the same rights in all spheres of activity. All Cambodians have the right to worship as they please, or to have no religion if they so choose. The capital of the country is Phnom Penh.

The national anthem is called “April 17, the Great Victory” (this is a reference to the day on which the Khmer Rouge took Phnom Penh and sealed its military victory in Cambodia). The national flag is red, with a central yellow area showing three towers of the ancient ruins of Angkor, long a symbol of national pride.

The country espouses strict neutrality, and does not allow foreign military bases on its soil nor will it interfere in the internal affairs of other nations. Cambodia is part of the large family of non-aligned nations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and other people who love peace in the world.