Cambodian Civil War Research Articles

Transitivity Analysis on ‘The Clay Marble’ Novel by Minfong Ho

The need to study language use in literary texts arises due to linguistic complexity, writers’ linguistic choices and subjective understanding of the contextual meaning conveyed by writers. By using Halliday’s (1994) transitivity system, this study analysed ‘The Clay Marble’ novel which highlights the Cambodian Civil War and its implications through the representation of events and characters. By looking at the transitivity processes through the clausal structures and word choices, findings showed that all six processes were employed with material process (69 clauses) used most, followed by relational (42 clauses) and mental (31 clauses) process. Material and relational process is dominantly used to represent themes such as the effects of war, community life among refugees as well as the growth and character development of young refugees during the war. Therefore, transitivity analysis on literary texts helps to uncover writer’s language use and the contextual meaning conveyed through the writer’s linguistic choices.

Loung Ung’s First They Killed My Father and Cambodian Civil War: Memoir as Testimony and Beyond

Loung Ung’s First They Killed My Father and Cambodian Civil War: Memoir as Testimony and Beyond

Climate change migration in the post‐conflict state: Understanding Cambodian migration narratives through geopolitical history and land struggles

While there has been increasing scholarship exploring the social, cultural, and political dimensions of climate change migration, there is to date limited research situating climate migration studies within geopolitical history and land struggles, particularly in post‐conflict states like Cambodia. Four decades after the Khmer Rouge genocide (1975–1979) ended, rural migration and land struggles remain a central aspect of Cambodia's political and economic life. Since the beginning of the Cambodian civil war (1970), rural populations have repeatedly been forced to move from their land. However, the geopolitical dimension of land has not been widely considered in current climate change migration literature. To explore these dynamic relationships between land, migration, and geopolitical history, this paper investigates both historical narratives and everyday relationships with land of land(less) migrants in Veal Veaeng District, Western Cambodia, a former war zone and a Khmer Rouge stronghold during the 1980s and 1990s. This paper argues that political history plays a vital role in defining migration trajectories in Cambodia, especially how historical factors define land struggles. Through exploring migrants and land frontier dynamics, this paper discovers that poor peasants have been forced between labour markets and land frontiers.

Revisiting the Political Process Model: The Case of the Khmer Rouge and the Cambodian Civil War

Revisiting the Political Process Model: The Case of the Khmer Rouge and the Cambodian Civil War

Violence and Monumental Complexes: The Fate of Cambodia’s Buddhist Heritage during the Turbulent Years: 1969—79

Abstract:The Khmer Rouge’s impact on Cambodia’s ancient heritage has been understudied. There are, at present, no major resources that explicitly present a centralized compilation of data or information regarding the relationship between the communist regime and the temples of Angkor nor the various damaging effects that a decade of internecine upheavals have had on the monuments. This absence of primary material is surprising considering the extensive archaeological and conservational work that has taken place in Cambodia, and not to mention the international fascination with Angkor. This article aims to take the first steps in redressing this palpable gap in the literature—it is a brief inquiry into the cause and effect of damage, desecration, and destruction committed to the major Angkorian monuments and the treatment of Cambodia’s ancient, tangible heritage by successive political regimes. It also attempts to deal with the inadequate nature of existing documentation that has hindered any analysis of the issues at hand. I restrict my attention to the Buddhist complexes in Cambodia with a focus on four phases of violence: “Operation Menu” or the American bombardment of 1969–70; the Cambodian Civil War, 1970–75; Democratic Kampuchea’s occupancy of power, 1975–79; and the Vietnamese invasion of 1978–79. In regard to what exactly happened to these monumental complexes at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, I have covered structural damage from conventional weaponry; the use, and, in most cases, misuse, of the temples by various political factions (including strategic, practical and quotidian, and propagandistic use); and the effect of conservation interruption and looting. In light of the recent destruction of cultural heritage in the ongoing conflicts in Syria and Iraq and the recent conflict in Mali, these issues remain perpetually relevant in world affairs.

Bombing and Mining in War: Evidence from Cambodia

AbstractThis study explores the political-economic determinants of military strategy during civil war to explain the intensity of suffering that certain conflict zones and their inhabitants suffer due to aerial bombing and landmines. Adversaries seeking post-war rents consider distinct consequences of weapons use in the target society: bombing causes instantaneous destruction, whereas landmines cause persistent but fading negative externalities on human activities, such as labor. Thus, it is expected that economic rents with different characteristics are associated with the use of different types of weapons because the benefits derived from these rents after the conflict vary. By focusing on the nature of economic rents available in conflict zones, this study demonstrates that aerial bombing is more likely when the targeted territory relies economically on renewable resources and industries such as agriculture, whereas landmines are more likely to be used in territories endowed with perishable resources such as gemstones. An empirical analysis utilizing newly compiled geo-coded data on the locations of US airstrikes and landmine contamination during the Cambodian Civil War finds strong positive associations between agricultural productivity and the number of airstrikes, and between the proximity to large gem deposits and landmine contamination, holding major tactical variables constant. The results suggest that societies' economic structures have a sizable effect on the manner in which adversaries fight a war and, therefore, affect how people suffer from it.

Causes and history of forest loss in Cambodia

To reconstruct the history of forest loss in Cambodia, the literature and national/provincial statistics of landuse patterns and the socio-economic situation were investigated. Forest cover in the 1960s was 73.3 % (13.3 Mha). However, this drastically decreased to 47.3% (8.6 Mha) in 2016. In the 1960s, the forest was less-disturbed. From 1970 to 1993, the forest was lost gradually owing to the political instability caused by the Cambodian Civil War. In the post-war reconstruction period from 1993 to around 2002, the need for reconstruction, international demand for timber, and forest logging concessions led to a significant increase in timber production. In the rapid economic growth period from 2002 until present, while several political actions were taken to combat rapid deforestation, economic land concessions, which promoted agroindustrial plantations, as well as small-scale agriculture has been leading to the rapid expansion of arable land and deforestation since 2009.

Japan in Asia: Post-Cold-War Diplomacy by Tanaka Akihiko

Reviewed by: Japan in Asia: Post-Cold-War Diplomacy by Tanaka Akihiko James D. J. Brown Japan in Asia: Post-Cold-War Diplomacy. By Tanaka Akihiko. Translated by Jean Connell Hoff. Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture, 2017. 464 pages. Hardcover, no price. The pace of change in Asian regional politics is relentless, with significant developments emerging month to month, not to mention year to year. Given this reality, readers could be forgiven for assuming that Tanaka Akihiko's Japan in Asia, which was first published in Japanese in 2007, is now seriously outdated.1 Even in the English edition, which adds two new chapters, the narrative only takes us as far as the end of 2015, a time when Tsai Ing-wen had yet to take office in Taiwan, Park Geun-hye remained South Korean president, and the prospects of Donald Trump becoming US president still appeared remote. And yet, while this book inevitably cannot cover more recent subjects such as Japan's Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision, the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar, and Trump's historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, it does nonetheless have lasting value. Specifically, by surveying Japan's relations with East Asia from the end of the Cold War until just several years ago, this text serves as a useful guide to the recent history of the region's political problems and reminds readers that what may appear a new development is often just the latest turn in a long-revolving diplomatic cycle. [End Page 140] Tanaka, who served as president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) from 2012–2015, begins the book in an upbeat fashion, writing in the preface that "Asia is becoming one" and that "'Asia,' which includes 'East Asia,' is headed toward integration" (p. xi). Elsewhere, he welcomes the spread of globalization and democratization and celebrates the enduring peace that now prevails in the region. Given recent fears about conflict on the Korean Peninsula and the revival of nationalism worldwide, these passages make the book seem like a relic from the 1990s. However, these themes do not dominate the text, which focuses not on big ideas but on the task of providing a detailed summary of the defining events of post–Cold War Asian politics and the role that Japan has played in them. Chapter 1 establishes the historical context by describing Asia before the end of the Cold War. It includes a helpful reminder of the difference between the bipolar confrontation that characterized Europe and the complex strategic interactions that played out in Asia between the United States, China, and the Soviet Union. Tanaka also highlights the fact that "most countries that belonged to the American camp were not all that liberal or democratic, nor were the countries in the Soviet camp that professed to be socialist" true in all respects to "Soviet-style socialism" (p. 2). Additionally, this chapter provides a short introduction to the Cambodian civil war, in which Japan found itself "in the utterly incomprehensible position of continuing to support the Khmer Rouge, who had committed mass atrocities" (p. 6). Similar summaries are given of the democracy movements in the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, and Burma (Myanmar). With the scene thus set, chapter 2 concentrates on Northeast Asia at the end of the Cold War, giving most of its attention to Japan's response to the Tiananmen Square incident of June 1989. Tanaka highlights the Japanese government's initial reluctance to take action following the Chinese authorities' bloody suppression of the student protests. In particular, Prime Minister Uno Sōsuke is quoted as telling the Diet, "The imposition of sanctions would be discourteous to our neighbor. … I will not make any protest" (p. 38). Moreover, even when international pressure did cause Tokyo to introduce some punitive measures, Japan's priority remained to prevent the diplomatic isolation of China. Students of more recent Japanese foreign policy may note a comparison with the Abe administration's soft stance toward Russia following the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Chapter 3 turns from Northeast Asia to Southeast Asia. Its main contribution is to describe how the Cambodian peace process served as a...

Basin‐Scale Irrigation Planning in Areas with Scarce Data

AbstractThis paper presents a basin‐scale approach to irrigation planning for use in areas with scarce hydrological and meteorological data. We review the past development of cascade irrigation facilities in Cambodia's Kep Province and present the results of applying a distributed water circulation model that incorporates agricultural water use in Cambodia's Pursat River Basin. Basic hydrological and meteorological data are scarce for these areas, partly as a result of the Cambodian civil war. Although 70% of overall water use is for agriculture, irrigation rates in many areas of monsoonal Asia are low and farming depends mainly on rainwater, even in basins where paddy fields are dominant and water resources are abundant. Moreover, basic hydrological and meteorological data are scarce in these areas. Past irrigation planning proposals in these areas have not specified the required volumes of water or the necessary capacities of irrigation facilities. Our consideration of irrigation projects in the Pursat River Basin, based on meteorological data inputs estimated by using a general circulation and/or climate change model, showed that basin‐scale irrigation planning can be applied despite the scarcity of data. Application of the results of long‐term climate change modelling by Japan's Meteorological Research Institute and a distributed water circulation model developed by Institute for Rural Engineering, NARO (NIRE), show that it is possible to model and use basic data when observational data are inadequate. © 2016 The Authors. Irrigation and Drainage Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Can groundwater secure drinking-water supply and supplementary irrigation in new settlements of North-West Cambodia?

Since the end of the Cambodian Civil War in 1998, the population of the Oddar Meanchey province has drastically increased despite the lack of adequate infrastructure, including basic amenities such as drinking-water supply. To improve the access to drinking water, governmental and aid agencies have focussed on drilling shallow boreholes. The use of groundwater for irrigation is also a growing concern to cope with the occasional late arrival of the rainy season or to produce food during the dry season. Since the groundwater resource in the province has not been documented, a 4-year study was undertaken (2011–2014), aiming to estimate the capability of groundwater to supply domestic needs and supplementary irrigation for rice production. Aquifer properties were estimated by combined use of hydrogeological techniques with the geophysical magnetic resonance sounding method. Groundwater storage and recharge were estimated based on new developments in the application of the geophysical method for quantifying specific yield. The median groundwater storage of the targeted sandstone aquifer is 173 mm, the recharge is diffuse and annually ranges from 10 to 70 mm, and the transmissivity is low to medium. Simulations of pumping indicate that the aquifer can easily supply 100 L of drinking water per capita daily, even considering the estimated population in 2030. However, the shallow aquifer can generally not deliver enough water to irrigate paddy fields of several hectares during a 2-month delay in the onset of the monsoon.

MUSLIM EDUCATION IN CAMBODIA AFTER THE POL POT ERA

The Cambodian civil war in the 1970's has ruined the country in terms of properties and society as a whole. The Cambodian people of all walks of life and of various religions were badly affected. The Muslims, mostly descendants of the kingdom of Campa and the Malays from Nusantara, were not exempted. After the Khmer Rouge was defeated, the Cambodian society is rearing to develop their nation once again. The Muslim community started to reorganize themselves around the teachings of Islam by reorganizing Islamic classes, rebuilding madrasas, mosques and suraus as they believe that Islam is the core and strength of their community. They reestablish their relations with Muslim countries especially Malaysia, by sending delegations to various organizations including ministries in order to request for aids. Their brothers, the Malay-Cam who migrated earlier and settled in Malaysia gave very positive response toward rebuilding up the community by providing religious teachers, mostly graduates from the Middle East. Besides, together with other Cambodians they actively rebuild their beloved country, the Kingdom of Cambodia. Now they have become once again a force to be reckoned with. They prove once again that religion can play an important role in the community building, preserving their ethnic identity and at the same time playing an important role in Cambodian nation building process.

Notes on Church-State Affairs

St. Mark's Anglican Church in Melbourne became the first Anglican church to apologize to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community for past hurts caused by church teachings. Anthony Venn-Brown, a Christian gay activist, spoke and accepted the apology. He said that, while it did not right all past wrongs, it did represent “the potential for healing and reconciliation” within the Anglican community. Deputy Prime Minister Sok An and U.S. diplomat Jeff Dingle participated in a ceremony marking the return of three Hindu statues to the Koh Ker Temple in Siem Reap Province. The statues had been looted during the Cambodian civil war and wound up in the United States, but the auction houses Sotheby's and Christie's and the Norton Simon Museum of California returned them as a gesture of goodwill. The National Assembly of Quebec passed a law legalizing euthanasia for the terminally ill. The law says that a person of sound mind who is experiencing unbearable physical and psychological pain can request a lethal injection. The status of the law, however, is unclear since the federal government creates the criminal code and that code bans euthanasia. The Quebec law does not use the term euthanasia and instead refers to “medical aid to the dying.” Other places that have legalized euthanasia are the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg.

Distortion of Marxism in Duong Thu Huong’s <i>Novel Without A Name</i> and Kim Echlin’s <i>The Disappeared</i>

In Novel Without A Name (1996) and The Disappeared (2010), the brutalities of the Vietnam War and the Cambodian Civil War are depicted vividly. The implementation of suspect Marxist doctrines and ideologies is portrayed as the main factor that led to such atrocities. Thus, the central issue or theme of these two novels is the distortion of Marxism. This is foregrounded not only through incidents that take place on the battlefield, but also through the relationships between characters. The latter are not much explored by scholars to examine the main theme, the distortion of Marxism. Hence, this study investigates the importance of relationships in reflecting and developing the theme, the distortion of Marxism, as depicted in Duong Thu Huong’s Novel Without A Name and Kim Echlin’s The Disappeared via the concept of Marxism. By referring to the true set of Marxist ideologies, the distorted Marxist doctrines implemented in the Marxist regime depicted are shown. This paper reveals that the distortion of Marxist doctrines has a negative impact on the relationships depicted in Novel Without A Name and The Disappeared. There are three main types of relationship portrayed in the novel, namely love, siblings and friendship. All these relationships reflect the theme of both novels, the distortion of Marxism, because all of them are broken or severed at the end of the novels due to the distorted Marxist ideologies and doctrines implemented in the regimes depicted.

The Ecomomic Consequences of Civil War in Asia: A comparison of Sri Lanka and Cambodia

This study looks into the nature of two prominent Asian civil wars and the impacts they had on their respective economies. Comparing the 1967-1979 Khmer Rouge genocides in Cambodia with the more recent 1983-2009 Sri Lankan war for Tamil independence, we look specifically at the impacts on infrastructure and land, the fiscal system, and the monetary and financial systems. Evidence suggests that the Cambodian civil war fits the standard mould for internally worn-torn countries, while the relatively more isolated nature of the Sri Lankan conflict led to significantly different outcomes. It is still too soon to compare the post-conflict impacts on the two nations, however.

Hope for Gender Equality? A Pattern of Post-conflict Transition in Masculinity

Challenging the findings of existing studies on masculinity in conflict situations and post-conflict transition in masculinity, some former soldiers in the Cambodian civil war during the 1970s have constructed peaceful and responsive masculinities in a new gender order in post-war Cambodia. This is mainly because of the new dominant social discourse on maleness pervading the country, which expects men to be model husbands and fathers able to uplift their families by raising their economic and educational status. Family members, particularly wives, play an important role in actualizing the social discourse among these former soldiers. This study provides hope for gender equality through engagement with men and boys. They can be motivated to promote gender equality and end violence against women through the development of popular discourses on responsive masculinity and good fatherhood.

Territorial Control and Recruitment in the Cambodian Civil War, 1970–75: Case Studies in Battambang Province

During the Cambodian Civil War (1970–75), the Khmer Rouge, whose ideological appeal had a significant effect on its recruitment of combatants, flourished and was able to maintain influence over the Cambodian population. The Lon Nol government, to a certain extent, also succeeded in recruiting combatants, and many civilians joined the government army. Focusing on the structural contexts of three districts in Battambang province during the war, this article seeks to explain these contradicting facts by taking into greater account the role of territorial control in the recruitment of combatants. Although both sides relied not only on the noncoercive mobilization of combatants but on coercive measures within their designated zones of control, they were forced to search for highly motivated volunteers within their opponent's zones.

Lower Mekong Basin: Existing Environment and Development Needs

The Mekong River is an international river running through 6 countries from China, Myanmar, Lao PDR, Thailand, Cambodia, to Viet Nam. Social strife in this geopolitical region, from decades of wars: the cold war, Viet Nam War, Cambodian civil war and some border conflicts, has taken toll on its people throughout the years. As a result, this region is one of the least developed parts of the world, as reflected in the peoples' low living standards, and in social development. This research introduces the scope of regional cooperation, the geophysical features and socio-economic situation of the Mekong River Basin. The sectors' development possibility and the themes for environmental concern are also introduced. All of these are necessary for the harmony of development and conservation of the basin.

Mental Health of Cambodian Refugees 2 Decades After Resettlement in the United States

Little is known about the long-term mental health of trauma-exposed refugees years after permanent resettlement in host countries. To assess the prevalence, comorbidity, and correlates of psychiatric disorders in the US Cambodian refugee community. A cross-sectional, face-to-face interview conducted in Khmer language on a random sample of households from the Cambodian community in Long Beach, Calif, the largest such community in the United States, between October 2003 and February 2005. A total of 586 adults aged 35 to 75 years who lived in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge reign and immigrated to the United States prior to 1993 were selected. One eligible individual was randomly sampled from each household, with an overall response rate (eligibility screening and interview) of 87% (n = 490). Exposure to trauma and violence before and after immigration (using the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and Survey of Exposure to Community Violence); weighted past-year prevalence rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression (using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview version 2.1); and alcohol use disorder (by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test). All participants had been exposed to trauma before immigration. Ninety-nine percent (n = 483) experienced near-death due to starvation and 90% (n = 437) had a family member or friend murdered. Seventy percent (n = 338) reported exposure to violence after settlement in the United States. High rates of PTSD (62%, weighted), major depression (51%, weighted), and low rates of alcohol use disorder were found (4%, weighted). PTSD and major depression were highly comorbid in this population (n = 209; 42%, weighted) and each showed a strong dose-response relationship with measures of traumatic exposure. In bivariate analyses, older age, having poor English-speaking proficiency, unemployment, being retired or disabled, and living in poverty were also associated with higher rates of PTSD and major depression. Following multivariate analyses, premigration trauma remained associated with PTSD (odds ratio [OR], 2.08; 95% CI, 1.37-3.16) and major depression (OR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.24-1.97); postmigration trauma with PTSD (OR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.21-2.26) and major depression (OR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.12-1.86); and older age with PTSD (OR, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.46-2.13) and major depression (OR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.15-1.89). More than 2 decades have passed since the end of the Cambodian civil war and the subsequent resettlement of refugees in the United States; however, this population continues to have high rates of psychiatric disorders associated with trauma.

Intra-Southeast Asian Income Convergence

I. Introduction Southeast Asia comprises 10 states -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) serves as the primary mechanism for co-operation among those countries. ASEAN was formed on 8 August 1967 following the signing of the Bangkok Declaration. Its founding members are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Brunei joined the grouping on 8 January 1984, followed by Vietnam on 28 July 1995. The association will not be complete without the inclusion of all Southeast Asian countries. In this connection, Myanmar and Laos joined the grouping on 23 July 1997 and Cambodia followed on 30 April 1999, meaning that ASEAN has become a truly pan-regional organization as was originally envisioned. For the past 30 years, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has successfully promoted international co-operation in Southeast Asia. ASEAN has promoted regional peace and stability, as best exemplified by its key role in ending the Cambodian civil war in 1991, and there is an extensive amount of mutual consultation and dialogue among the leaders and officials of the member states. Peace and stability have paved the way for rapid economic growth throughout the region. Discrete diplomacy, consensus and non-interference have been the cornerstones of the ASEAN approach.(1) ASEAN also maintains dialogue and good relations with other countries in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. In fact, ASEAN is often held up as a model for effective regional political co-operation among developing countries. The challenge for ASEAN now is to duplicate its political success in the sphere of economic cooperation, where it has had much less success so far. According to Yeung, Perdikis and Kerr (1999) and Tan (1996), ASEAN's achievements in the area of regional economic co-operation have been uneven and modest at best. The long-running success of the European Union (ELI) and the more recent success of the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) suggests that regional economic co-operation may entail significant benefits. Furthermore, as the EU's experience clearly illustrates, economic co-operation can significantly reinforce political co-operation and vice versa. Hence the consolidation of the EU as a genuine community of nations owes as much to political co-operation as to economic co-operation. Similarly, we can expect economic co-operation to further cement the already strong political cooperation among ASEAN states and thereby contribute to the emergence of a genuine community of nations in Southeast Asia. Such a community will help foster peace, stability and prosperity in the region, as the EU has done in Western Europe. Compared to the EU, ASEAN is larger and geographically more disparate. For example, Indonesia, the Philippines and part of Malaysia are insular regions cut off from the continental portion of Southeast Asia. Altogether, the ASEAN countries have a land area of close to 4.5 million square kilometers and a population of around 500 million. The combined GDP of the region amounted to a substantial US$1,282 billion in purchasing power parity terms in 1997. This suggests that ASEAN as a whole is economically large enough to make economic co-operation and integration worthwhile and mutually beneficial for its member states. In this article, we examine trends in intra-Southeast Asian income convergence, a key determinant of the prospects greater economic cooperation and integration among the region's countries in the long run. The benefits from economic integration are greater for countries that have similar levels of income level and economic development.(2) Such countries tend to trade and invest more with each other. The underlying reason is that countries with similar income levels have more similar consumption patterns than countries with different income levels, resulting in large intra-industry trade flows. …

Yugoslav Refugees, Displaced Persons and the Civil War

Background Slovenia and Croatia declared independence on 25 June 1991. That was the date of the collective thanatos' which led to the disintegration of Yugoslavia. As a result of German pressure, the European Community, followed by a number of other states, recognized the independence of the secessionist republics on 15 January 1992 and buried the second Y~goslavia.~ Although the Westernmedia have now shifted their attention to the former Soviet Union, where other similar and potentially even more dangerous conflicts are brewing, that is not because genuine peace has been established in former Yugoslavia. To the contrary: blood continues to flow among the civilian population and among military and paramilitary personnel. As I write, the war is spreading to Bosnia and Herzegovina and threatens to turn into a disaster of far wider scope than the war in Croatia. The conflict has already claimed 3,083 civilian victims according to Croatian sources. The Yugoslav Army has confirmed about 1,279 dead soldiers. But it is reliably estimated that from 10,000 to 30,000people have been killed in all and another 30,000 people are reported mi~s ing .~ The estimated number of refugees ranges from 600,000 to over 1 milliona4 This is the third mass migration of Yugoslavians since 1939. The first consisted of people fleeing persecution in the Second World War and the mainly involuntary internal migration and emigration of Yugoslavians in the immediate post-war period. The second mass population movement was a legal labour migration, mainly to various West European countries as part of the guest worker programme of the 1960s and 1970s. It was a unique case among the socialist countries. The present tragedy can only be compared to that of the Second World War; from an international perspective, the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) compares it in scope, scale of atrocities and consequences for the population, to the Cambodian civil war. In three ways, analyzing the refugees' situation contributes to our understanding of issues beyond the human tragedy of the people themselves. First, it demystifies the genesis of the Yugoslav conflict, which is often reduced to a matter ethnic hatred. It shows that the separation of populations along lines, while favouredby the power elites of Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, only intensifies existing problems or creates new ones. Second, it draws attention to a category of for whom refugee status does not apply and therefore underscores the need to grant these people more security and protection than they have so far enjoyed. Third, given the relatively small number of refugees who have fled abroad compared to the number who have sought refuge within the boundaries of former Yugoslavia, the Yugoslav case may also help de-dramatize the East I West invasion scenarios which predict disruptive mass movements caused by political and violence or ecological catastrophe in the countries aligned with the former Soviet empire. The Demographic Structure The 600,000 to 1 million displaced persons referred to above come from Croatia, whose total population is 4.7 million (see Figure 1). Moreover, most of these people come from a relatively small area the front line, which is now under the control of the Yugoslav Army and Serbian forces. This means that in the course of six months, an average of at least 100,000 people were forced to leave their homes each month. Vast areas have been devastated and depopulated. In general, the destinations of the refugees are the larger urban centres notably the capitals of the republics, but also such regions as Vojvodina and Istria. About 300,000 refugees have sought shelter in safe areas of Croatia. Over 160,000 have fled to Serbia (including Vojvodina), around 100,000