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France took control of Cambodia
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Prince Norodom Sihanouk is born
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France allows Sihanouk to rule the throne, mistakenly believing he will be easily managed
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They were freed by the French in teh year 1953
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Sihanouk abdicates to pursue a career in politics and his father Norodom Suramarit is named king. Sihanouk becomes prime minister several times over the years.
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Sihanouk is elected as head of state after his father's death
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Four months after Khmer Rouge established their regime, a high school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia was converted into what will become the notorious S-21 or Tuol Sleng prison and interrogation center run by the man known as Duch, later deemed “Cambodia’s Heinrich Himmler.” There thousands of children/adults were killed and tortured
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Sihanouk is evacuated to Beijing on the eve of the invasion by Vietnamese forces that oust the Khmer Rouge.
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Civil war begins, pitting the Khmer Rouge, nationalists and royalists against each other.
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Shihanouk becomes president of the anti-Vietnamese coalition government of Democratic Kampuchea, which includes Sihanouk's newly created FUNCINPEC party and the Khmer Rouge.
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Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge cadre who defected, is appointed as prime minister of Cambodia's Vietnam-installed government.
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Hun Sen is appointed as prime minister of Cambodia's Vietnam-installed government.
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Vietnamese troops leave under international pressure.
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Sihanouk makes a triumphant return to Cambodia after nearly 13 years in exile.
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Sihanouk returns to the throne under a new constitution transforming the country into a constitutional monarchy, which allows for the king to reign but not rule.
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The Khmer Roug is outlawed
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Pol Pot dies
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Sihanouk promulgates a law creating a UN-backed tribunal to bring Khmer Rouge leaders to justice.
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Sihanouk writes on his website that the cancer that began in his prostate has recurred in his stomach.
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Sihanouk says he has lived too long and wishes to die. "Lengthy longevity bears on me like an unbearable weight," he writes in a handwritten note on his website.
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During a ceremony, Sihanouk vows not to leave Cambodia again despite his health problems.
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Sihanouk heads back to Beijing for medical treatment.
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Sihanouk dies in Beijing
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Vietnamese forces take Phnom Penh and the Khmer Rouge regime falls. Pol Pot continues to lead the Khmer Rouge as an insurgent movement until 1997. It is estimated that somewhere from 1.2 to 1.7 million people died because of starvation or execution while the Khmer Rouge was in power. (not sure the exact day)
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