Khmer Issarak - Founding of The Independence Movement

Founding of The Independence Movement

The Khmer Issarak ("independence") movement was founded in 1940 by Poc Khun in Bangkok, Thailand, almost at the same time as Son Ngoc Thanh petitioned the Japanese for assistance in expelling the French.

Like Thanh, the Thai regime hoped to exploit French weakness in Cambodia, though its ultimate purpose was to bolster its own territorial ambitions. In November 1940, Thailand took control of Battambang and Siem Reap provinces, an action sanctioned by the Japanese four months later. The newly-formed Khmer Issarak organisation was used in legitimising these acquisitions by making Poc Khun the representative of Battambang in the Thai parliament.

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