A strange piece of information was discovered by Reuters Phnom Penh Bureau Chief Mark Dodd in the middle of August 1992.  ,
There was a little army in the distant forests of northern Cambodia, according to a UNTAC Aussie Signals commander, and they had contacted the UN in search of weapons to combat the Asian.
Who the devil were these men, given that the authority of UNTAC was to destroy all foreign causes in Cambodia? They allegedly belong to a Montagnard movement that was started in the 1950s called FULRO, a European abbreviation that means the United Front for the Emancipation of Oppressed Races.
FULRO’s original intention was to establish a separate country for racial minorities like the Jarai, Rhade, Behnar, Mnong, and occasionally even the Chams. FULRO organized two mini-rebellions in the hills in 1964 and 1965 to combat the South Vietnamese, which immediately ran away.
Ten thousand FULRO individuals emigrated from Vietnam’s Central Highlands to Cambodia in 1975 after North Vietnam defeated the South. Only a few hundred were still intact seventeen years after.
Dodd scooped up the Phnom Penh hit army with a report that appeared on television on September 1, 1992, which perhaps sounded the alarm in Washington, DC because the Montagnards had worked closely with American Special Forces during the Vietnam War and had bravely fought alongside them.
Some, particularly soldiers, felt that” the Miles” were cruelly abandoned to an uncertain death when the US pulled out, and there are still many of them.
Nate Thayer, a journalist for The Far Eastern Economic Review in Phnom Penh, likewise became aware of the story. Nate was residing above the Phnom Penh Post practices, which I co-founded only two months prior.
Running sources in Washington, Nate, had our telephone equipment spewing hundreds of pages, day and night, on FULRO’s record, a phone bill that ultimately rang up to US$ 8, 000.
It was so interesting as a greenhorn publisher to witness a skilled journalist scurry into drive on what was undoubtedly a very big story, despite Nate’s swearing to secrecy. In the Mondulkiri woods, Nate made the decision to join Fulrou. He inquired if I wanted to join in. How had I not avoid?
We flew to Stung Treng on the Mekong, and he spattered on the UNTAC Uruguayan Battalion’s chief for two days. Eventually, the UN agreed to let us travel with them to a frontier town to start FULRO’s future negotiations.
We flew over dense, unspoiled jungle for two hours before making a quick stop in Khao Nhiek, a city money, to land in a small clearing about 25 kilometers from the Asian borders. When we left the helicopter, I can still recall. We made it, Nate said to me as she turned round and yelled” We made it” with a big, shit-eating smiles!
Nate spent four days on his own, leaving Steung Treng that day without any clue about how he was going to get out. I flew up that day with the UN people.
At the time, and still are, there were lots of possibilities about FULRO. However, many of those have just been examined, dissected, and explained in a brand-new reserve by William Chickering.
The Additional National Liberation Front, Vietnam 1955-1975 is a thoroughly investigated, well-written, and exciting book.  ,  ,  ,  ,
In 1968, Chickering, a previous US Special Forces commander who collaborated with Montagnards in the mountains, spent 16 times interviewing more than 100 people in Asia, Europe, and the US.
He sifted through numerous libraries, leaving his duplicate with a delightful footnote. He followed the true accounts of many of the important players in FULRO, like a seasoned inspector.
Chickering weaves the existence of four important FULRO members through his history, including the head, a man by the name of Y-Bham Enoul, whom he met in Phnom Penh in 1973. He records their struggles, their first training in Vietnam, and their lives.
On April 17, he places a particularly interesting emphasis on the approximately 150 FULRO men who ended up in the French Embassy seeking shelter before being forced to leave presumably for the Khmer Rouge’s murder.
I could go on and on about how much I enjoyed Chickering’s guide. Chickering’s text is a truly valuable addition to the puzzle for those of us who are deeply invested in the country’s history, particularly the wars that destroyed Vietnam and Cambodia for decades.
Chickering neglected to mention the FULRO times from 1975 to 1992 in his book. He claimed in an email to the author that he “lacked sufficient distinct knowledge to do so both effectively and courageously.” It’s possible that the octogenarian’s next useful project will be based on his strong health and joie de vivre.
For Bangkok users, William Chickering did publish his book on April 10 at 7 PM at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand. Previous Reuters Phnom Penh Bureau Chief Mark Dodd may speak as a guest.