Cambodia
Summary
Most Cambodians consider themselves to be Khmers, descendants of the Angkor Empire that extended over much of Southeast Asia and reached its zenith between the 10th and 13th centuries. Attacks by the Thai and Cham (from present-day Vietnam) weakened the empire, ushering in a long period of decline. The king placed the country under French protection in 1863, and it became part of French Indochina in 1887. Following Japanese occupation in World War II, Cambodia gained full independence from France in 1953. In April 1975, after a seven-year struggle, communist Khmer Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh and evacuated all cities and towns. At least 1.5 million Cambodians died from execution, forced hardships, or starvation during the Khmer Rouge regime under POL POT. A December 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into the countryside, began a 10-year Vietnamese occupation, and touched off almost 13 years of civil war.
The 1991 Paris Peace Accords mandated democratic elections and a cease-fire, which was not fully respected by the Khmer Rouge. UN-sponsored elections in 1993 helped restore some semblance of normalcy under a coalition government. Factional fighting in 1997 ended the first coalition government, but a second round of national elections in 1998 led to the formation of another coalition government and renewed political stability. The remaining elements of the Khmer Rouge surrendered in early 1999. Some of the surviving Khmer Rouge leaders have been tried or are awaiting trial for crimes against humanity by a hybrid UN-Cambodian tribunal supported by international assistance. Elections in July 2003 were relatively peaceful, but it took one year of negotiations between contending political parties before a coalition government was formed. In October 2004, King Norodom SIHANOUK abdicated the throne and his son, Prince Norodom SIHAMONI, was selected to succeed him. The most recent local (Commune Council) elections were held in Cambodia in 2012, with little of the preelection violence that preceded prior elections. National elections in July 2013 were disputed, with the opposition – the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) – boycotting the National Assembly. The political impasse was ended nearly a year later, with the CNRP agreeing to enter parliament in exchange for ruling party commitments to electoral and legislative reforms.
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📷 : Wikipedia
Statistics
From the The Joshua Project [2]
In the News
📷 : Wikipedia
Prayer Guide
Pray for the less-reached. The window of opportunity that now sees many enter the Kingdom may not stay open for much longer; the opportunities must be urgently seized. Pray for:
- The Buddhist majority. Buddhism has lost some of its monopolistic grip on the people, but reactionary forces are moving against the clearly noticeable growth of the Church.
- The Cham, almost entirely Muslim. The majority practice folk Islam, which incorporates animistic practices into more orthodox Islamic practices; within this is a strong strain of Fojihed Islam, which is rife with pre-Islamic magic and superstitions. There are a few Christians; pray for them to be gathered into fellowship together. Khmer Christians have not yet met this evangelistic challenge; pray also for wisdom for those already reaching out to the Cham.
- The tribal peoples. Only among the Mnong, Jarai, Krueng and Stieng have significant numbers come to Christ. A further 18 Southeast Asian peoples can be considered unevangelized; pray for loving and appropriate witness to these peoples.
- The six Chinese language groups constitute nearly 600,000 people who have largely assimilated into Cambodian society, but who are mostly unreached. Pray for Chinese believers from abroad to come as apostles to these people.
Christian ministries have diversified in recent years. Pray specifically for:
- Literature. CMA has translated a range of materials, especially for church planting training. The Bible Society and others provide Khmer Bibles, NTs and Scripture portions. A new Khmer Bible was completed in 1998. Lifewords tracts and literature are widely appreciated.
- Fount of Wisdom is a joint effort of CMA, EFC, AoG and OMF that trains Cambodian Christian writers, encourages production of indigenous materials for the Church and translates useful Christian literature from other languages. Pray for its positive impact on the Church and on the nation.
- The JESUS film is being used in Khmer, Chinese, Vietnamese and other tongues. Father’s Hope is another film being used by The Book of Hope team to reach out to Cambodians.
- Audio and video resources. GRN provides audio resources in 18 languages. God’s Story and Megavoice both have material in Khmer.
- Christian radio. Over 300 hours per week, many in Khmer and on FM, can be heard. FEBC broadcasts 115 hours per week on local FM radio with notable response. TWR, GFA, World Harvest Radio and Lutheran Hour also broadcast in Khmer or various minority languages.
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