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Article: Town and country: Cambodia. (gulf between city dwellers and village people)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- November 23, 1991
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1991 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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"THEY are convinced what I used to do for my people was good," claims Prince Norodom Sihanouk of the Phnom Penh government, with which he has now formed an alliance after 13 years of leading a three-faction coalition against it. "There is la joie de vivre here again. Nightclubs have reopened with taxi-dancers. I am sure soon they will allow the opening of massage salons. it is our way of life; it is a good life."
The risk is that the prince may be right. His reign, which was ended by an American-backed coup led by General Lon Nol in 1970, was the last time Cambodia experienced real peace. But it was no golden age. Medieval court politics, harsh repression and, ...