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Banteay
Meanchey
I
Battambang
I
Kampot
I
Kandal
I
Kep
City
I
Koh
Kong
I
Kratie |
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Kampong
Cham
I Kampong
Chhang I
Kampong
Speu
I
Kampong
Thom
I
Mondulkiri |
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Oddor
Meanchey
I
Pailin
City
I
Preah
Vihear
I
Pursat
I
Prey
Veng
I
Phnom
Penh |
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Ratanakiri
I
Sihanoukville
I
Stung
Treng
I
Svay
Rieng
I
Siem
Reap
I
Takeo |
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 Oddar
Meanchey
is
one
of
the
smallest
provinces
of
Cambodia
located
in
the
far
Northwest
bordering
with
Thailand.
Its
name
means
“Victory
Province”
and
the
provincial
capital
is
called
Samraong.
This
area
was
formerly
known
as
Phanomsok,
a
province
of
Thailand,
which
was
ceded
to
French
Indochina
in
1906,
and
now
remains
a
part
of
Cambodia.
This
province
is
also
a
recent
creation
that
was
carved
out
of
Siem
Reap
Province,
which
the
government
did
not
control
for
much
of
the
1980s
and
1990s. |
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The
countryside
is
covered
by
the
Dangrek
Mountains
(or
escarpment,
as
they
are
sometimes
called),
which
was
an
optimal
shelter
for
the
Khmer
Rouge
to
hide.
It
is a
very
remote
province
that
has
been
a
notorious
place,
because
this
is
where
he
nastiest
of
the
nasty
Khmer
Rouge
made
their
last
stand.
The
diabolical
Pol
Pot
and
his
seemingly
bloodthirsty
henchmen,
Nuon
Chea,
Ta
Mok,
Son
Sen
and
Khieu
Samphan
holed
up
here
for
the
last
years
of
the
Khmer
Rouge’s
existence
(another
of
the
henchmen,
Ieng
Sary,
already
worked
out
a
surrender
and
defection
deal
with
the
government
in
1996).
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Pol
Pot
died
mysteriously
here,
after
a
supposed
power
struggle
within
the
power
elite
(he
had
Son
Sen
and
his
family
murdered)
and
after
a
controversial
show
trial.
The
debate
focused
on
whether
it
was
real
or
just
a
sham
staged
for
the
outside
world
to
try
to
legitimize
remaining
Khmer
Rouge
figures.
The
trial
took
place
in
the
power
centre
of
the
Khmer
Rouge,
the
village
of
Anlong
Veng.
Pol
Pot
died
mysteriously
after
he
was
sentenced
to
house
arrest
and
the
international
community
began
real
efforts
(for
the
first
time
ever)
to
capture
and
put
this
butcher
on
trial.
His
henchmen
had
more
than
enough
reasons
to
believe
that
he
wasn’t
dead
at
that
point,
because
a
Pol
Pot
on
trial,
as
the
ringleader
most
responsible
for
the
genocide
wrought
upon
his
fellow
countrymen,
would
probably
have
tried
to
shift
portions
of
the
blame
(rightfully
in
the
case
of
these
guys)
to
the
rest
of
the
power
elite.
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The
Khmer
Rouge
kept
fragmenting
after
that
and
Nuon
Chea
and
Khieu
Samphan
worked
out
a
surrender-amnesty
deal
with
the
Cambodian
government
and
Ta
Mok
(also
called
“The
Butcher”)
was
subsequently
captured
and
is
still
awaiting
a
trial
in
Phnom
Penh.
As
of
March
2000,
the
United
Nations
and
the
Cambodian
government
finally
seem
set
to
come
up
with
an
agreement
on
putting
the
top
surviving
members
of
the
Khmer
Rouge
regime
on
trial
in
Cambodia,
with
assistance
from
and
in a
partnership
with
the
International
Community.
Stay
tuned
though,
as
this
has
been
a
real
political
football
with
seemingly
more
concern
for
one-upsmanship
and
personal
gain
than
justice
for
the
dead
and
surviving
victims
of
Khmer
Rouge
brutality.
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The
international
border
is
14.5
km
from
the
circle
in
Anlong
Veng
(Anlong
Veng-Choam-Choam-
Srawngam
and
O
Smach-Chong
Jom).
There
are
plenty
of
tanks
and
tank
shells
to
look
at
along
the
way
and
also
a
strange
site
in
the
form
of a
boulder
that
had
Khmer
Rouge
soldiers
carved
out
of
the
sides
of
it-
they
have
all
been
decapitated
since
government
forces
took
control
of
Anlong
Veng.
Anyway,
it’s
an
interesting
little
ride
to a
low-lying
part
of
the
Dangkrek
Mountains.
The
road
is
in
fairly
good
shape
with
the
exception
of
the
climb
up a
rocky
hillside
near
the
border.
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