Sihanouk: A Prince among Neutrals

Author(s): Michael Leifer

Source: The Australian Quarterly, Vol. 34, No. 4 (Dec., 1962), pp. 38-49
Published by: Australian Institute of Policy and Science
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 By Michael Leiter*

Sihanouk: A Prince Among Neatrals

Ex-kings are not normally interesting characters. From time to

time their miserable and sometimes sordid lives are serialized in
women's magazines or are ghost written into books which a discern
ing reader will deliberately avoid. When an abdication takes
place, it is not expected that the ex-monarch will come to play
an active role in the political life of his country. Therefore, when
a son voluntarily abdicates in favour of his father to become the
dominant political personality and practises successfully, so far, a
highly individualistic style of diplomacy, it is more than unusual.
Such is the case in Cambodia, whose head of state, Prince Norodom
Sihanouk Varman, resigned his throne in March, 1955, to be suc
ceeded by his father, now deceased, Norodom Suramarit.
Cambodia is one of the lesser known countries of South-east
Asia. It is fortunate
in not being torn by internal dissension, al
though the regime has a growing number of opponents; nor does it
enjoy yet the doubtful advantage of sharing a common frontier
with a communist-dominated neighbour.1 So far the winds of the
cold war have not worked entirely against the interests of this
Buddhist kingdom. In fact by skilful, if unorthodox, diplomatic
method in practising a variant of non-alignment known as Neutrality,
Prince Sihanouk has enjoyed the favours of both worlds and has
successfully maintained Cambodian independence. How long this
independence can be maintained is a question that must seriously
trouble the Cambodian head of state ; particularly in view of the
difficulties that beset Cambodia's neighbours, Laos and South Viet
nam.2 Prince Sihanouk has conceded that the 'East wind will prevail
over the west' and has shown himself to be sceptical of western
military support. His view of geo-political considerations has led
him to place Cambodia within communist China's 'zone of peace',
* Lecturer in Politics, University of Adelaide.
1The to establish a neutral Laos has not altered Prince
agreement
Sihanouk's judgment that such a settlement can only result in a slow but sure
process of communisation. See Realties Cambodgiennes, Phnom Penh, 15th June,
1962.
2 An editorial in Realites Cambodgiennes, 16th March, 1962, to
referring
the deteriorating external situation asked "Combien de temps le pourrons-nous?"

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 PRINCE SIHANOUK Dec, 1962
and recent happenings in South-east Asia appear to have confirmed
Sihanouk in his opinion that it is only realistic to base Cambodia's
future on a friendly relationship with the Chinese People's Republic.
Cambodia is a small country, slightly larger than England and
Wales. Situated at the south of the Indo-Chinese Peninsula it shares
ill-definedboundaries with Thailand, Laos and South Vietnam. Well
endowed in agricultural gifts of nature her five million inhabitants
enjoy an adequate supply of fish and rice in an environment of lush
forests and
broad plains through which flows the Mekong River.
Over a thousand years ago Cambodia was the centre of a great
civilization, whose legacy is the monumental structures of Angkor.
However, from the twelfth century this Khmer (Cambodian) king
dom maintained a precarious existence in the face of encroachments
and pressures from the adjacent peoples to east and west. Mutual
antagonism is still the basis of Cambodia's relationship with both
Thailand and South Vietnam, though traditional differences are now
aggravated by cold-war alignments. In 1863 the French succeeded in
establishing a protectorate over Cambodia and maintained their
colonial dominion, with the exception of the Japanese intervention,
until they were forced to cede independence in 1953. In the struggle
for Cambodian independence Norodom Sihanouk emerged from
what can .be described only as a royal torpor to play the principal
role in a diplomatic drama which has become a part of national
mythology as the Royal
in Cambodia Crusade for Independence.3
Prince Sihanouk
ascended the throne in 1941, in his late teens
and without the intellectual training to prepare him for affairs of
state* In effect, special skill was unnecessary for. the French required
a cypher and not a king-administrator. The young monarch did not
succeed his father, who was still alive, but owed his elevation to a
French instituted
method of royal selection. This made it possible
for the colonial governors, should the need arise, to by-pass heirs
to the throne whose passive interest in politics could not be assumed.
In 1941 following the death of King Monivong Sisowath, the
Crown Council passed over his son and chose a grandson by a
daughter married to a prince of the senior branch of the royal family.
It was confidently believed that the young king, then only nineteen,
would be a malleable instrument in the hands of colonial administra
tors and would willingly accept a subservient role. Such expectations

3 For a personal account see: Norodom La Monarchie Cam

Sihanouk,
bodgienne et la Croisade Royale pour Vindependence, Ministere de 1'Education
Nationale, Phnom Penh (no date).

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Dec, 1962 THE AUSTRALIAN QUARTERLY

appeared justified at the time. Norodom Sihanouk was notable for

his self-indulgence and for his lack of interest in politics and
public policy. He was an enthusiastic amateur film-director and a
keen saxophonist. He also composed modern dance tunes and was
alleged to have conducted a dance band composed solely of princes
of royal blood. While the past ten years has seen a chameleon-like
transformation in Sihanouk's public image, he still retains an in
terest in dance music. The Prince enjoys the friendship of American
orchestra leader Andre Kostelanetz who has performed some of
Sihanouk's compositions in the United States. The Cambodian
leader has claimed in jest that the western world appreciates his
music far better than it does his foreign policy of Neutrality.
In March, 1945, the Japanese formally displaced French rule
in Cambodia and persuaded the king to declare his country's indepen
dence. Shortly after, a national leader of pre-war vintage Son Ngoc
Thanh returned from exile in Japan to become Prime Minister.
However, the Japanese hold on South-east Asia was precarious and
by October French authority was re-established. Son Ngoc Thanh
was arrested and sentenced to twenty years hard labour in France;
a sentence later commuted to house arrest to avoid repercussions
within Cambodia where he enjoyed a large following.
The re-appearance of the French in Cambodia did not appre
ciably alter the outlook
of the king. He was most moderate in his
national demands and pursued a policy of close co-operation with
the French at a time when the colonial power was begining to clash
with national movements elsewhere in Indo-China. The apparent
weakness of the king and his subservience to the French reflected
on his patriotism, and he began to lose popular support to the Khmer
Issaraks (Free Cambodians) a dissident republican group who took
to the forests following the arrest of Son Ngoc Thanh. They suc
ceeded in representing themselves to the Cambodian people as the sole
adversaries of the colonial power in the struggle for complete national
independence.
After elections in 1947, under the post-war constitution, the
Issaraks were to find ready sympathisers within the Democratic
party which came to form the government. Following their second
electoral victory in 1951, the Democratic party successfully pressed
for the release of Son Ngoc Thanh; and in November, 1951, he
returned from exile to receive a hero's welcome. However, he once
again came into conflict with the French as a result of his renewed

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 PRINCE SIHANOUK Dec, 1962

political activities, but on this occasion Thanh eluded the authorities

and escaped to join the Issaraks.
Theflight of Son Ngoc Thanh, consequent student demonstra
tions in the capital, Phnom Penh, together with the arrest of one of
the King's leading supporters by the Democratic party government,
brought home to the King the fact that the kingdom was drifting to
disaster. The problem of internal divisions within the country was
now aggravated by the Indo-China war which hadextended to
Cambodia; the communist-dominated Viet-Minh having enlarged the
scope of their activities to infiltrate a section of the Issarak move
ment. King Norodom Sihanouk accordingly began to play a far more
prominent role in national politics and particularly in the campaign
for total independence from French colonial rule. The King must
have realized the growing threat to his own position and that his
continuing public role was likely to imperil national unity at a time
when Cambodia was faced with both internal and external dangers.
The hour
brought forth the man who was to demonstrate hitherto
unsuspected intellectual and diplomatic talents.
In June, 1952, Norodom Sihanouk dismissed the Democratic
party government, dissolved the national assembly and took per
sonal control of the country's affairs. He proclaimed at the time that
he would obtain total independence for Cambodia in three years at
the utmost. Six months later the King commenced a series of per
sonal diplomatic manoeuvres which had the effect of compelling the
French (then heavily engaged/in Viet-Nam) to concede formally full
independence to Cambodia. Beginning in France, where he had a
poor reception, the King then departed in pique for North America
where he continued to campaign actively for his cause. The French
government were particularly embarrassed by one interview pub
lished in the New York Times in April, 1953, and agreed to begin
formal negotiations. In order to expedite matters, Sihanouk, fol

lowing his return to Cambodia via Japan, exiled himself to neigh

bouring Thailand and asserted that he would remain there until
the legitimate aspirations of the Khmer people were satisfied. This
tactic misfired insofar as the Thais, traditionally hostile to Cam

bodia, did not want the embarrassing presence of "Mr. Norodom"

on their soil. Sihanouk, unhappy with his welcome in Thailand,
returned to Cambodia, but refused to re-enter the capital until France
had agreed to transfer to Cambodia all attributes of sovereignty.
was over the control of the Cambodian army
The principal difficulty
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Dec, 1962 THE AUSTRALIAN QUARTERLY
which the French wanted to use against the Viet-Minh in neigh
bouring Laos. The French, however, were in no position to bargain;
besides Sihanouk convinced them that continued denial of complete
Cambodian independence was facilitating communist success and
inhibiting Cambodian resistance.
Following final French in November,
concessions 1953, and the
withdrawal of French troops, the Kingplayed a prominent part in
directing government military operations against insurgents in pro
vinces bordering Viet-Nam. By his actions the King was able to
redeem himself in the eyes of the Cambodian people as well as dis
crediting Son Ngoc Thanh and his supporters, many of whom came
over to the side of the government.
Following the Geneva agreements of July, 1954, which stabilised
the situation in lndo-China and which also provided Cambodia with
international recognition, King Norodom Sihanouk continued to dom
inate his country's political life. At the national level he was par
ticularly concernedto prevent his opponents from actively partici
pating in politics, and so widening cleavages within the community.
In fact his determination to thwart his political opponents by dis
enfranchising all former Issaraks led to conflict with the International
Control Commission established to supervise the Geneva accords. In
order to play the game of politics away from the encumbrance of the
throne, the King relinquished his crown to his father. Elections
arranged for March, 1955, were postponed six months while the
ex-King, now Prince Norodom Sihanouk, organized a political follow
ing known as Sangkum Reastre Niyum (Popular Socialist Com
munity), through which he has continued to exercise power.
Sangkum is a mass movement rather than a political party. It
is intended to embrace all factions within the community and to
serve as a dynamic rallying centre* to promote national development.
Sangkum has had the type of electoral success normally experienced
in 'people's democracies', sweeping the board on every occasion in
cluding the most recent election in June, 1962. However, while
Sangkum appears to have welded a Relatively homogeneous nation,
grievances do exist within the Khmer community,4 particularly
among the young members of the new educated class who have ex
pressed dissatisfaction at the lack of recognition of their talents.
Sangkum, under Sihanouk's leadership, has certainly done much
to give a sense of unity and purpose to the Cambodian people. The

4 See my articles, "The Cambodian Opposition" in Asvam Survey, April, 1962.

and "The Cambodian Elections" Ibid., September, 1962.

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 PRINCE SIHANOUK Dec, 1962

movement has been instrumental in mobilising the economic re

sources of the country. Industrialdevelopment although still on a
relatively small scale, is proceedingat an increasing rate and invest
ment has risen from 300-400 million riels (35 riels = $1) in 1953 to
2,000 million in 1961.5 One way in which the Prince has maintained
popular enthusiasm for national development has been through the
idea of manual labour, which he borrowed from communist China.
He appears to have had a measure of success in instilling Cambodians
with the notion of service to the community through voluntary
manual labour.6 Sihanouk appears personally to initiate such projects
all over the country, and has vigorously encouraged the country's
elite to emulate his example; he has a keen sense of public relations
and is frequently photographed leading a working party, among
whom may be seen portly members of the diplomatic corps.
Manual labour is a principal theme in the indigenous ideology
which Sihanouk has made his philosophical justification. This is
known as Khmer Socialism, which the Prince asserts is no imported
Marxian variety but an application of Buddhist ideals in a struggle
against social ills, injustices and inequalities.7 A key role in this
programme is reserved for the youth of Cambodia. In 1957 there
was formed the curiously-titled Royal Khmer Socialist Youth move
ment (R.K.S.Y.) to mobilise the younger generation in the national
interest. Prince Sihanouk was, no doubt, and still is concerned that
young energy andtalents, without an outlet and through frustration,
might find a wayinto the field of political opposition. The R.K.S.Y.
was intended to give Cambodian youth a sense of direction and be
longing within the community. However, recent reports indicate
that the Cambodian leader is not at all happy at the outlook of
Cambodia's younger generation; he is also disturbed by poor em
ployment prospects for them, particularly those receiving higher
education.8
To remove any malaise from the younger community Prince
Sihanouk has placed considerable emphasis on physical culture and
sport. He was disappointed that Cambodia came one from last in the

5 Cambodian News, April, 1962, p. 4.

6 According to the Cambodian Ministry of Information voluntary manual
labor has to its credit "47 dams, 5 dykes, 20 culverts, 207 wells, 55 water-storage
basins, 360 kilometres of streets and tracks, 54 wooden bridges, 12 brick or
stone bridges, 85 school buildings, 2 stadiums and 10 public gardens". See
Cambodian Commentary, Phnom Penh. Jan. and Feb., 1962. p. 13.
1 For a Cambodian exegesis of Khmer Socialism see Cambodian Commen
tary, January 15th, 1960. pp. 5-7, and March 15th, 1960- pp. 23-26 and 35.
8 See ibid. Jan.-Feb., 1962. p. 10.

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Dec, 1962 THE AUSTRALIAN QUARTERLY
South-east Asian games held in Rangoon in December, 1961, and it
was reported that "this final result had failed to satisfy the Prince
who considered that Cambodia's performance in this context com
pared unfavourably with the international prestige the country had
acquired both by its achievements in the sphere of national con
struction and also by its independent lucid (sic) foreign policy."9
Sihanouk's flair for public relations has led him to organise sports
teams among members of parliament and the higher echelons of
the public service as an example to the nation. The Prince, himself,
has beenphotographed energetically indulging in association football
with his ministerial colleagues.
Prince Sihanouk has been the principal architect of his country's
foreign policy for which he continues to take personal responsibility.
Cambodia in its foreign policy pursues a form of non-alignment
which Sihanouk calls Neutrality to distinguish it from the pejorative
neutralism associated with other Afro-Asian states. He has claimed
"Our Neutrality has been imposed on us by necessity. A glance
at a map of our part of the world will show that we are wedged in
between two medium-sized nations of the Western bloc and only
thinly screened by Laos from the scrutiny of two countries of the
Eastern bloc, North Vietnam and the vast People's Republic of
China. What choice have we but to try to maintain an equal balance
between the 'blocs'?"10
Although the Geneva agreement of July, 1954, left Cambodia
with no immediate or pressing security problem she could hardly
ignore the dominating presence of the Chinese People's Republic.
In May of that year, following a Vietminh invasion of Cambodia
in strength, Sihanouk had sought a guarantee of territorial integrity
from the United States and in return had been willing to provide
bases. However, the Geneva accords saw the removal of the direct
threat security, and under the influence of Mr. Nehru,
to Cambodian
the Cambodian leader became convinced that India's strategy for
dealing with China was superior to the doubtful protection offered
by S.E.A.T.O. In April, 1955, Sihanouk journeyed to Bandung, where
Chou-En-lai gave personal assurances that China would adhere faith
fully to the five principles of co-existence in its relations with Cam
bodia. The Chinese have been careful, so far, not to give the Cam
bodians too much cause for grievance. The Cambodians, for their

9 ibid., p. 4.
10 Prince Norodom Silhanouk: "Cambodia Neutral: the Dictate of Necessity"
Foreign Affairs, July, 1958. p. 583.

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 PRINCE SIHANOUK Dec, 1962

part, feel that as long as China presents the appearance of amity

there is little point in antagonising her by being associated in any
way with S.E.A.T.O. Prince Sihanouk emphasized this point in a
speech made in Tokyo in October, 1961. He claimed that to give his
country the best possible chance of surviving in peace and indepen
dence "I have never thought it wise to make a show of hostility
towards and to provoke powers which had finally decided not to
threaten us and to leave us free to follow our own path."11

Cambodia has benefited from her continuing association with

China. Following Prince Sihanouk's first visit to Peking, Cambodia
became the beneficiary of a $22.4 million grant in aid, the first ever
by the Chinese People's Republic to a non-communist country. Cam
bodia has also received subsequent assistance. In July, 1958, she
formally recognised the communist Chinese regime and in December,
1960, signed a treaty of friendship and mutual non-aggression.
Cambodia also enjoys good relations with other communist countries
from whom aid is also forthcoming. In February, 1962, Mr. Khrush
chev sent a personal message to the Cambodian head of state declar
ing that the Soviet people were following with deep sympathy the
efforts of the Cambodian government to consolidate their political
and economic independence. He concluded, "I want to emphasize
again that the Soviet Union is your staunch friend in the just struggle
against the imperialistic intrigues."12 Sihanouk, for his part, has
demonstrated his friendship by sending some of his children to be
educated in Moscow, Peking and Prague.

Cambodia's close relations with communist powers and Prince

Sihanouk's frequent journeys to their capitals have aggravated
relations with Thailand and South Vietnam. Both these countries
are aligned with the United States in the cold war and feel that
Cambodia's policy of Neutrality provides only for communist success
in South-east Asia. Bitter animosity has arisen over South Viet
namese charges that the communist Viet-Cong are using Cambodia
as bases from which to launch their operations, while in October,
1961, Cambodia suspended diplomatic relations with Thailand follow
ing an allegedly insulting speech by her Prime Minister Sarit
Thanarat. Thai-Cambodian relations, in particular, have not been
improved as a consequence of the world court decision in favour of

11 Bee ^Cambodian Commentary, October-December, 1961. p. 66.

12 Asian Recorder, 19-25 March, 1962. p. 4475 quoting The Nation (Rangoon)
as its source.

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Dec, 1962 THE AUSTRALIAN QUARTERLY
Cambodia in the Prah Vihar temple dispute.13
Meanwhile, in Cam
bodia, communist China is frequently represented as a faithful friend
whose powerful presence alone inhibits South Vietnam and Thailand
from pursuing their allegedly aggressive aims.
Prince Sihanouk has
frequently blamed the United States for
his difficulties with his neighbours, and in October, 1961, he threat
ened to break off diplomatic relations and to do without American
economic assistance because, so the Prince claimed, the United
States was abetting South Vietnam and Thailand in threats to
Cambodia's security. In spite of periodic bluster, Sihanouk has
demonstrated no real desire to terminate American economic aid,
which is an indispensable infusion for the Cambodian economy, or
to replace American military advisers with Chinese counterparts.
In fact, Sihanouk has been keen to eliminate internal communist
influence which has grown within the country since the Chinese
government established a link with Cambodia's overseas community
of 300,000. However, while he periodically represses local commun
ists who are allegedly directed from North Vietnam, the Cambodian
leader is studiously careful not to antagonise the Chinese People's
Republic whose cause Cambodia pleads in the United Nations. The
future, he feels, in South-east Asia lies with China and Cambodia's
best prospect for favourable terms is a policy of continuous non

provocation. He has little confidence in S.E.A.T.O. which he claimed

in reference to Laos, merely hastened the disintegration of the
country it wished to defend.11 Communist success in countries bor
dering Cambodia?despite symbolic gestures by the United States
in Thailand?appears to have convinced the Cambodian leader that
he has little alternative but to co-exist on Chinese terms. He also
is not a fool and must realise that continuing protestations of
do not in themselves establish a cordon sanitaire around
Neutrality
Cambodia. In fact, he has accepted eventual communist take-over
as inevitable, but he hopes that something may be salvaged by way
of national identity and that the country will not have to endure
the agony of a Laos or South Vietnam. In January, 1962, Sihanouk
told the Cambodian National Assembly that he was fully aware
that communism was going to dominate Asia and that Cambodia
would come under its empire. However, he added: "We will become

13 For a fuller account of the differences between Cambodia, Thailand and

South Vietnam see my article "Cambodia and Her Neighbours", Pacific Affairs,
Winter, 1961-2.
14 See Cambodian Commentary, October-December, 1961. p. 67.

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 PRINCE SIHANOUK Dec, 1962

communists together and our union will be preserved."15 This

fatalistic belief in eventual communist victory in Cambodia was
repeated by the Prince during an interview on Radio Television
Frangaise in June,. 1962.16
Short in stature with a pleasant chubby face, Prince Norodom
Sihanouk is portrayed by the national press as the "youthful father
figure" of Cambodia. He is also described by many as a feudal Prince
and certainly in hisfrequent official tours around the country the
Cambodian headof state is followed by a retinue which bears a
striking resemblance to an English court in the reign of Elizabeth 1.
However, if he is somewhat autocratic by nature, he is by no means
feudal in outlook and has introduced television into Cambodia.
Influenced very much by western culture, his taste in clothes is
impeccable, although his choice of sports cars is more exotic. Prince
Sihanouk is still fond of the pleasures that were associated with his
earlier years, as Sir Malcolm MacDonald (co-chairman of the Geneva
Conference on Laos) reminisces in his book Angkor.11 However,
there is no evidence that he carries these to excess at the expense
of his governmental duties or that they are any more than the
indulgences of any head of state in his leisure hours. Elevated above
the people by successful public relations, he is in no way distant
from the people. One element in his success in national politics is
the personal contact he has developed with the peasant classes
through, innumerable tours around the countryside, and through
semi-annual open forums called ostensibly to air public grievances.
The people appear to have a genuine warm affection for him and
frequently demonstrate a reverence
towards his person which sug
gests that the traditionof the God-King has not died out in Cam
bodia. The government-sponsored press, however, promotes the
adulation of his person to a cult, of personality, which may be the
consequence as much of necessity, in the interests of national unity
in a country used to a monarchical father-image, as a product of
personal ambition.
Little is known about
the personal life of Sihanouk. He is alleged
to have several wives and about thirty children. Early this year one
of his sons was married, yet only his mother, the Queen, and himself
were mentioned by name among the members of the royal family
present at the ceremony. When his father, the King, died in April,

15 Realties Cambodgiennes, Phnom Penh, 26th January, 1962.

16 ibid., 15th June, 1962.
17 Jonathan Cape, London, 1959.

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Dec., 1962 THE AUSTRALIAN QUARTERLY

1960, Sihanouk explained that a successor was not to be chosen

from among his sons in order to avoid any cleavages in the com
munity which might be brought about through princely rivalry.
He has also forbidden any of his children to accept the throne during
his lifetime. Meanwhile, Sihanouk's mother, the dowager Queen,
continues to symbolise the monarchy. She is alleged to have con
siderable influence over her son, but he is said also to be advised
by court astrologers. This may partly explain his frequently impulsive
behaviour about which he is sensitive to criticism. He periodically
feels himself misrepresented in the American press and reacts
sharply to this. When in October, 1961, the New York Times claimed
that in initiating a break in diplomatic relations with Thailand he
had acted with "characteristic excitability and impervousness"18
there appeared a stinging reply in its correspondence columns. How
ever, it is difficult to say whether Sihanouk's periodic outbursts,
particularly towards the United States, e.g. his 'open letter to Im
perialist Circles' in May, I960,19 are calculated or spontaneous. In
Sihanouk's position he may feel that he can continue to direct
verbal blows at the United States without the loss of economic
assistance, as long as he does not tie the Gordian knot and bind
Cambodia irrevocably to China.

Together with many other heads of state in newly independent

nations Prince Sihanouk is anxious to enhance the international
standing of his country. He has been painstaking in trying to
adopt a distinctive position for Cambodia. To achieve distinction he
has been careful to avoid any form of bloc adherence, especially
among the neutralist
powers in whose Tanks Cambodia would pass
quite unnoticed. At the outset of his career as an aspirant inter
national figure he told the Cambodian people, "I have not neglected,
in the international field to restore to our kingdom a little of the
and glamour it enjoyed in the days of Angkor."20 His
prestige
ambitions to play a mediatory role in international politics were

partially realised in the attempts in 1961 to solve the crisis in Laos.

The Laos settlement of July, 1962, with the prospect of a common
frontier with a communist country and the predatory behaviour of
his neighbours to east and west has led Sihanouk recently to take a
more urgent diplomatic initiative. However, the unenthusiastic
response of the principal western powers, India and Burma, to his

is New York Times (International edition), 25th October, 1961.

19 in Cambodian Commentary, June-July, 1960. pp. 13-15.
Reprinted
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 PRINCE SIHANOUK Dec, 1962

proposal that the territorial integrity of Cambodia be guaranteed

through an international conference, has diminished his prospects
of playing international showmanship and must equally have left
him still with deep anxieties about his country's future.

Although not quite the international figure that he sees in his

mirror, Prince Norodom Sihanouk has enjoyed a remarkable career
since his initial venture into politics. In Cambodia, of course, this
career is regarded as an unqualified success and looking at Cam
bodia's neighbours one cannot but feel a certain sympathy with this
attitude. One question, however, must trouble the Cambodian Prince.
If the communists do take over eventually, as he appears to believe,
can they be expected to tolerate his royal presence?
20 Second Progress of the International Commission for Supervision
Report
and Control in Cambodia for the period Jan. Ist-March 31st, 1955. Cmd. 9534
appendix E. p. 32.

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT SCHOLARSHIPS

Fulbright Travel Grants:
Applications for travel grants are invited from Australian students
and scholars planning to undertake study, research or lecturing at
American institutions of higher learning during the American academic
year 1963-64.
The awards will meet the cost of fares to and from the United States
but applicants will be required to secure their own dollar funds and
university admission.
Travel grants are available in four categories:?
1. Lecturers and Research Scholars?Senior Category: For scholars
who possess a senior degree and have achieved some professional
standing in their field of specialization.
2. Lecturers and Research Scholars?Junior Category: For scholars
under 30 years of age who have recently received a senior degree
or anticipate completing the requirements for one prior to departing
for the United States. In exceptional circumstances slightly older
candidates may be considered.
3. Post-Graduate Students: For graduates planning a regular course of
study at a pre-doctoral level at an approved American university.
4. Special Categories: For scholars without highly specialized academic
qualifications but who have obtained admission to an American
university. Special Categories candidates with relevant academic
qualifications can enter the competitions for lecturers and research
scholars or postgraduate students.
For further information and application forms write to the:

UNITED STATES EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION INAUSTRALIA,

Box 559, P.O.,
CANBERRA CITY, A.C.T.

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