Post on 26-Dec-2015
transcript
Difficult Struggles in SE Asia After WWII, growing nationalistic feelings
spread through Indochina and other parts of SE Asia
SE Asians fought against foreign imperialist powers to gain their freedom
They also fought against themselves in bloody civil wars
Vietnam Vietnam had been ruled by the French
since the mid-1800s
During WWII, the Vietminh, an alliance of nationalist and communist groups, fought the occupying Japanese
After the war the French hoped to
regain Vietnam
Instead, Ho Chi Minh, the Vietminh
leader, declared Vietnam free
Defeated by the Vietminh, the French
abandoned Vietnam
1954, conference in Geneva led to division of Vietnam into communist north and a noncommunist south
The Vietnam War Elections were suppose to be held in 1956 to
unite Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh, leader of Communist N Vietnam, supported the Vietcong-group of communist rebels who were trying to overthrow Ngo Dinh Diem (South Vietnam)
The US sent troops to support S. Vietnamese gov led by Diem.
The war lasted from 1959-1975
The South Vietnam forces couldn’t defeat the communist forces
Growing anti-war sentiment in the US forced Pres. Nixon to w/draw American forces
1975, Saigon, the capital of the South fell
The country was reunited under communist control
Cambodia
Served as a supply route for the Vietcong/ N Vietnamese forces
1969, American forces destroyed that routeAfter the Americans left, Cambodian
communist known as the Khmer Rouge, took control
Pol Pot, leader of Khmer Rouge, began a reign of terror to remove all western influences from Cambodia
More than a million Cambodians were slaughtered in the “Killing Fields”
1979, Vietnamese forces invaded Cambodia and occupied the country
In the early 1990s, a settlement was negotiated to end the civil war
Myanmar (Formally known as Burma)
Was a British possession in the 1800s
In the mid-1900s, it gained independence, but it was plagued w/ ethnic tensions and ruled by a repressive military
Very poor country and living conditions, to this day, have not improved
Opposition party led by Aung San Suu Kyi, won an electorial victory
The military rejected the elections results and put Suu Kyi under house arrest
2011, a new President, U Thein Sein freed her and she soon won a 2012 parliamentary election
Foreign policy changes have allowed improved relations w/ US and other countries