Cambodia King - then Prince Samdech Norodom Sihanouk Beijing 1979

Historical video. Educational use only. On January 6 1979, Norodom Sihanouk arrived in Beijing: evacuated from Phnom Penh as Vietnamese forces were sweeping through Cambodia - overthrowing the Khmer Rouge regime of Pol Pot. On January 8th at th Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Sihanouk staged a six-hour long news conference, one of the most remarkable events in Chinese=Cambodian diplomatic history. It was the late King’s most baffling, engaging, and extraordinary performances. This is an excerpt from the news conference as reported by Jim Laurie and aired on ABC News. BELOW FROM WIRE SERVICES ACCOUNT JAN 12 1979 ALL SPELLINGS AND ACCOUNT AS THEY WERE WRITTEN IN 1979. At a six-hour news conference January 8, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia’s former head of state, made wide-ranging remarks on the Cambodian-Vietnamese situation and the policies of the Pol Pot government. Sihanouk spoke publicly for the first time since his house arrest on his return to Pnompenh from Peking i