دانلود کتاب The Skull Behind the Face : Canada / Cambodia Relations 1980 to 1986

In June of 1980, the members of ASEAN --the Association of South East Asian Nations --were meeting in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, for their thirteenth Foreign Ministers conference. At the top of the agenda again was Vietnam’s January 1979 invasion of Cambodia. In the fall, there would be another vote at the United Nations General Assembly to fill Cambodia’s seat. ASEAN was seeking diplomatic support for its efforts to re-seat Pol Pot’s rump government-in-exile as the legal representative of Cambodia. In return, the Association was offering favored trading status in a growing East Asian economy. Of the five industrialized countries in attendance, Canada alone would accept the ASEAN offer.

As a part of this agreement, Canada’s diplomatic corps was put at the service of Pol Pot’s Democratic Kampuchea government-in-exile. Declassified External Affairs internal communications reveal that Ottawa used its leverage over countries it provided aid to solicit votes for Pol Pot at the UN.

No Western country worked so assiduously to keep Pol Pot’s rump government alive than Canada. These efforts included “sanitizing” Pol Pot and creating a front for his 30,000 Khmer Rouge guerillas. Canada’s efforts would be richly rewarded and would solidify relations with both ASEAN and the People’s Republic of China for years to come. The Skull Behind the Face is the story of the early days of Canada’s first forays into East Asian politics.