Peacebuilding in Cambodia:
The Role of Religion
Catherine Morris
Working Paper, 2000
Executive summary
Full Report
Project summary and purposes
This project considers the role of religion in peacebuilding in Cambodia. From May 13-June 13, 2000, Catherine Morris conducted thirty-eight interviews in Cambodia (in English or through interpreters) with Buddhist and Christian clergy and lay leaders as well as human rights, legal development, conflict resolution and peacebuilding scholars and practitioners within civil society and government. Research also included literature review and documentary and literature research in Cambodia. A draft chapter is now in the editorial process, forthcoming in 2002 in Religion and Peacebuilding, edited by Harold Coward and Gordon Smith and to be published in New York by SUNY Press. Catherine Morris undertook this project in her capacity as a director of Peacemakers Trust, a Canadian non-profit organization devoted to conflict resolution and peacebuilding. The Centre for Religion and Studies and the Institute for Dispute Resolution at UVic committed partial funding for expenses related to the Cambodia research. Funding and in-kind resources were also provided by members of Emmanuel Baptist Church and the Victoria law firm of Clay & Company.
This research was partly funded for the purposes of a project on "Religion and Peacebuilding" by the University of Victoria's Centre for Studies in Religion and Society, and the Centre for Global Studies. The two Centres are developing a team-authored book to examine the spiritual and ethical resources for peacebuilding within the world's major religions, including Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Confucianism, and Aboriginal traditions. Several case studies are being developed including chapters on Cambodia, Bosnia, South Africa, and Ireland. Catherine Morris, director of Peacemakers Trust, was invited to write a case study chapter Cambodia.
Since over 90% of Cambodia's population is Theravada Buddhist; the primary focus of this research was on the role of Buddhism in the conflict and peacebuilding in that country. The role of Christianity in Cambodian conflicts and peacebuilding was also considered, although more briefly. It is hoped that the reports and writings emerging from this project will provide opportunities for Canadians to build understanding of how Cambodian culture and religious perspectives play out in current politics, orientations to human rights, and conflict resolution. It is also hoped that this research will build understanding about useful and unhelpful strategies for development and other missions.
What is "peacebuilding"?
Peacebuilding is not confined to crisis intervention and military peacekeeping. Peacebuilding involves a full range of approaches, processes, and stages needed for short, medium, and long-term transformation toward more sustainable, peaceful relationships, governance modes, structures, and institutions. This includes development of human rights, the legal system, good governance, equitable development and effective conflict resolution. To be effective, peacebuilding initiatives require careful and participatory planning at various levels of society. It requires coordination among efforts and sustained commitments by local and donor partners.
Many people in foreign development work or missions around the world are now working with people who are trying to rebuild their lives and communities in countries that have experienced armed conflicts. International relief and development agencies are aware that short-term relief and crisis intervention, while important, are not enough in torn and traumatized societies. Development organizations are increasingly recognizing the need for their involvement in helping people with post-conflict reconciliation, development of increased capacity for non-violent conflict resolution, and the building of sustainable peace. Unfortunately, they often do so with very little background or training in practical concepts of conflict resolution. Often, people must begin work with little background understanding of the history, culture and political context in the places they are working. This is particularly so with short term missions.
Peacebuilding in Cambodia
Cambodia has been the focus of the world's most concentrated peacebuilding activities in history. The UN has conducted the most visible and expensive peace effort in Cambodia with more than $1.8 billion spent on the work of the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) from 1992 to 1993. In addition to organizing the 1993 election and repatriating many refugees, the UN created safety and support for development of longer-term peacebuilding efforts including human rights, legal development and civil society NGOs. However, the UN was unable to disarm the factions, and left in place structures that fostered continued factional power struggle. UNTAC has been criticized for having a "top-down," technology-transfer approach which marginalised local knowledge and skills. Foreign efforts for ongoing peacebuilding still tend to give lip service to understanding Cambodian political, social and religious culture. Few resources have been put into sustained research to elicit Cambodian approaches to conflict resolution and peacebuilding. UNTAC largely ignored the importance of religion of Cambodia, except in the overall context of freedom of religion as part of the panoply of international human rights the UN sought to introduce in Cambodia.
The Cambodia conflicts: A brief history
The world associates Cambodia's conflicts with the period during the Khmer Rouge regime of 1975 to 1979 and its aftermath, but its troubles have not been isolated to the past three decades. Historically, Cambodia has been caught between expansionist neighbours, European colonial interests, and the agendas of Cold War superpowers, all of which were factors in the rise of the so called "Khmer Rouge" regime under the leadership of Pol Pot.
Under the Pol Pot regime, Cambodia suffered almost complete destruction of its societal, institutional and physical infrastructures. The regime's policies of radical collectivism, nationalist isolation and continuous internal purges led to deaths of an estimated 1.7 million men, women and children. Up to a quarter of Cambodia's population died of privation, illness, torture or execution. Most scholars and professionals, including teachers, doctors and lawyers, were killed, died, fled abroad or disappeared. The Buddhist clergy was nearly annihilated, and the practice of religion was forbidden. Buddhist temples, the Islamic mosques of Cambodia's Cham people, and Christian churches were destroyed or desecrated. Books, including virtually all religious and historical literature, were destroyed.
Vietnam expelled the Pol Pot regime in 1979 and installed a government composed of Cambodians who had fled the regime. After a further decade of factional armed conflict and years of peace efforts, the 1991 Paris Peace Accords were reached. The 1993 UN-organized election resulted in a fragile coalition which finally ended in July 1997 with a violent military conflict between the leaders of Cambodia's two coalition prime ministers, Hun Sen of the Cambodia People's Party (CPP) and Prince Norodom Ranariddh of the FUNCINPEC party (FUNCINPEC is the French acronym for the Front Uni National pour un Cambodge Indépendant, Neutre, Pacifique et Coopératif). Another internationally monitored election was held in July1998 which resulted in a coalition more clearly controlled by Hun Sen's CPP. The remnants of Khmer Rouge military forces were given amnesties and integrated into the Cambodian armed forces in December 1998.
Current conflicts
Since 1998 political stability has increased. Life for many Cambodians has improved, but the country is still characterized by poverty, economic and social inequality, corruption, violence, ethnic prejudice and factionalism. Human rights abuses and poor law enforcement mean there is violence and bullying by authorities, sexual exploitation of children and women, widespread land rights disputes and labour conflicts. Military, police and government officials often turn a blind eye or are actively involved. Courts lack independence and resources. There are no trusted government human rights complaint mechanisms. Public frustration with impunity of criminal offenders has led to violent mob street "justice." Generations of war and conflict have meant the breakdown of community structures, relationships and trust at all levels of society, including the grass roots.
There has been discussion about how to come to terms with the Khmer Rouge past, which has deeply traumatized and demoralized the population, and which children born after the regime ended find difficult to understand, or in some cases even to believe. A number of very senior leaders in the Khmer Rouge regime are now free in Cambodia, including Ieng Sary, who was second in command in the Pol Pot regime. Several other leaders of the Pol Pot regime are in custody awaiting a trial, the terms of which have been internationally arranged with the UN. The idea of a trial of top leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime is widely supported by Cambodians, and after long delays, legislation has been passed that will allow trials. The government has resisted the idea of prosecuting Ieng Sary because of his role in leading Khmer Rouge soldiers into the government fold in 1996. Little consultation has been done with Cambodians concerning what kinds of processes they need in order to come to terms with the past in ways that are meaningful and restorative for the Cambodian populace. There are fears that a trial will do little to heal the traumas that are still profoundly suffered by Cambodians. It is also difficult to see what effects trials will have on Cambodia's weak institutions and governance styles. [February 2002: please see Cambodia Today for for regular updates]
Religion, conflict and peacebuilding in Cambodia
Buddhism is Cambodia's state religion. Over ninety percent of Cambodia's 11.4 million people are Theravada Buddhists. While Buddhist institutions are currently weak, wats (pagoda-monasteries) traditionally have been central in schooling, moral education, community decision making, political advice, spiritual counsel, and conflict resolution. For the Khmer-Buddhist majority, Buddhism is the only institution that cuts across all political and social divisions in Cambodia. The Buddhist clergy evokes widespread popular deference, and has exceptional power to sway people at the grassroots level. Buddhism is deeply connected to Khmer national identity. Abandonment of Buddhism is often seen as abandonment of Khmer identity.
Khmer-Buddhism has been the endemic religion of the Khmer people since the thirteenth century. Khmer-Buddhism includes traditional ideas that historically have been part of Khmer culture, including ideas about ethical governance, peace, forgiveness and justice. Some Buddhist concepts have been seen to foster apathy, inequalities, and injustices such as the Buddhist doctrine of kamma and some interpretations of Buddhist teachings about forbearance and forgiveness. Buddhist concepts of peace, forgiveness, and justice have been politically manipulated in Cambodia. These concepts and ways they are being manipulated are discussed in the full report.
Buddhist revival over the past decade means there are now about 50,000 monks in Cambodia. About 4,000 pagodas have been restored using villagers' lay offerings. In general, however, Buddhism is very weak in Cambodia largely because of destruction of religion during the Khmer Rouge period. Internal weakness within the Buddhist clergy mean increased ability of political players to manipulate Khmer-Buddhism. Nevertheless, Buddhism maintains strong popular support, and monks have strong public influence.
The work inspired by Buddhist monk, Venerable Maha Ghosananda, is the most frequently cited example of religiously-based peacebuilding in Cambodia. Maha Ghosananda is the founder and remains the spiritual leader of the Dhammayietra peace movement in Cambodia, which work has been highly respected and has been widely seen as effective in calming the public and encouraging them to vote in 1993 and 1998 elections. Many Cambodian lay people and non-governmental organizations have been involved in this popularly respected peace movement, discussed in the full report, and in more depth in Catherine Morris, "Case Studies in Religion and Peacebuilding: Cambodia," in Religion and Peacebuilding, edited by Harold Coward and Gordon Smith (New York: SUNY Press, forthcoming 2002).
Roles of Christians
Catholics have had a small presence in Cambodia since the 1550s and Protestants since the 1920s. Cambodian Christians themselves now form a tiny minority of about 40,000 people including about 15,000 Catholics. Historically, the Christian Church has not strongly attracted the Khmer people. Few were converted over the centuries by the Roman Catholic missions, with similarly few conversions from Protestant missions in the early part of the twentieth century. Between 1970 and 1975, however, there were thousands of conversions to Christianity as war intensified and refugees from the country-side poured into Phnom Penh. During the 1980s, Christian organizations such as Quaker organizations, the Mennonite Central Committee, the Church World Service, the Lutheran World Service, World Vision and other church-based organizations were among those who first went in1979 with humanitarian aid to start to address desperate needs of refugees and internally displaced Cambodians.
Currently, Cambodian churches are concerned about conflicts, but the churches are small and have few resources to address peacebuilding or conflict resolution. Foreign Christian efforts have been most prominent in social services, health care and rural development. Some missions emphasize development and others evangelization. Quakers, Mennonites and Catholics have been most prominent in peacework. They work with local communities and organizations, including Buddhist organizations, to facilitate development of local knowledge and strategies for conflict resolution and peacebuilding.
Not all church presence has been seen as conducive to peacebuilding. Some initiatives have created conflict. Assertive evangelistic proselytization has offended many. Nevertheless, Christianity is attracting many Cambodians who have suffered a crisis of faith because of their experiences of the war, the Khmer Rouge period, and the subsequent slowness of recovery. Some believe Christians have strategically targeted traumatized people, criticizing their Buddhist beliefs as ineffective, and offering Christianity as a better alternative. Even though Christians are a tiny minority, there is some concern that church growth and the high-profile assertiveness of evangelical Christian missionaries may foster a climate for future conflict. Both Christians and Buddhists see increased inter-faith dialogue as one way to prevent seeds of religiously-based conflict from growing. Also urged is the facilitation of local church growth in keeping with Cambodian culture, rather than use of foreign strategies.
Conclusions
While there has been a revival of Buddhism since the end of the Khmer Rouge period in 1979, the future of Cambodian Buddhism is uncertain. The clergy is weak, and for most Cambodians Buddhism is shallow in terms of daily ethical practice or spiritual discipline. While some Cambodians fear that Buddhism will give way to Christianity, the historic animistic folk religions and spirit worship are deeply rooted in Cambodia. Some Buddhist doctrines such as kamma are also pervasive and deeply rooted, and there are strong historic, cultural and emotional bonds to Khmer-Buddhism.
This study points out risks in "charity"-oriented or advisory approaches to mission that are ineffective at best, or at worst foster continued foreign dependence. There are dangers from foreign evangelistic stances that fail to understand or respect local culture and religion. However, a decade of religiously-based peacework shows the good fruits of facilitative foreign approaches to peacebuilding and development, compared to advisory, top-down approaches. From a religious missions perspective, this study shows how Buddhist-Christian collaboration can be effective in areas of common concern for peacebuilding and conflict resolution, with a view to increasing interfaith dialogue wherever possible.
Needs noted by key informants or emerging from this research
Some key informants noted some research or programming needs or suggestions in the area of conflict resolution and peacebuilding in Cambodia. They are summarized in the full report.
Short annotated bibliography on Cambodia
The full report contains a short annotated bibliography designed for those contemplating missions in Cambodia.
The full working paper
The 53-page online working paper including bibliographic references and the six-page executive summary. The draft article A hard copy may also be obtained from Peacemakers Trust at a cost-recovery price of Canadian $12.50 which includes regular postage. Cheque or money order in Canadian funds only. Credit card payment is not available at this time.
A partial list of bibliographic references in the report is found at http://www.peacemakers.ca/research/Cambodia/Cambodia2000Refs.html.
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