| Mouvement National | |
|---|---|
| MONATIO | |
Flag used by MONATIO
| |
| Dates of operation | 17 April 1975 |
| Ideology | Khmer nationalism |
| Opponents | Khmer Rouge |
| Battles and wars | Fall of Phnom Penh |
MONATIO, short for Mouvement National (English: "National Movement"), was a short-lived, supposedly nationalist, political faction in Cambodia. The exact nature of the group is still obscure. On April 17, 1975, as the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh, this group took out a motor-cavalcade on the streets of the capital welcoming the arrival of the Khmer Rouge.[1]
The group consisted of a handful of soldiers, dressed in black uniforms, accompanied by a number of students. MONATIO was led by Hem Keth Dara and the whole group in turn manipulated by Lon Non, brother of Lon Nol.[1][2]
Initially tolerated by the Khmer Rouge, MONATIO members were later rounded up and executed.[2][3] The Khmer Rouge regime later claimed that MONATIO had been a CIA conspiracy against the revolutionary government.[4]
A movie on the events of 1975, called MONATIO, was made by Norodom Sihanouk.[5]
Media related to MONATIO at Wikimedia Commons
