The Deadly Rite of Spring

Viet Nam attacks rebels, bombs civilians and goads Thailand

Each year, when monsoon rains sweep in from the Indian Ocean, three separate guerrilla armies emerge from their sanctuaries to challenge the 180,000 Vietnamese troops who have been occupying Kampuchea since 1979. And each year, when the parched rice paddies sprout nothing but stubble, the Vietnamese seek revenge, rolling out their tanks in an effort to eliminate the 45,000 armed "nationalists" opposed to the Vietnamese-backed government of President Heng Samrin. But this year the Vietnamese have instigated something more than the usual rite of spring. In their most deadly and deliberate offensive yet, they have been training their guns not only on the insurgents but on unarmed civilians and even on neighboring Thailand.

The latest Vietnamese assault has forced 45,000 Kampuchean civilians who live in camps along the 450-mile border with Thailand to flee across the frontier; according to some reports, 90 people have been killed and 300 wounded. Said State Department Spokesman Alan Romberg: "We are appalled that Vietnamese forces indiscriminately attacked settlements containing thousands of civilians." The U.S. has already sent an emergency grant of $1.5 million to the Red Cross, and last week it announced that it would immediately begin airlifting into Thailand a number of Redeye antiaircraft missiles, followed by new 155-mm extended-range howitzers.

The Vietnamese apparently plan to obliterate the main camps of each of the three resistance groups in turn. Two weeks ago they demolished Phnom Chat, a border settlement loyal to the Khmer Rouge, the largest of the insurgent groups. Three days later, and 70 miles to the northeast, they leveled O Samach, which is also known as Sihanoukville for its 30,000 followers of Prince Norodom Sihanouk, who was deposed in 1970. The next Vietnamese target will probably be the camps of Ban Sangae and Nong Samet, which house 96,000 civilians and serve as a center for the Khmer People's National Liberation Front. That group is led by Son Sann, 71, who is perhaps Kampuchea's least-tarnished and therefore (to the Vietnamese) most threatening nationalist leader.

At the same time, the Vietnamese have sent their troops a mile into Thai territory, directing artillery fire at Thai villages and shelling a highway. The Thais angrily responded by sending F-5E fighter planes to dislodge Vietnamese soldiers and by dispatching a note of protest to the United Nations, charging the Vietnamese with "unprovoked and blatant acts of aggression." In Bangkok, the ambassadors of Viet Nam and the Soviet Union, which supports Viet Nam, were summoned to the foreign ministry for a stern lecture.

In return, the Vietnamese began a diplomatic offensive of their own, accusing Thailand of actively supporting the border rebels and China of supplying them with arms through Thailand. China has always backed the guerrillas in Kampuchea. But while Thailand probably allows China to send arms through Thai territory, it has tried to avoid direct involvement in Kampuchea's strife. Says District Chief Palakorn Suwannarath: "For the past four years we've been plagued by refugees, artillery shelling, black market activities and dislocation of civilians along the border. We get no benefit at all from these undisciplined resistance groups." Whatever Thailand does, the deadly seasonal cycle of violence in Kampuchea seems only to be getting worse. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.