National Association of Cambodian Scouts: Difference between revisions

[[André Lefèvre (Scouting)|André Lefèvre]], chief of the [[Eclaireuses et Eclaireurs de France|Eclaireurs de France]], set up a training camp for 60 Scoutmasters from all over French Indochina. At the end of 1937, French Scouting sent Scoutmaster [[Raymond Schlemmer]] to the Cambodian, [[Laos|Laotian]], and Vietnamese areas of Indochina to oversee the setting up of the [[Fédération Indochinoise des Associations du Scoutisme]] (FIAS, Indochinese Federation of Scouting Associations) in all three regions.

From 1939 through 1945, the political situation affected Scouting activities all across the country, as World War II engendered a movement for an independent Cambodia. The French began to lose control and were finally overthrown by Japanese intervention. This ceased the French Scouts' activity in Cambodia, as well as all Scouting activities.

In 1956, the Cambodian Scouting movement was transformed into the ''Scouts of the Queen''. That year, there were 500 active Scouts and [[Girl Guides|Guides]] in Phnom Penh, and some 700 Scouts in the provinces of the Kingdom of Cambodia.  

In 1957, under the direction of socialist-leaning Prince [[Norodom Sihanouk]], the ''Angkar Khamarak Kayarith'' was transformed into the Jeunesse Socialiste Royale Khmer (JSRK, the ''Royal Socialist Khmer Youth''), with Sihanouk himself serving as president of the state ruled organization, now controlled by the Royal government. The 2,000 members and the leaders of Cambodian Scouting were permitted by the government to carry on activities. Scouts and Scout leaders attended the [[8th World Scout Jamboree]] in 1955 in Canada and the [[10th World Scout Jamboree]] in 1959 in the Philippines, among them Prince [[Norodom Yuvaneath]], the son of Norodom Sihanouk.  

On 1 November, 1964, Prince [[Sisowath Essaro]], then President of the ''Angkar Khamarak Kayarith'', announced the dissolution of the Cambodian Boy Scout Association, whose members were subsequently integrated into the ''Jeunesse Socialiste Royale Khmer'', a government-sponsored socialist youth movement.  

In 1972, the Cambodian Scouts were reestablished for a short period with ten groups, confined to the capital in Phnom Penh. In 1975, the movement was banned by the Khmer Rouge communist regime.  

As the political system changed in the country, Scouting was gradually reestablished and Scout groups were organized in the refugee camps at the Thai border. After the 1993 election supported by the United Nations, [[Beat Gruninger]], a [[Swiss Guide and Scout Movement|Swiss Scout]] leader was commissioned by the [[World Scout Bureau]] to coordinate with Cambodian leaders for the possible rebirth of Scouting in the recovering land.