Archive for PAILIN

PAILIN PROVINCE

Pailin is a province at the northern edge of the Cardamom Mountains, in the west of Cambodia near the border of Thailand. This province is surrounded by Battambang Province, and was officially carved out of Battambang to become a separate administrative division after the surrender of the Ieng Sary faction of the Khmer Rouge in 1996. Pailin is known to much of the world for having long been a stronghold of the Khmer Rouge, remaining under their control long after they were defeated in 1979.

On 22 December 2008, King Norodom Sihamoni signed a Royal Decree that changed the municipalities of Kep, Pailin and Sihanoukville into provinces, as well as adjusting several provincial borders.

History

Pailin was originally a small forest zone full of animal and several precious stones. Pailin is the transform word from the original Pan Len, referred by a tale about around the 18th or 19th century, there were a group of hunters who chased the wild animals farther and farther until they reached the present-day Pailin where, then, was of jungles of high trees and some fields by the canal which was called small river such as Tong small river. The hunters saw otters that were swimming and they ran away when they saw people. Then, the hunters went to see the place where the otters played together. They saw small bright rocks and everybody took a rock to show their friends and their relatives in their home land. Arriving in the home land, there were residents (it was said they were Kula^{[disambiguation needed]} people in Chanthaburi Province Siam) knew that the rocks were valuable so they took and broke the rocks to polish into gems with good purity. That was why they went to buy gems from the hunters. The hunters knew that it was way of earning a living, they often tried to go to take the rocks from the old place. At that time, Pailin began to faced as the business place.

The frequent going and coming from that place made them call Phee Leng due to the playing of the otters that they saw at the first time. But the residents in Siam pronounced Phee as Phai and Leng as Len​​​​ or Lin with their Siamese sound as Pea Lean. During the control of France of that area, it was written in Latin with the sound and morphology of the words as Phailin. Later the word was shortened as Pailin by omitting " H "​ាaim of a difficult pronunciation.

In the late 1970s, Pailin was a prosperous town stemming from the extensive gem deposits in the surrounding countryside. Because of its resources, it was one of the first cities invaded by the Khmer Rouge when they began their major offensive against the national government. The city offered no resistance and the Khmer Rouge soldiers were greeted as liberators as they marched into town. At this point, the deposed king had allied himself with the KR and most residents believed that the KR were fighting to restore him to power. It was not long, though, before most residents were rounded up for a forced march to the countryside to work in rice paddies. Those believed to have connections to the government were killed. The KR used proceeds from mining in the Pailin area to fund their offensive and later their government once they gained national power. When the invading Vietnamese Army threw them from power, they retreated to Pailin, where many former KR leaders remain today.

Some leaders went into hiding in fear of punishment for their crimes, although other leaders lived openly in the province. It is said that 70% of the area's older men were fighters for the Khmer Rouge, but none of the regular fighters have yet been brought to justice.^{[citation needed]} As of September 2007, Pailin's remaining Khmer Rouge leaders were being rounded up to face justice by an international tribunal, including Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea.

In the recent years, Pailin suddenly meet the decline of Economy and Business. However, a new wave of tourism began found depend on its ancient temple, natural forest, animals and especially the precious stones.

The province is divided into two districts:

- 2401 Pailin

- 2402 Sala Krau

DIAMOND ZONE

Located in Tonle Sap region with and Thailand on its western border, Pailin was a major gem producing and logging areas under the Khmer Rouge’s control until 1997. After integration, Pailin became a municipality and other businesses have developed and the lifestyle has been changed and attracted new prospectors. With its land area of 1,097km² and its population of 40,892, comprising 21,698 males and 19,194 females which compose of 9,768 families. Pailin is entirely urban, it consists of 2 districts, 8 communes and 79villages.

Pailin has an attractive location amide the foothills of Chuor Phnom Kravanh, but the town itself lacks major attractions unless you know a bit about gemstones or like hanging out with geriatrics responsible for mass murder.

This small town near the Thai border has bountiful gem and timber resources, long the economic crutch that kept the Khmer Rouge hobbling along. It was used as a base from which to launch regular dry-season offensive against government positions in and around the province of Battambang. Government forces managed to take Pailin in the summer of 1994, but the Khmer Rouge massed for a counter attack and chased the army all the way up to Phnom Sampeau. However, in August 1996, Ieng Sary, former brother No 3 during the Khmer Rouge regime and Khmer Rouge supreme in these parts, defected to the government side, bringing with him up to 3000 fighters and their dependants. This was critical in bringing about the eventual demise of the Khmer Rouge, as it cut offmuch-needed sources of revenue for fighters in the north and allowed the Royal Cambodian Armed force to concentrate its resource on one front.

Pailin’s fortunes rose dramatically in the late 1990s as gem dealers flocked into town and casinos opened to milk cash from Thai gambler. However, much of this freewheel activity has moved back to the border area where large casinos like the Caesar International are more convenient for the Thais. Today Pailin is a subdued Wild West town in which former leaders of the Khmer Rouge seek haven, avoiding the long arm of International law.

Kbal Autavao Resort
Is the natural resort full of beautiful scenery with clear-water canal, and locates at Sangkat Ou Tavao, Khan Pailin in five-Kilometer distance from Pailin town.

Kbal O Chra
5 km (15mn) From Provincial Town. Nature & Wildlife Preserves, Location: Ouchra Leu Village, Tuol Lwea Commune, Khan Pailin.

Ou Eb Resort
Is the natural and ancient resort with waterfall and many big trees. It locates at Sangkat Ou Chras, Khan Pailin in 10-Kilometer distance from Pailin town by the road to Bo Ya Kha and Bo Tang Sou.

Phnom Keuy Resort
Is the natural resort with beautiful scenery of natural forest and river, and locates at Sangkat Steung Kach, Khan Saha Krau in 20-Kilometer distance from the Pailin town.

Phnom Yat Resort
Description: Is the cultural and historical site with ancient pagoda built as Ko La pagoda’s style. Phnom Yat locates at Pailin City and can be reached by the Road No 10. Phnom Yat, the site worshipped by the local people and the passersby who have very strong abstract belief. It also has most precious stone among other sites in Pailin City.