Les Kosem

Les Kosem (Khmer: កូសេម ឡេស pronounced [kɔoseːm leːh]), also known by the nom de guerre "Po Nagar", was a Cham military officer and a prominent figure in the Second Indochina War and the Cambodian Civil War.

The native form of this personal name is Kosem Les. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
In this Cambodian name, the surname is Kosem. In accordance with Cambodian custom, this person should be referred to by the given name, Les.
Les Kosem
កូសេម ឡេស
Personal details
Died1976
Malaysia
Political partyFront for the Liberation of Champa
NicknamePo Nagar
Military service
Allegiance Cambodia
Branch/serviceRoyal Khmer Armed Forces (until 1970)
Khmer National Armed Forces (from 1970)
SDECE
Battles/wars

Kosem, a paratroop colonel, was the most senior Cham officer in the Royal Cambodian Army. During the later 1950s, he had been responsible for setting up the FLC (Front de Libération du Champa) which is an organisation seeking greater autonomy for the Cham people.[1] In 1964, acting on the advice of a French 'handler', Kosem made overtures to the leadership of BAJARAKA, a group seeking independence for the Degar people of the Vietnamese Central Highlands. Kosem was thought to have been acting as a double agent, working for both the Cambodian secret service and the French SDECE.[1][2] The link between the FLC, BAJARAKA, and the Khmer Krom "White Scarves" separatist movement was to result in the creation of the guerrilla movement FULRO.

In 1968, after internal disagreements within FULRO, Kosem was to surround the movement's headquarters with several battalions of the Royal Cambodian Army, and arrest its president Y Bham Enuol.

Kosem was also heavily involved in directing clandestine shipments of weapons from the port of Sihanoukville in Cambodia to the Viet Cong, in accordance with a secret arrangement between the Cambodian Head of State, Norodom Sihanouk, and the North Vietnamese.[3]

Following the Cambodian coup of 1970, Kosem became a prominent supporter of the Khmer Republic regime of Lon Nol, and rose to the rank of general within the Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK); he was part of the influential circle of officers around Nol's brother, Lon Non. In the first years of the civil war fought by Lon Nol's forces against the Khmer Rouge communists, Kosem's troops of the 5th Special Brigade were repeatedly engaged in the most active areas of insurgency, and gained a reputation for allegedly systematically slaughtering the inhabitants of pro-Khmer Rouge villages; the counterproductive results of this reputation led to the unit eventually being disbanded, according to some sources.[4] Kosem became well known for his ferocity and for corruption, although was also known for his generosity.[5] After 1974 he was appointed as a roving ambassador for the Khmer Republic.

After the Khmer Rouge victory of April 1975, Kosem escaped to Malaysia. He died of natural causes several years later.[5]

References
  1. Hickey, G. Window on a war: an anthropologist in the Vietnam conflict, p.175
  2. White, T. Swords of lightning: special forces and the changing face of warfare, Brassey's, 1992, p.143
  3. Ahern, T. Good Questions, Wrong Answers Archived July 24, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, declassified CSI study on arms shipments through Sihanoukville during Vietnam War
  4. Vickery, M. Cambodia 1975-1982 Archived 2009-08-06 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Corfield, J. and Summers, L. Historical Dictionary of Cambodia, Scarecrow Press, 2002, p.241
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