Poc Khun Explained

Phra Phiset Phanit
Office1:Leader of Khmer Issarak
Term Start1:1940
Term End1:1946
Office2:Member of Thai Parliament
Constituency2:Phra Tabong
Term Start2:1946
Term End2:1946
Primeminister2:Khuang Aphaiwong
Monarch2:Ananda Mahidol
Office3:Chairman of Khmer National Liberation Committee
Term Start3:July 1949
Term End3:April 1950
Predecessor3:Dap Chhuon
Successor3:Leav Keo Moni
Spouse:Cha-on Aphaiwong
Profession:Politician

Phra Phiset Phanit (Thai: พระพิเศษพานิช), also known as Poc Khun (Central Khmer: ប៉ុក គុណ) or Wibun Pokmontri (Thai: วิบูล ปกมนตรี), was a member of the Aphaiwong branch of the Cambodian royal family, the brother-in-law of Prime Minister Khuang Aphaiwong of Thailand, and the organizer and leader of the first Khmer Issarak movement founded in 1940 to resist French colonial power in Cambodia.[1]

After the Khmer Issarak movement disintegrated due to internal political differences, Phiset was elected to represent Battambang (Phra Tabong) in the Thai parliament during the administration of his brother-in-law. After Khuang resigned as Prime Minister and Thailand again ceded the western Cambodian provinces back to French Indochina, Phiset and former Khmer Issarak members formed the Khmer National Liberation Committee (KNLC) in 1948 to further armed resistance against French rule of Cambodia. The KNLC attempted to distance itself from the Indochinese Communist Party and purge other leftists from within its own ranks paving the way for Phiset to become chairman in 1949. However, he was removed from that position less than a year later after being accused of misappropriating money designating for purchasing weapons.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Goscha, Christopher E. . 1999 . Thailand and the Southeast Asian Networks of the Vietnamese Revolution, 1885-1954 . Surrey, UK . Curzon Press, Nordic Institute of Asian Studies . 123 . 0700706224 . 3 Dec 2013.