Formally declared on October 9,1970, the Khmer Republic was a right-wing pro- US military-led government headed by general Lon Nol and prince Sisowath Sirik Matak that took power in the March 18,1970 coup against the then Head of State, Prince Norodom Sihanouk.The main causes of the coup were Norodom Sihanouk's toleration of North Vietnamese activity within Cambodia's borders, allowing heavily-armed Vietnamese Communist outfits de facto control over vast areas of eastern Cambodia . Another important factor was the dire state of the Cambodian economy, an indirect result of Sihanouk's policies of pursuing neutrality through virulent anti-americanism.
