The Khmer Rouge: Cambodian Genocide

The Khmer Rouge was a communist party that was created out of the struggle against French colonization and influenced by the Vietnamese War that had spilled into Cambodia over prior years. During the war, the United States used Cambodia as a regrouping zone and bombed parts of the country to rid of any suspected Viet Cong targets. This laid the foundation for animosity toward the West. The country was ruled by Marshal Lon Nol after Prince Sihanouk was removed from his position as head of state. When the leader of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot, allied with Sihanouk it was clear that a civil war was on the rise. With help from Vietnamese forces, the Khmer Rouge was able to overthrow the efforts from Lon Nol. This further disenchanted Cambodia from

the West as Lon Nol’s government dropped roughly half a million bombs with assistance from the United States.

On April 17, 1975 the Khmer Rouge seized control of the capital city of Phnom Penh, effectively ousting the Khmer Republic government that Lon Nol had created. Members of the Khmer Rouge formed their policies out of radical adaptations taken from Maoist and Marxist-Leninist theories. Their goal was to turn Cambodia into a rural, classless society. With their focus on an agrarian utopia, people were able to see the hypocrisy in their rule as many officials were university-educated. By 1976, the country’s name had been changed to Democratic Kampuchea and Pol Pot declared this as “Year Zero” in order to begin building his new republic.

After Cambodia was overtaken, Phnom Penh was emptied out and its previous population was split into labor camps that were set up in the countryside. The conditions people were faced with were anything but humane; physical abuse, exhaustion, disease, and starvation were prevalent. The Khmer Rouge was extremely brutal and singled out anyone who could pose a threat to their regime. Doctors, teachers, monks, journalists, artists, and the rich were among those who were targeted. Religious and ethnic minorities were not spared from the violence and they faced similar punishments as those around them. Children, families, the elderly, and the physically ill faced immediate execution due to the fact that they were seen as undesirable and unfit to work in the labor camps. The saying “to stop weeds, you must pull up their roots” was used to justify the murdering of children and babies.

Unlike many other genocides, no one was entirely safe from being branded an enemy of the state during the Cambodian Genocide.

Even if someone was seen as being on the “right side” of the Khmer Rouge, that could change within a day. It was noted that many members of the Khmer Rouge were killed during purges. Evidence was not necessary to convict someone and send them to prison. Many would fabricate confessions of various crimes as they believed it would put an end to the torture they were forced to endure. However, these people were executed once they had given a new list of people to arrest. As more people began flooding the prisons, it was clear to the Khmer Rouge that starvation was no longer an effective tool to rid of the population. Executions became more prominent as killing fields were established throughout the country. Survival was determined by one’s ability to do work in the labor camps and since the handicapped and elderly could not handle harsh labor, they were often killed. Once a person could no longer work, confessed to an alleged crime, or were not seen as useful anymore, they were to be taken to the killing fields. It is estimated that over one million Cambodian citizens were killed at these sites and buried in mass

graves.

Life for those who managed to avoid execution was nowhere near easy. Family relationships were criticized and it was common for the Khmer Rouge to insist that “Angka” was to be considered as one’s mother or father as this was the top level of the regime. Child soldiers were also used as a tool for the Khmer Rouge since they were easy to control and did not hesitate when given orders. This would often lead to children being forced to kill their parents and loved ones. Culture was not spared either. The country that people had once known had turned into a shell of what it used to be. Money, free markets, schools, private property, foreign styles of clothing, religious practices, and other aspects of traditional Khmer culture were abolished. Buildings such as schools, pagodas, and government properties were turned into prisons, stables, camps, and granaries. One of the most famous examples of this was the S-21 Prison which had formerly been a high school. Prisoners would be sent there for interrogation before facing execution in the killing fields.

While the international response to the genocide was generally silent, there were some scholars in the West who tried without success to bring attention the atrocities that were occurring. Neither the United States nor Europe chose to interfere. The United States had recently lost the war in Vietnam which made them reluctant to involve itself in this region again. Even though public stance on the Khmer Rouge strengthened gradually, no actions were ever taken. It was not until after the Khmer Rouge was overthrown that it gained focus from the media, and it still never led to an international investigation.

Vietnam invaded Cambodia on January 7, 1979 after the two had countries had clashed in 1977.

Vietnamese troops were able to overthrow the Khmer Rouge and they installed a socialist regime and most of the remaining members of the Khmer Rouge fled west into the jungles along the border of Thailand where they continued to carry out guerrilla attacks against Vietnamese forces. Surprisingly, the Khmer Rouge was given aid from Western countries after fleeing from Cambodia. The United States did not condone their actions, but they wanted to show their disapproval of Vietnam so they voted in favor Cambodia to keeping their seat at the United Nations. This is just one example of how the Cold War was able to influence decision making during this time period.

The Khmer Rouge continued to fight against the government Vietnam had created in Cambodia with help from both China and the Soviet Union. Finally, Vietnam withdrew its troops in 1989 after a decade. The Khmer Rouge was led as an insurgency by Pol Pot until 1997 when he was arrested and placed on house arrest. However, the organization continued to exist for two more years until 1999 when it officially broke apart. Most members had either defected, been arrested, or

died.

It was difficult for Cambodia to rebuild as they received very little foreign aid and their previously existing infrastructure had been destroyed over the four year regime. For a while the country was without teachers, doctors, engineers, or other professionals due to the fact that they had been targeted during the genocide. Survivors were faced with a broken country and post-traumatic stress disorders that only worsened without proper care from medical professionals. A tradition of silence regarding the horrors they encountered fell amongst the survivors and it was uncommon for a long time for people to tell their stories. Some Cambodian citizens still live in fear of a recurrence as there are politicians who were previously members of the Khmer Rouge, including Prime Minister Hun Sen who was a former Khmer Rouge Battalion Commander.

Cambodia is still in the midst of recovering to this day. The country is laden with millions of landmines which have prevented many mass graves from being excavated. They have also contributed to many deaths and disabilities and it is estimated that roughly 40,000 Cambodians are amputees due to the landmines. Many families that were separated have yet to reunite with each other and it is likely that they never will. In an attempt to prevent future genocides, many prisons including S-21 have been turned into memorials to educate people on the torture that was endured as well as pay respect to the victims who lost their lives.