Cambodia

Ever since the actions in Cambodia occurred, it has been debated whether it was an actual genocide. The general definition of genocide is the purposeful and methodical execution of a national, racial, political, or cultural group. The Khmer Rouge in Cambodia demonstrated that a government can be guilty of genocide against its own nation. The radical communist party led by Pol Pot took over Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. After 1979, the Khmer Rouge left a traumatized Cambodian culture that continues to undergo the repercussions of the genocide. People over the age of forty in Cambodia have stories to tell of fear, cruelty, hunger and the loss of family members. However, the Cambodian government is not making an effort to recognize the negative occurrences that have posed itself in the history of their culture.

The investigation assesses “Was the main reason for the genocide in Cambodia political or economic?”. In order to classify the main cause of the genocide as political or economic, the investigation will look at the events leading up to or causes of the Cambodian genocide. The forming of a Communist peasant farming society, the U.S. involvement due to the military coup, and the joining of Prince Sihanouk with Pol Pot. Speeches and survivor accounts of the Cambodian genocide are used to decided upon the classification for the main cause of the genocide. Two sources that are used, “Cambodian Genocide: World Without Genocide”and “Origins-Anatomy of a Genocide: Cambodia”are assessed for their origins, purposes, values, and limitations.

Later that same year, Pot and the Khmer Rouge took control over Cambodia. Pot wasted no time in starting his mission to reconstruct Cambodia. He thought that all the educated people needed to be killed (Melicharova). Also he thought that all noncommunist aspects of Cambodia needed to be wiped out. All rights you had were now gone. Religion was banned and if you were any kind of leader among the Buddhist monks, you were killed instantly (Melicharova). All kids were taken away and sent to work in the fields (Melicharova). If anyone was currently working and had a job, they were immediately killed along with their family members. It got so bad that you could be killed for just laughing, crying, and knowing another language. The Khmer Rouge motto was “To spare you is no profit, to destroy you is no loss” (Melicharova). If you were lucky enough to escape death, you were put into the fields working usually from 4am to 10pm unpaid (“Pol”). From lack of food and sleep, people often became very ill which sadly led to death.

The Khmer Rouge forces took over Cambodia, and evacuated the nation's cities. They emptied schools, hospitals, factories and abolished all forms of money and wages. Religion, popular culture, and all forms of self expression were forbidden. They were forced into the countryside to do forced labor, and got less than 90 grams of rice a day. Where most people died from fatigue, disease, execution, and starvation. Now people of Cambodia are exchanging this terrible genocide for healing. Trying to find peace and a resolution for all those who have lost loved ones, or encountered this terrible genocide

As a strong communist organization with aims for Cambodia that would leave the country in dire need of help, the Khmer Rouge defectively impacted the easy-going life Cambodians knew. With much determination,

During times of trouble it is the structure of families which bring stability and fuel resilience. Families often support each other to survive a trauma because they are support systems. The Cambodian genocide led by the Khmer Rouge regime attempted to tear apart families and exploit their special bond. The Khmer Rouge soldiers took towns captive or burned them, and recruited youths to join their cause (Pran IX). From 1975 to 1979, all Cambodians were forced to live in labor camps and were forced to work fourteen to eighteen hours a day with only a single bowl of rice to eat. Family members were separated from one another purposefully to lower morale. During this period an estimated one-third of Cambodian’s population died due to malnutrition, illness, and execution (Pran X). Children of Cambodia’s Killing Fields: Memoirs by Survivors compiled by Dith Pran is important because it confirms the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime, explains how the Khmer Rouge gained power, and how the Khmer Rouge attempted to indoctrinate young children against their parents.

Cambodia, a southeastern Asian country, was under the rule of prince Norodom Sihanouk since its independence from France in 1953. Cambodians lived in prosperity, and were self-sufficient under a “Buddhist socialist” government, but this peace was interrupted by the Vietnamese war (1955-1975) in its neighbor country. Although the prince tried to keep his people unaware of the war, by 1969 the United

This paper investigates and distinguishes, through my opinion, the impacts that Khmer Rouge’s also known as the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) had on a global scale. First, by addressing the impacts to the immediate country, Cambodia and the tactics used by this abhorrent organization. Furthermore, the ideologies used by said organization, to instill fear and distrust in the population; which lead to there early demise, but not after 1.7 million people lost or sacrificed there lives for their country, per se. The lesson to be learned from this is, no matter who you are or what power you have, eventually you will have to answer to the international community if you commit such egregious acts of violence.

During the 1970s, Cambodia was under the communist government and started to have the war within the own nation. Begin of 1975 Khmer Rouge (pol pot) got the chance to control the whole nation and started to evacuate all the rich and educated residents from the capital city (Phnom Penh) to live in every far villages from the city. The prime minister of Khmer Rouge put the order for the soldiers killed all the educated such as professors, singers, actors, reporters, and included the doctors.

The Cambodian Genocide (1975-1979) was a period of complete chaos and destruction. In The Killing Fields, Eyewitness Accounts The Cambodian Genocide, and The Endurance of the Cambodian Family Under the Khmer Rouge Regime: An Oral History, Cambodia became controlled by the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge entered Cambodia on April 17, 1975 in preparation for a nationwide “liberation campaign” (Mam, 119). The Khmer Rouge’s goals were to create a communist revolution that would place power in the hands of the peasants to benefit the state. They wanted to increase agricultural production and transform the Cambodian society (Mam, 119). Before the Khmer Rouge rose to power, Cambodian class, family, and religion played a huge role in Cambodian identity. The family tried to remain strong through resistance, making it difficult for the KR to implement their harsh plans. However, the Khmer Rouge did implement horrific policies that caused many Cambodians to endure suffering that lasted until the Vietnamese forces liberated Cambodia in 1979.

In 1978 Vietnamese soldiers fought their way into Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge fled to the west. The Khmer Rouge was very difficult. When pol pot was the leader it wasn't as complicated because he had certain rules about how he want to take over Cambodia and how he wanted it done. When pol pot leavt it got complicated and everything went downhill from there. In 1977 Pol Pot did a radio show and talk for over five hours. He talked about how Cambodia was now run by a communist government. Pol Pot had Vietnam and China helping him at the Time which made the Cambodian genocide

In April 1975, Cambodia history would be changed forever. This was the start of Cambodia genocide. Pol Pot, the leader of the Khmer Rouge, became the ruler of Cambodia. He did not like the idea of them influenced by other countries. Khmer Rouge persecuted all the educated citizens. They persecuted doctors, lawyers, police, and former military. They even prosecuted Buddhists, Christians and Muslims. Khmer Rouge then put all the citizens in living arrangements according to their trust. The “old citizens” were the most trust worthy. Then, the pro-west and city dwellers were called “new citizens”. The last groups were the “candidates” and “full right citizens”. Anybody that refused re-education were killed in the fields or at the prison camp Tuol Sleng Centre. Khmer Rouge killed over 1.7 million people. In January 1979, Khmer Rouge was removed from power by Vietnam communist. Ever since the genocide, Cambodia became one of the least developed countries in the world. According to United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking,” Poverty, lack of education, and employment opportunities have left many Cambodians, particularly women and children, in extremely vulnerable situations”. This would cause people to find many different ways to make money. Families would sell their daughters to brothels to pay off debts. Girls who are forced to work in brothels endure rape, abuse and torture.

"Pol Pot and the Prosecution of the Khmer Rouge Leadership in Cambodia." History Behind the Headlines: The Origins of Conflicts Worldwide. Ed. Sonia G. Benson, Nancy Matuszak, and Meghan Appel O'Meara. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Student Resources in Context. Web. 24 Nov.

Cambodia’s history contrasts a glorious past with recent tragedy. Located in Southeast Asia between Thailand and Vietnam, Cambodia’s history of conflict with its neighbors and European colonialism has led to distrust and nationalism. Fear of foreign occupation or being partitioned by its neighbors lingers in the Cambodian national psychology. Once part of French Indochina, Cambodian gained independence in 1953 when King Sihanouk convinced France that only complete independence would undercut the appeal of communism in Cambodia.

Cambodia has been significantly affected by the ongoing communism and the rule of the Khmer Rouge during the 20th century. Referred to as The Khmer Rouge regime, Cambodian genocide, Year Zero and the Cambodian Holocaust, the rule of the Communist Party of Kampuchea from 1975-1979 has had a devastating impact on Cambodia and the country’s condition in the 21st century. Led by Pol Pot, the beliefs and objectives of the Khmer Rouge has resulted in Cambodia’s loss of culture and identity, the deaths of approximately 4 million people resulting in generation loss and a brain drain and has affected how Cambodia is in today’s society.