Genocide In 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 memoir First They Killed my Father by Loung Ung is a captivating and riveting account of the Khmer Rouge reign in the country of Cambodia. The memoir follows Ung’s family as they are forced to move from village to village and work in what became known as the killing fields. The question arises, what kind of society was Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge trying to create? It is evident throughout the course of the novel that the Khmer Rouge attempted to form a communist, agricultural based society free of outside influence and completely independent from the outside world, specifically the western world.

The Cambodian Genocide, similar to every other genocide during the 20th century, occurred because of a government’s desire to equalize the citizens under their rule. Executed by the Khmer Rogue, the genocide involved the classification, displacement, and eventual extermination of around 25% of Cambodia’s population. In their pursuit of a utopian society, the Khmer Rouge capitalized on Cambodia’s fear of war to not only rise to power, but also rationalize their actions during the genocide. Despite hoping for peace after the civil war, the Cambodian people instead faced four years of genocide under the Khmer Rouge, where no citizen was safe from persecution.

To start, the Khmer Rouge rose to power during a turbulent time in Cambodia, and their policies were founded on false promises. Cambodia had been a French colony for years until 1953, when they finally received independence. Norodom Sihanouk soon took over the government, but Lon Nol, his general, later secured Cambodia in a military coup (Krkljes). The country’s tumultuous political history would allow the Khmer Rouge to establish control. Pol Pot, the leading figure of the Khmer Rouge, was a member of the Kampuchean

While analyzing The Rise and Demise of Democratic Kampuchea, the section called “Open Conflict Between Socialist Nations”, revealed many components that led to a mandatory invasion of Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge strived to reconquer the Mekong Delta, the region bordering Cambodia in the present day, of Vietnam. It turns out that Cambodia used to exert authority over the region, but throughout many decades, sovereignty transferred to the Vietnamese. In 1952, “the radical faction of the Khmer Students’ association in Paris-including ‘Pol Pot,’ Ieng

Empirically, the Khmer Rouge regime, from its conception in 1975 to its fall in 1979, supremely, holistically, and irreversibly overthrew Cambodian society. As a hard line communist movement defined by fundamentalist socialism the Khmer Rouge, under leader Pol Pot, attempted total social reconstruction and evolution. Envisaging a Cambodia without inequality and equal distribution of wealth, the Khmer Rouge implemented its aims of isolation and departure from Western capitalism through oppressive technique; in seeking a better nation, the movement indeed destroyed the ideological and philosophical integrity of Cambodia’s political system, economic structure, and social fabric.

Cambodia became one huge labor camp under the Khmer Rouge. After deposing Lon Nol on 1975, the Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot began one of the most brutal regimes in human history. This not only changed the Cambodian society but also ultimately destroyed it. This was due to the extreme vision of communism, which Pol Pot wanted to implement for a perfect and a peaceful society.

The Khmer Rouge rose through their ability to convey their ideology in a way that struck many citizens. A communist party, they were able to form alliances with other factions such as the Viet Cong and the Pathet Lao during the Vietnam War. As such, they garnered a large following and initiated the steps to overthrow the government in Cambodia. The tide essentially turned when the United States bombed the Khmer Rouge militants, attempting to aid Lon Nol’s forces, and killed many civilians. That led to new recruits in the Khmer Rouge, bent on destroying anything anti-communist. When their power was cemented in Cambodia, their conveyance toward the public turned into a life-or-death option. Intellectuals were massacred, women and children forced

Cambodia is a South East Asian country formerly known as Kampuchea, it shares borders with Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. In Cambodia during 1975-1979 a political regime known as the Khmer Rouge took control of the country. During this time it is estimated that around 2 million people perished, over a quarter of the population, from torture and execution or from starvation and untreated illness (Fawthrop & Jarvis, 2005). Although the regime ended with defeat by the Vietnamese over 30 years ago, the effects from this reign of terror continues to have an impact on Cambodia. The countries social coexistence, peace building process and the aftermath of the annihilation of so many of its people has affected the current population make up in

Once Sihanouk and the Khmer Rouge gained back control over Cambodia, “they set up policies that disregarded human life and produced repression and massacres on a massive scale” (“Khmer Rouge History”). Sihanouk once antagonized the Khmer, but now he decided to now create an alliance between them. He did this because he was furious about being overthrown and craved revenge. With the Khmer Rouge, they slowly were able to capture different pieces of land. Soon enough, the rebels were able to gain almost full control of Cambodia, despite the United States bombing that tried to prevent another regime change; this time from the Khmer Rouge. As the United States decided to halt to bombing the Khmer rebels were able to start obliterating certain parts of the country that were crucial to the political piece of the Cambodian government. All of this damage led to lack of food for the Cambodians and loss of their property since it was destroyed in the bombing. Surely enough, the Khmer Rouge was able to put an end to Lol Nol's rule and finally gained full control of Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge wanted to “transform Cambodia into a rural, classless society in which there were no rich people, no poor people, and no exploitation” (“Khmer Rouge History”). After the violent overthrow from the Khmer Rouge to kick Lol Nol out of leadership, Sihanouk and the

In between 1975-1979 during the Khmer Rouge’s reign in Cambodia, a total of roughly 2 million people were killed.  A significant amount of these people were victims of execution enforced by the regime (Cambodia’s Brutal Khmer Rouge Regime). By killing this amount of people in such a short period of time, millions of families were forced into a state of emotional turmoil and grievance without some loved ones alive. Also, the current population suffered an immediate blow with the loss of all of these people, especially a scarce amount of doctors and lawyers during the regime’s rule. According to a teacher who broke the regime’s law of no travelling, she was taken with 19 others in the back of a truck enroute to their deaths. She said, "One

The Khmer Rouge is a tragic event of torture, separation and death for all who had resided in Cambodia at the time, during the Khmer Rouge lives of millions, has been lost through many different horrible ways. This is all due for the sake of “equality” where communism has risen in the area and took control, king overthrown, has now begun the start of a revolution of classlessness. The Khmer Rouge was the rising of the infamous dictator Pol Pot, and his primitive ways. Pot did anything to make his goal finalized, even if it meant killing his own people everyone had to be equal no matter what the cause was. (http://www.cambodiatribunal.org/history/cambodian-history/khmer-rouge-history/)

The Cambodian Civil War took place from 1970-1975, however, the violence in the country was to only get worse. Immediately following the war, the Khmer Rouge took control of Cambodia from 1975-1979. Khmer Rouge was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea in Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge committed crimes against humanity and killed over one million people. Pol Pot and the members of the Khmer Rouge who are responsible for over a million deaths in the Cambodian Killing Fields, and 20,000 mass graves, are being brought to justice 30 years later, but the families of those who suffered will never forget their cruel and unthinkable acts against humanity.

The Khmer Rouge was able to inflict a great deal of misery on the people of Cambodia due to this country being located in the wrong place at the wrong time. Discuss.

“There is no doctor who can heal me. But I know that a man like Pol Pot, he is even sicker than I am. He is crazy in the head because he believed in killing people. He believed in starving children. We both have the horror in our heads."-- Upon the death of Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot, in 1998, quoted in The Times. The Cambodian genocide is the greatest injustice. Between the years of 1975-1979, complete annihilation happened inside the nation of Cambodia. A socialist named Pol Pot had assumed control over the administration with his armed force, Khmer Rouge, and was persuaded that transforming Cambodia into an entirely comrade nation was crucial. The reason to sort out a socialist gathering was to acquire influence, however to acquire