The Misconceptions and the Outside Influences of the Genocide in Cambodia

When the people in the outside world were living the life of their dreams, the Cambodians were left all alone with their broken hearts that’s been shattered into pieces. It was the time period between 1975 and 1979, when the Khmer Rouge organized the mission to “reconstruct Cambodia on the communist model of Mao’s China.” (Peace Pledge Union) Many intellectuals and educated people at the time were eliminated, along with their extended family and their affiliates. According to The Angry Skies, “Cambodians that are associated with the Americans were put to death because they were considered traitors of the country.” (The Angry Skies) In addition, many babies and people that had shown tears in front of the Khmer soldiers have been killed because crying was considered a crime to the government. This process has embedded an image of destruction to Cambodians, and some survivors now are still afraid that they may be killed due to their possibilities of testifying against the Khmer Rouges. The few survivors had worked as laborers with no source of income coming from the government, and because of the limited supplies of food, they had to eat whatever they can find to stay on their feet. A documentary, Among the disappeared, counted “1.7 million deaths caused by the Pol Pot, which is a one fifth of the population in Cambodia at the time.” (Among the disappeared) The communism in Cambodia arose when the U.S. dropped 2 million bombs, approximately 250,000 tons, in Cambodia until 1973. (Among the disappeared) An anti-U.S. group had formed in return of this reaction, and it had given tremendous amount of power to the Khmer Rouge that allowed the genocide in Cambodia. There had been 100 soldiers that were enlisted before the bombing, but afterwards the number had multiplied to 100,000 soldiers. (The Angry Skies) The mercenaries’ reasons of joining the army had been the same, and it was because of their experience of tragic deaths of family members due to the U.S. bombing. The operation “breakfast” had been signed by Richard Nixon in 1969, and it built the tension between Cambodia and United States by destroying Cambodian’s economy. In addition, the operation had given Cambodia the reason to evacuate all the people out of Phnom Penh, and send them to the country side alerting them that there is an another bombing coming from the United States. The Khmer Rouge set this up to turn everybody to become laborers that worked in one huge federation of collective farms, and grasp control over them by limiting the food supplies. The people that were against the evacuation had been killed by the government, including the intellectuals that knew what was happening. Eventually, the number of deaths exceeded over 1.7 million people because the others have died of starvation and diseases with no treatment. This event carries the significance by the elimination of the population, especially the well-educated minds. Although the economy did not develop to its full potential due to the lack of intelligence, the causes to this brutal genocide had been created not because of the government alone in Cambodia, but because of the outside influence that gave the genuine power to the Khmer Rouge.

Operation Breakfast

“On 9th of March in 1969, Cambodia had been carpet bombed for breakfast.” (Before the Holocaust: Nixon’s War) It had been a tragic event for Cambodia; however the action had taken place in response of the South Vietnamese government from the United States. The United States had found about the NVA (North Vietnamese Army) base, Central Office for South Vietnam, Headquarters that was located inside Cambodia, and took initiatives to get rid of it. “General Creighton Abrahms, commander of US forces in Vietnam, was confident that a series of precision B-52 bomber strike would do the job of eliminating the base.” (Before the Holocaust: Nixon’s War) The B-52 airstrike was one of the most fatal non-nuclear assault weapons in the Air Force armory, as they could be used to carpet bomb large strips of land. The operation breakfast had started the bombing of operation menus, which included operations lunch, snack, dinner, dessert, and supper. The air strikes continued for the next 14 months, and were done in secret. According to Andy Carvin, “The Nixon administration was morally quite comfortable with the decision of bombing.” (Before the Holocaust: Nixon’s War) They would refer to the bombing as their response to North Vietnamese in Cambodia, and that they were not meaning to attack the Cambodians. Although the airstrikes and the bombings took place for months, it had only a little effect on the NVA movements. Conversely, the communists moved further into Cambodia instead of getting pushed out of the country. Through continuous bombings, Khmer Rouge, a guerilla force run by disenfranchised leftist politicians, gained its extremist power. Cambodia had become chaos in the eyes of the outsiders, and Sihanouk, who kept his people out of the war lost his entitlement and control over the government, and the Khmer Rouge started to rise and take over Cambodia starting with Phnom Penh.

Khmer Rouge

Khmer Rouge, an essential communist movement, has started in 1967 as the armed wing of the Communist Party of Kampuchea. By 1950s, “the party’s members were engaged in clandestine activities against the government of Prince Norodom Sihanouk.” (Encyclopedia) However, the Khmer Rouge politically united with Sihanouk to attract increased support in the Cambodian countryside, which had been brought upon by the U.S. bombing campaign, operation menus. The organization was also receiving extensive aid from North Vietnam, which had withdrawn its support during the years of Sihanouk’s rule. As the civil war continued for about 5 years since 1970, the Khmer Rouge slowly obtained the Cambodian countryside under their control. Soon enough, “in April 1975, Khmer Rouge forces mounted a victorious attack on the capital city of Phnom Penh and established a national government to rule Cambodia.” (Encyclopedia) Pol Pot had taken leadership of the new government, and he became the new prime minister that brought tragic deaths to many of the innocent civilians in Cambodia. He wanted to set a government under the Communist ideas, and killed everybody that opposed against his ideas. The group mainly seized power after the U.S. bombing that had occurred until 1973, and it initiated the brutal genocide that had taken place between 1975 and 1979.

In 1979, the Khmer Rouge government had been overthrown by the invasion of Vietnamese troops, who created a “puppet government propped up by Vietnamese troops.” (Encyclopedia) The Khmer Rouge retreated into the jungle and resumed guerrilla warfare, receiving aid from China. The organization opposed “the United Nations-sponsored peace settlement of 1991 and the multiparty elections in 1993,” and continued to have warfare against noncommunist coalition government. However, the group began to suffer a series of military defeats that threw them to be weaker year by year. The organization began to become disordered as Pol Pot was arrested by other Khmer Rouge leaders, and sentenced to life time imprisonment. The Khmer Rouge began to lose its central power when Pol Pot died in 1998, along with the other surviving leaders of Khmer Rouge began to fail or were imprisoned as well.

Misunderstanding of U.S. and Cambodia In Cambodia during the genocide, the anti-U.S. groups were at large because of the misconception that people had against the United States. When Khmer Rouge became power in Cambodia, they set up a new government that brought isolation to the country. They cut off their connection with the outside world by deporting foreigners, prohibiting foreign language, refusing outside economic and medical help. In addition, they shut down newspapers and television stations, and stopped education so that there won’t be anybody that can overthrow the prime minister, Pol Pot. Due to the lack of connection they have with the outside world, Cambodians saw what was happening in Cambodia as a result of United States being ignorant about the bombing. Although U.S. went a bit far into their operation menus, if Cambodia understood why airstrikes and bombing had to take place in Cambodia, then the misunderstanding between the two societies might have not taken place. Moreover, people could have known better not to retreat themselves away from Phnom Penh, because they will have a clearer understanding that the government is trying flee them away from the cities to the rice fields to organize a communist movement. It is the misunderstanding between the two countries that built up a foundation of hatred against U.S. in Cambodia, which had given a reason for Khmer Rouges to kill anybody who had been affiliated with America. Overall, Khmer Rouge used the misunderstanding of U.S. and Cambodia to their advantage of killing innocent lives, and strengthening their armies by recruiting Cambodians that carried a burning desire to go against America.

Cambodia vs. Vietnam

Although it may have seemed like the new communist governments of Vietnam and Cambodia have settled into a sort of political agreement, their tension had remained with mistrust and hatred. “The Khmer Rouge received support from China, Vietnam’s rival to the north, while the Vietnamese were assisted by the Soviet Union, which competed with China for standing in the communist world.” (KR Years: The Fall of the Khmer Rouge) According to Andy Carvin, Pol Pot showed inferiority to Vietnamese communists because it was shameful for him to believe that the Vietnamese helped Cambodian communists organize into a political force. His actions that led to the deaths of many Cambodians associated with the Vietnamese in the early 1950’s were a sign of his willingness to start a war just to boost their sense of independence.
“In July 1977, Vietnam signed a cooperation treaty with neighboring Laos, which had also become communist in 1975.” (KR Years: The Fall of the Khmer Rouge)
The Khmer Rouge sought this as an evident aggression toward Cambodia, given that Laos covers the north side of Cambodia. Pol Pot believed that Vietnam is initiating movements to take over Cambodia, and he believed this to be one of the best chances to strangle Vietnam. He wanted to take the region that was once under authority of the ancient kingdom of Angkor by trying to get the Khmer Krom, the Cambodians that lived in South of Vietnam, to rebel against Vietnam to wrestle for the land. In September 1977, Pol Pot announced to the public about Cambodia running under the communist government. He had met up with the leader in China to receive an aid against their rivalry with Vietnam. By the end of 1977, Vietnam attacked Cambodia, sent armies 20 miles across the border, and captured Cambodian villages along with the mercenaries. Before the end of January 1978, Vietnam pulled out to their territory. While Pol Pot believed this action to be humiliating, the Vietnamese came back with their captured Cambodian soldiers and Khmer rebels that wished to establish a Vietnam-aligned Cambodian government in the near future. On January 7, 1979, the Vietnamese forces achieved their mission in occupying Phnom Penh, and forced the Khmer Rouges to escape into the wilderness. As Vietnam seized control over Cambodia, they establish a new government called People’s Republic of Kampuchea (PRK). The new prime minister had come up named Hun Sen, and the Cambodians returned from the rice fields to their homes with nothing left of their past lives. They had lost their homes, jobs, and relatives that cannot be recovered which shows the significance of the scars they have deep inside their hearts.

In Conclusion, the genocide in Cambodia was not just an act of brutal killing. It is a significant event that clearly displays the misunderstanding with the outside countries that have led to the genocide in order for Khmer Rouge to stay in power of the government. Although there had been misconception that’s been built due to lack of communication, the genocide would not have happened if there was no outside influence in the country. The rise of the Khmer Rouge guerilla unit and the Cambodians that joined the crew had been all influenced by the U.S. bombings and the war with Vietnam and the outside influence gave strength to the Khmer Rouge to take control over the Cambodian government. Overall, the genocide in Cambodia needs to be taken careful consideration of its outside influences, before it is jumped into conclusion as a brutal act of killing brought upon by the Khmer Rouge for no apparent reason.

Bibliography
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