Pol. Pot: The Rise Of The Khmer Rouge In Cambodia
By April 17, 1975, a communist group known as the Khmer Rouge, led by Pol
Pot, finally overcame Khmer Republic forces and entered Cambodia’s capital city of
Phnom Penh, and renaming the country Democratic Kampuchea; in which an estimated
one and a half to three million people died. The Khmer Rouge had planned to create a
form of agrarian socialism, which was founded on the ideals of Stalinism and Maoism.
The Khmer Rouge’s polices ( of forced relocation of the population from urban centers,
torture, mass executions, use of forced labor, malnutrition, and disease) were guided by
its belief that the citizens of Cambodia had been tainted by exposure to outside ideas,
especially by the capitalist West. The Khmer Rouge persecuted …show more content…
Those who refused re-
education were killed in the fields surrounding the commune or at the infamous prison
camp Tuol Sleng Center, known as S-21. Under Khmer Rouge rule, people lived in
complete misery and despair, if they lived at all. Almost two million people, an estimated
25 percent of the country’s total population, died from starvation, disease and execution.
The genocide ended following the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia. At least 20,000
mass graves, known as the “Killing Fields”, have since been uncovered.
One Khmer Rouge leader said, it was for the “purification of the populace” that
the killings began. On January 2, 2001 the Cambodian government passed legislation
to try a limited number of the Khmer Rouge leadership. Trials began on February 17,
2009. On August 7, 201, Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan were convicted and received
life sentences for crimes against humanity during the
Pot, finally overcame Khmer Republic forces and entered Cambodia’s capital city of
Phnom Penh, and renaming the country Democratic Kampuchea; in which an estimated
one and a half to three million people died. The Khmer Rouge had planned to create a
form of agrarian socialism, which was founded on the ideals of Stalinism and Maoism.
The Khmer Rouge’s polices ( of forced relocation of the population from urban centers,
torture, mass executions, use of forced labor, malnutrition, and disease) were guided by
its belief that the citizens of Cambodia had been tainted by exposure to outside ideas,
especially by the capitalist West. The Khmer Rouge persecuted …show more content…
Those who refused re-
education were killed in the fields surrounding the commune or at the infamous prison
camp Tuol Sleng Center, known as S-21. Under Khmer Rouge rule, people lived in
complete misery and despair, if they lived at all. Almost two million people, an estimated
25 percent of the country’s total population, died from starvation, disease and execution.
The genocide ended following the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia. At least 20,000
mass graves, known as the “Killing Fields”, have since been uncovered.
One Khmer Rouge leader said, it was for the “purification of the populace” that
the killings began. On January 2, 2001 the Cambodian government passed legislation
to try a limited number of the Khmer Rouge leadership. Trials began on February 17,
2009. On August 7, 201, Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan were convicted and received
life sentences for crimes against humanity during the