What Is The Cambodian Genocide?

Cambodian genocide report The Cambodian genocide can be said to have started when the Khmer rouge government came into power under Lon Nol, who was the self-proclaimed President of the Khmer Republic, in 1975 and lasted until 1978 when the Khmer Rouge was overthrown by the Vietnamese. Khmer Rouge was a group that had strong ideals and were intent on creating a ‘perfect world’ that is based on the old society and its values. This included removing anything modern and westernized to be removed. They believed that by having a communist society required people to be solely agriculturally inclined. Their beliefs were so strong that they were ready to achieve their goals at all costs. Their goal seemed to be easier to achieve when everyone who threatened
In this case the victims were the “enemies” to the Khmer Rouge cause, threats to the Khmer Rouge rule.(1) Pol Pot led the Khmer Rouge and came into power wanting to create his own agrarian utopia in Cambodia this goal required the ‘cleansing’ of his opponents who were labeled enemies to the ideals of the Democratic Republic of Kampuchea. He also wanted to establish an agrarian utopia. Agrarianism is a movement promoting rural life and agriculture as the basis for society(). Anyone suspected of disloyalty to Pol Pot, which eventually included many Khmer Rouge leaders, was killed. (3) Educated and wealthy people were among these victims. A person’s occupation also played a role in the the choice of victims People like police, doctors, lawyers, teachers, and former government officials were killed. Ex-soldiers were killed along with their wives and children.(3) These classifications were spread to the public by the Khmer Rouge in an attempt to solidify their ideals. This was done through the broadcasting of propaganda and dichotomies. A dichotomy is a division of two things that are or are represented as contradictions or oppositions. Here one of their main dichotomies was "Base People" versus "New People,"
Finding ways to create a distinction that sets the “others” apart. The people classified as the enemies to the Khmer Rouge were symbolised in many ways. People from the eastern zone were declared by the Khmer Rouge leaders to have "Khmer bodies, but Vietnamese heads.” They symbolised victims according to their knowledge, religion, ethnicity these also included the Vietnamese, high officials and soldiers who served the former self-proclaimed President of the Khmer Republic, Lon Nol. At Phnom Penh, the Khmer Rouge issued every man, woman and child from the Eastern zone a new blue and white checked scarf, a Kroma. The Khmer Rouge then required them to wear the scarf at all times.(1) Other people wore red and white or yellow and white scarves, but weren't allowed to wear blue and white scarves. This distinction of symbolisation was essential in order for the soldiers to identify their victims and the reasons why they were captive. In 1978 most of the Eastern zone people were evacuated to other provinces where they were placed in forced labor communes, then systematically underfed and overworked, often to death. Many were murdered outright.(1) Khmer Rouge leaders used to mark Eastern zone people for extermination. (this also shows evidence that the Khmer Rouge leadership in Phnom Penh were responsible for the genocide in the Eastern zone) (1) The people of the Eastern zone were evacuated up the