The united states refused to call the cambodian genocide a genocide, and had refused to approve capturing and holding a trial for pol pot, until 1997, after vietnam withdrew from cambodia, because the u. Few horrors compare to the killing fields of the cambodian genocide. Although anticommunist hacks portray the evacuation of the cities in april 1975 as an atrocity, even capitalist scholars tacitly admit it was necessary e. The pol pot files, 19751977 genocide studies program. A close associate of pol pot, he had in 1975 called on khmer expatriates to return home, whereupon many of them disappeared.
The cambodian genocide was caused by khmer rouge party leader pol pots attempt to eliminate anyone potentially opposed to his proposed system of labor in a federation of collective farms, according to world without genocide. Sep 04, 1990 pol pot s government attempted to eradicate buddhism from cambodia. To foster discussion and debate among academics, students and professionals about the cambodian genocide. The following letter was published in the montclarion weekly student newspaper of montclair state university of april 23. The term genocide was created during the holocaust and declared an international crime in the 1948 united nations convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide.
Workers received a small portion of rice 180g to live on for two days. Out of a population of 8 million, 1,700,000 people died or were killed. Cambodian genocide pol pot and the khmer rouge youtube. He was born in phnom penh to an upper class, farming family, as well as having ties with royalty. What was the nature of the regime that turned cambodia into grisly killing fields and murdered or starved to death 1.
Although it was an indigenous political phenomenon, pol pot s regime could not have come to power without the massive economic and military destabilisation of cambodia by the united states, beginning in 1966. Within two weeks, vietnamese soldiers reached phnom penh and pol pot and the khmer rouge fled into the jungle near the thailand border, where they lived for the next two decades until they disbanded. Pol pot s family was considered to be a moderate family as his family owned about 50 acres of land. Pol pot genocide by clayton saunders,daniel fairchild and derrion hughes.
This documentary record is significant for the history of cambodia, and it will be of the highest importance as well to the international legal and human. The khmer rouge regime that presided over this slaughter was led by pol pot, secretary general of the clandestine communist party of kampuchea cpk since 1962. The was by pol pot and his khmer rouge in 1979 in cambodia. Pol pot, the khmer rouge, and cambodian genocide essay bartleby. Indochina war did kill 10 million asians and left millions more homeless and starving. Pol pots faction chinese support and valuable manoeuvrability against the orthodox provietnamese khmer communists. As it can be seen in the chart below, between the years 19751979 the highest amount of deaths occurred. Cambodian genocide new facts, timeline, sites about pol pot. Confidential leadership documents from democratic kampuchea, 19761977 new haven, 1988, 219. Pol pot in cambodia genocide is the deliberate killing of large groups of people, typically of specific ethnic groups or a nation. Still, he watched and learned how the viet minh used propaganda and force to take control of peasant villages. Today, many people in cambodia remember its exact duration, three years, eight months, and twenty days, and are more likely to refer to this tragic period as during pol potthe name taken by its actual leader, who died in 1998.
Biography of pol pot, cambodian dictator thoughtco. Opinion by any measure, pol pot engaged in genocide the. Pol pot was a cambodian revolutionary and political leader. Race, power, and genocide in cambodia under the khmer r ouge, 1975 79 new haven, ct. Pot, more than a fifth of the population perished including hundreds of thousands of children. The currently ruling royal family and government officials often visited pol pots home, as he was growing up.
After completing a scholarship in france, pol pot the future khmer rouge leader re turned to cambodia in 1953. The trial of pol pot and ieng sary was the worlds first genocide trial based on united nationss policy as well as the first trial of a head of government on a human rightsrelated charge. Genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes jurisdiction. Throughout history there has been numerous instances of genocide. The khmer rouge in cambodia demonstrated that a government can be guilty of genocide against its own nation. Pol pot was a political leader whose communist khmer rouge government led cambodia from 1975 to 1979. Cnn cambodias pol pot reported dead april 15, 1998. Pdf few regimes in history, even those led by atheists, have successfully managed to abolish religion. The paper starts with a methodological note and then organizes the discussion in a narrative sequence comprising two major parts.
Jul 15, 2018 pol pot invaded vietnam in late 1979 and killed 30,000 villagers before the vietnamese army arrived and launched its counterinvasion of cambodia. Y ale u niversity pr ess, 1996, 129 citing kiernan s inter view. From april 1975 to january 1979, the government of cambodia was officially known as democratic kampuchea. Pol pot was a clueless man, who blinding walked into something and experimented it without knowing the consequences it will behold. Two major instances of genocide were the nazi holocaust and the pol pot in cambodia. May 19, 1925april 15, 1998 was a cambodian dictator. This button makes it look like it will go to a rhistory community chat, that is not the case. When he was younger, he adopted several different religions, and visited a buddhist pagoda. Over four short years, from 1975 to 1979, pol pot and the khmer rouge systematically exterminated up to 3 million people.
Pol pot was not and is not a communist the espresso stalinist. The country was then a french protectorate and pol pot, whose family were relatively prosperous, was. In this riveting book, the first definitive account of the khmer rouge revolution, a world renowned authority on cambodia shows how an ideological preoccupation with racist and totalitarian policies led a group of. It is not a feature we control or endorse as an official part of rhistory if you are looking for historical discussion with the rhistory community we recommend you join our. Race, power, and genocide in cambodia under the khmer rouge, 197579. Pol pot s project was inspired by maoistcommunist ideals. The united nations was now the instrument of cambodias punishment.
The economy failed under pol pot, as all professionals, engineers, technicians, and planners who could potentially reorganize cambodia had been killed or fled during the genocide. Of 2,680 buddhist monks from eight of cambodias 3,000 monasteries, only. Edt 0143 gmt bangkok, thailand cnn pol pot, the ousted leader of cambodias khmer rouge rebels, is dead, according to thai military sources he was. Pol pot was not and is not a communist the espresso. Pol pot s faction chinese support and valuable manoeuvrability against the orthodox provietnamese khmer communists. The cambodian genocide was caused by khmer rouge party leader pol pot s attempt to eliminate anyone potentially opposed to his proposed system of labor in a federation of collective farms, according to world without genocide.
One of the worse slanders by anticommunists against maoism is that pol pot was a maoist and a communist. When he turned 24, pol pot was sent to paris to study radio and electrical technology. In the genocide in cambodia, the united states did not help out because they had just gotten out of the cold war. Reporting the testimony of refugees on the cambodiasouth vietnam border, quinn showed how cambodias insurgency was split between the hardlinekhmer krahomred khmer, or k. The currently ruling royal family and government officials often visited pol pot s home, as he was growing up.
The pogrom against the cham minority was the most devastating, killing more than half of that community. Pol pot was born saloth sar on 19 may 1925 in kompong thong province in central cambodia. Pol pot was born in 1925 as saloth sar into a farming family in central cambodia, which was then part of french indochina. Pol pots family was considered to be a moderate family as his family owned about 50 acres of land. Pol pot is widely considered to be one of the most evil political leaders in modern history. Pol pots regime is an extreme extreme case and in this article the leadership aspects involved in the cambodian genocide are the topic for analysis. The pol pot files, 19751977 the following documents translated by the cgp from the santebal archives at the documentation center of cambodia comprise selected 197577 correspondence to and from the prime minister of democratic kampuchea and general secretary of the ruling communist party of kampuchea, pol pot, alias brother pol, alias. Ideologically a marxistleninist and khmer nationalist, he was a leading member of cambodias communist movement, the khmer rouge, from 1963. This chart reports on 149 jurisdictions that have laws punishing at least one of the three crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes. Pol pots government attempted to eradicate buddhism from cambodia. Cambodias cities were emptied, its labour force pressganged, its buddhist religion and folk culture suppressed.
Photographs from pol pot s secret prison tuol sleng museum of genocide the 114 photographs in this collection are from pol pot s secret prison, s21, during his genocidal rule 197579. Pol pot fled to thailand leading the remnants of his khmer rouge. It will open up a reddit chat with a small group of people and is the result of a feature reddit admins announced earlier. Many families lost many loved ones because of pol pot and the reign of the khmer rouge, but at least one family were able to reunite after being torn apart by the reign on the khmer rouge led by pol pot. Saloth sar, or better known as his assumed name, pol pot was born in 1925 in a small village of prek sbauv, not too far from the cambodian capital, in phnom penh. Pol pot invaded vietnam in late 1979 and killed 30,000 villagers before the vietnamese army arrived and launched its counterinvasion of cambodia. He wanted to create a society without competition, in which everyone would work for the common good. Though pol pot was responsible for an untold number of deaths, he did not face charges. Guerilla forces continued fighting between 1978 and 1989, and a peace agreement was reached in 1991. State department and devoted to anticommunist propaganda with a scholarly slant. Of 2,680 buddhist monks from eight of cambodias 3,000 monasteries, only 70 monks were found to have survived in 1979. Introduction to cambodian genocide program genocide.
Political factors in 1959 it received its independence from. Pol pots assertion that he had won a cleanvictory, a triumph without any foreign connection or involvement. The statesponsored attempt at total extermination by industrialized murder of. The radical communist party led by pol pot took over cambodia from 1975 to 1979. Pol pot, the khmer rouge, and cambodian genocide essay. Opinion by any measure, pol pot engaged in genocide. During the vietnam war, he led a group of communist rebels known as the khmer rouge who were fighting for. World without genocide states that potential opponents of the. Born may 19, 1928 kompong thom province, cambodia died april 1998 preah vihear, cambodia. Pol pot, or saloth sar was the leader of the cambodian genocide, who was born in kampong thom, french indochina on may 19, 1925 based on french records. Ideologically a marxistleninist and a khmer nationalist, he was a leading member of cambodias communist movement, the khmer rouge, from 1963 until 1997 and served as the general secretary of the. Although pol pot was of royal blood, he just lived as a rich farmer. Cambodian genocide pol pot by rebecca mcglade on prezi.
Aug 06, 2007 pol pot, the khmer rouge, and genocide in cambodia during their threeyear, eightmonth, and 21day rule of cambodia, the khmer rouge committed some of the most heinous crimes in modern history. As the head of the khmer rouge, he oversaw an unprecedented and extremely brutal attempt to remove cambodia from the modern world and establish an agrarian utopia. Work days in the time of the genocide on the 25th of december 1978, vietnam invaded cambodia and on the 7th of january 1979, phnom penh fell and pol pot was overthrown. State department officer kenneth quinn carried out one of the first studies of the khmer rouge. The general definition of genocide is the purposeful and methodical execution of a national, racial, political, or cultural group. The nazi holocaust of the jews was historys most extreme case of genocide. Pol pot, the khmer rouge, and genocide in cambodia during their threeyear, eightmonth, and 21day rule of cambodia, the khmer rouge committed some. Pol pot definition and meaning collins english dictionary.
Pol pot, the leader of the khmer rouge, was a fan of communist china and wanted to purify cambodia. Pol pots project was inspired by maoistcommunist ideals. Race, power, and genocide in cambodia under the khmer rouge, 197579, third edition introduction. Pol pot himself was assigned tasks such as farming and working in the mess hall. Cambodian genocide world without genocide making it. Pol pot and eventually more of his cercle friends were dismayed to find the camp completely segregated, with vietnamese as the highranking members and cambodians given only menial tasks. The convention defines genocide as any of the following acts committed with the intent to destroy, in. Race, power, and genocide in cambodia under the khmer rouge, 19751979 new haven, 2008, 204. Ideologically a marxistleninist and a khmer nationalist, he was a leading member of cambodias communist movement, the khmer rouge, from 1963 until 1997 and served as the general secretary of. He was a communist who held control of cambodia from 1975, when his forces took phnom. He thought that cambodians had been polluted by western capitalist ideas. In 1949, at age 20, he traveled to paris on a scholarship to study radio electronics but became absorbed in marxism and neglected his studies.
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