Cambodian Genocide Notes
In Cambodia, a genocide was
carried out by the Khmer Rouge regime led by Pol Pot between 1975 and 1979.
One and
a half to three million
people were killed.
The KR policies of forced relocation of the population from urban centers, torture, mass
executions, use of forced labor, and malnutrition led to the deaths of an
estimated 25 percent of the total population (around 2 million people).
On April 17, 1975, the Khmer Rouge army marched into
Phnom Penh, the modern capitol. Khmer Rouge soldiers, young peasants from
the provinces, mostly uneducated teenage boys who had never been in a city
before, swept through town. They set to their job right away, evacuating
Phnom Penh and forcing all of its residents to leave behind all their
belongings and march towards the countryside.
One
goal, similar to Nazi Germany was to create a “master race”/ purification of the populace.
Leaders of industry, journalists,
students, doctors, lawyers as well as the Vietnamese and Chinese ethnic groups
being purged.
Journalists,
intellectuals, and others were viewed as threats to the state.
Religion banned.
Factories, schools, universities, hospitals, and all
other private institutions were shut down; all their former owners and employees were murdered along with their
extended families. It was very common for people to be shot for speaking
a foreign language or wearing glasses as these were traits that were associated
with the West. Many were also shot for smiling or crying as it was
forbidden to show any kind of emotion.
Goal was to deconstruct Cambodia back to
a primitive “Year Zero,” wherein all citizens would participate in rural work
projects, and any Western innovations would be removed.
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