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... Often, their drive for utopia leads them to rid their countries of any traces of opposition using whatever means they deem necessary, including torture, starvation, and murder. ... The Cambodian genocide of the 1970’s was the most comprehensive of all modern mass killings, touching all sections of the population. ... He joined the Communist Party of Vietnam and Cambodia with his broth Chhay, intending to recover old Khmer, or Cambodian, glory (Rummel 129). Deciding war and secrecy were needed to return to Cambodian origins, he kept his real name secret for many years (Morey 59). In 1962, Pol Pot became the Communist party leader, and by 1968 he had gained enough military strength for armed attacks on the Cambodian monarch. ...
Although Pol Pot played a crucial role in the genocide that followed, there were other leaders that took a leading stance in the mass destruction of the Cambodian people. ... Taking charge of the secret General Staff and Security for the Communist Party of Kampuchea (Cambodia), he oversaw the bloodiest purges of the “Highway 1 Front” and the running of the prison S-21, the nerve center of the genocide (131). ... Working together, these leaders were able to take complete control of the Cambodian population.
However, before examining the details of the genocide, one must first understand the intentions of the Khmer Rouge. ...
1975 was proclaimed “year 0” by the new Cambodian government, which soon implemented an eight-point plan to carry out their goals. This plan included evacuating all towns, abolishing all markets and currency, defrocking Buddhist monks, executing Lol Non regime leaders, instituting communal eating, expelling the Vietnamese minority (making up approximately five percent of the population), and dispatching troops to the Cambodian borders, especially the Vietnamese border (Schmidt 2). ... The peasants, the people in whose name the revolution had been won, were called the “old” or “base” people (Moser 58). ... The Cambodian government began a campaign of instilling constant fear into the peasants in order to keep them off balance (D1). ...
During the five-year period of the Khmer Rouge’s genocide, not a single trial was reported; there were no appeals, courts, law, or judges anywhere in the nation. ...
During the five-year period where the Khmer Rouge ruled the nation, over two million innocent civilians were killed, amounting to thirty percent of the Cambodian population (Schmidt 2). ... The massive genocide, carried out by the nations own government, is unique from other mass killings because it left no part of the population out; everyone felt the effects of the Khmer Rouge. Most historians agree that “The Cambodian revolution stands apart from other upheavals because the Khmer Rouge combined astonishing brutality with pure stupidity.
Approximate Word count = 2194
Approximate Pages = 8.8
(250 words per page double spaced)
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