The Khmer Rouge is the communist party of Cambodia, ruled by Pol Pot from'75 to'79. It is the worst nightmare that the world has ever seen.
In'70, the Khmer Rouge soldiers began an insurgency against the government. They were helped by the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops, and used this combined power to gain control over more than two-thirds of the country in a short time. The popularity of the Khmer Rouge is witnessed by the dramatic rise in strength from 3,000 in the year'70 to 30,000 in'73. With this, most of the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops had withdrawn.
Finally, led by Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge overthrew the Cambodian government in'75, after which the "Democratic Kampuchea" was established. Literally overnight, the new governance took cruel and drastic measures. Entire cities were evacuated. Property was abolished. Factories were closed. Schools were shut down. Money did not hold any value. Hundreds of thousands of taxi drivers, cooks, factory workers, clerks and everyone else became farmers suddenly. They even assassinated skilled workers and intellectuals, and many others died due to starvation. Records show that at least 2 million people died. Cambodia was reduced to nothing but a nation of slaves.
Things were not hunky dory with Vietnam too, leading to the invasion of Cambodia by the Vietnamese in'79. This helped bring down the Khmer Rouge; however, its 30,000 strong army continued to flourish on the Thai border, to the extent that the United Nations gave it the recognition of the official Cambodian government.
In'82, this government entered into a coalition with former premier Norodom Sihanouk and Son Sann, who was a non-Communist leader. Leadership also changed hands from Pol Pot to Khieu Samphan, although it was widely believed that the real leader was still Pol Pot. In'91, all the Cambodian factions signed a treaty asking for UN-supervised elections and in'92; the UN assumed the administrative functions of the government. It was at this time that the Khmer Rouge disconnected itself from the peace process and started fighting. It also rejected the results of the UN-run elections that saw the beginning of a coalition government in Cambodia.
As is wont to happen, in'97, due to factional fighting within themselves, Pol Pot was oustered and imprisoned by the Khmer Rouge and he died in'98. That was the end of the Khmer Rouge, as most of the members were either captured, had surrendered or defected by'99.
Initially, reports of the mass murders in Cambodia were not taken seriously by most people, until the Vietnamese overpowered the Khmer Rouge. It was then the horrors of Cambodia came to fore.
A chill runs down the spine of every Cambodian when they think back on the Khmer Rouge. It shocked the world with the atrocities that were considered to be the worst ever the world had to face. The wounds of the rule remain raw even today, as they changed the lives of the population of Cambodia, like nothing else has before. - 33385
In'70, the Khmer Rouge soldiers began an insurgency against the government. They were helped by the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops, and used this combined power to gain control over more than two-thirds of the country in a short time. The popularity of the Khmer Rouge is witnessed by the dramatic rise in strength from 3,000 in the year'70 to 30,000 in'73. With this, most of the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops had withdrawn.
Finally, led by Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge overthrew the Cambodian government in'75, after which the "Democratic Kampuchea" was established. Literally overnight, the new governance took cruel and drastic measures. Entire cities were evacuated. Property was abolished. Factories were closed. Schools were shut down. Money did not hold any value. Hundreds of thousands of taxi drivers, cooks, factory workers, clerks and everyone else became farmers suddenly. They even assassinated skilled workers and intellectuals, and many others died due to starvation. Records show that at least 2 million people died. Cambodia was reduced to nothing but a nation of slaves.
Things were not hunky dory with Vietnam too, leading to the invasion of Cambodia by the Vietnamese in'79. This helped bring down the Khmer Rouge; however, its 30,000 strong army continued to flourish on the Thai border, to the extent that the United Nations gave it the recognition of the official Cambodian government.
In'82, this government entered into a coalition with former premier Norodom Sihanouk and Son Sann, who was a non-Communist leader. Leadership also changed hands from Pol Pot to Khieu Samphan, although it was widely believed that the real leader was still Pol Pot. In'91, all the Cambodian factions signed a treaty asking for UN-supervised elections and in'92; the UN assumed the administrative functions of the government. It was at this time that the Khmer Rouge disconnected itself from the peace process and started fighting. It also rejected the results of the UN-run elections that saw the beginning of a coalition government in Cambodia.
As is wont to happen, in'97, due to factional fighting within themselves, Pol Pot was oustered and imprisoned by the Khmer Rouge and he died in'98. That was the end of the Khmer Rouge, as most of the members were either captured, had surrendered or defected by'99.
Initially, reports of the mass murders in Cambodia were not taken seriously by most people, until the Vietnamese overpowered the Khmer Rouge. It was then the horrors of Cambodia came to fore.
A chill runs down the spine of every Cambodian when they think back on the Khmer Rouge. It shocked the world with the atrocities that were considered to be the worst ever the world had to face. The wounds of the rule remain raw even today, as they changed the lives of the population of Cambodia, like nothing else has before. - 33385
