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Ideology- Cambodia
The Khmer Rouge ideology shares many of the same tenets as those underpinning the Chinese Cultural Revolution. From an economic perspective, Khieu Sampan had argued as early as 1959, in his doctoral thesis, that the Cambodian economy could not become self-sufficient until it withdrew from the international economy. Farming cooperatives were to serve as the basis for industry, as 80% of the urban population, in his view, was unproductive. It was to be converted into farming cooperatives. The Khme -
Armed Resistance Led by Pol Pot
CambodiaBeginning in 1967, this opposition developed into an armed resistance led by Pol Pot, backed by local peasants who took up arms against the regime’s abuses. -
Forces were joinned
Cambodia 1970, a coup d’état led by pro-American general Lon Nol brought about Prince Sihanouk’s deposal. Sihanouk subsequently joined forces with his former enemies, the Khmer Rouge, with the support of the Vietcong, China and other Cambodian guerrilla forces, to mount an opposition against Lon Nol. The Prince’s participation in this resistance movement greatly enhanced its legitimacy in the eyes of the international community and helped facilitate the recruitment of rural combatants. -
Internal and external hostility
Externally, the Democratic Kampuchea unilaterally broke off virtually all of its diplomatic ties as early as 1975, after expelling almost each and every foreigner. -
Vietnamese Invasion
Several resistance movements sprang up in opposition to the Vietnamese regime: the Khmer Rouge, Prince Sihanouk’s supporters and the National Front for the Liberation of the Khmer people (FNLPK). Ensconced in refugee camps in Thailand, they multiplied their offensive attacks on bordering areas, sparking Vietnamese bombings of their camps in reply. -
Vietnamese Invasion
The Khmer Rouge succeeded in leading off hundreds of civilians into the mountains with them, either by force or by spreading rumors that the Vietnamese were massacring men and raping women. In the refugee camps, civilians found themselves faced with famine, corruption, thefts, killings, and disease. This twelve-year “low-scale” war cost the lives of 30 000 to 40 000 Cambodians. Not to mention the continuing economic chaos into which Cambodia had been plunged since 1975. -
Internal and external hostility
CambodiaInternally, the Khmer Rouge were themselves highly divided. In 1975, six different Khmer Rouge armies overtook Phnom Penh, giving orders and counter orders, essentially separating Khmer Rouge Cambodia into autonomous regions. -
Lon Nol Depended on American Support
CambodiaIn April 1975, Lon Nol, who had depended on American support, was forced to surrender. The Khmer Rouge took power and swiftly turned against all of their former allies. -
Cambodia and its people destroied
[Cambodia](One of the Khmer Rouge’s first acts was its forced evacuation of Phnom Penh (17 April 1975) and other main cities in the country, under the pretext that there was a threat of American air raids. With Pol Pot at the head of the Khmer Rouge regime, the period was marked by the forced evacuation of urban populations into the countryside, the elimination of the intellectual elite, forced labor, famine, mass paranoia, widespread torture and summary executions, and genocide. In this totalitarian state carefully sealed off from the outside world, the population was authorized to listen to only one broadcasting station which was run by the regime. All other forms of communication or education were banned. What is more, any citizen suspected of having been a civil servant or member of the military before the Khmer Rouge’s rise to power was arrested, tortured and, in many cases, executed. Of the 14,499 prisoners detained at one time or another at the Tuol Sleng torture and interrogation center, or S-21, only four survived.)One of the Khmer Rouge’s first acts was its forced evacuation of Phnom Penh and other main cities in the country, under the pretext that there was a threat of American air raids. With Pol Pot at the head of the Khmer Rouge regime, the period was marked by the forced evacuation of urban populations into the countryside, the elimination of the intellectual elite, forced labor, famine, mass paranoia, widespread torture and summary executions, and genocide. In this totalitarian state -
Internal and external hostility
CambodiaUprisings against the Khmer Rouge began to foment among the some 180,000 Cambodians who had taken refuge in Vietnam (in 1978). -
Vietnamese Invasion
On the 25th of December 1978, the Vietnamese army invaded Cambodia, overthrew the Khmer Rouge regime, and imposed a pro-Vietnamese administration. Following this “liberation” of Cambodia, the United States helped re-install the Khmer Rouge to fight against the Soviet hegemony that the Vietnamese represented. -
Vietnamese Invasion
CambodiaIn June 1982, under the Kuala Lumpur accords, Sihanouk’s royalist troops and Son Sann’s nationalist forces joined ranks with their former executioners. Under the terms of the accords, the Khmer Rouge represented Cambodia at the United Nations. -
Invasion- Vietnamese
Arduous negotiations between the warring parties, regional and world powers (notably, Australia, China, the US, and Russia) commenced in 1987 and led to the signing of the Paris Accords in 1991, which placed Cambodia under the supervision of the United Nations, until free elections could be conducted. -
Invasion- Vietnamese
They were finally held in 1993 in spite of enormous difficulties, including a predictable boycott by the Khmer Rouge. The election results revealed just how severely the country was fractured. The Funcinpec royalists obtained 47% of the votes, to win out over the Communist party. -
Internal and external hostility
CambodiaThroughout the duration of the regime, until the Khmer Rouge finally collapsed in 1999, the outside enemy (the US, Vietnam) was depicted as an emblem of disdain for rallying the population around the Khmer Communist Party and to justify the bloodiest of crimes. The Khmer Rouge were especially hostile towards Vietnam and made frequent incursions into its territories in an effort to redraw the borders. -
Vietnamese Invasion and After the War
The ongoing civil war between the Cambodian army and the Khmer Rouge continued until 1999. Following their leaders Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea, the remaining Khmer Rouge surrendered and recognized Hun Sen’s authority. The situation today remains especially difficult for the people of Cambodia. The economy was left in ruins by decades of conflicts. The intellectual elite were annihilated by the Khmer Rouge and the population has never had the chance to mourn and come to terms with the genocide.