Cambodia%20Genocide

1
Cambodia Genocide

• Led by Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge (Red Cambodians)
• 1975-1979- 2 million deaths

2
Background

• In 1949 Pol Pot went to college in Paris
• Became interested in Marxism
• 1953 returned to Cambodia and led a communist
  movement
• 1954- Cambodia gained independence from France
• 1962- Became leader of Cambodian Communist Party
• But had to flee to the jungle because Prince
  Sihanouk did not agree with him
• Formed the Khmer Rouge and waged a war against
  Sihanouk

3

• 1970- Prince Sihanouk was ousted by US military
  and joined Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge
• US bombed North Vietnam which killed 150,000
  Cambodians
• These events led to economic and military
  destabilization in Cambodia
• Support for Pol Pot grew
• April 17, 1975- Pol Pots Khmer Rouge army
  marched into Phnom Penh and seized control of
  Cambodia
• Wanted to create an agrarian utopia inspired by
  Mao Zedong
• Declared This is year zero and society would be
  purified
• Capitalism, western culture, city life, religion
  and all foreign influences were to be gone

4
New Society

• Wanted an extreme form of peasant communism
• Foreigners expelled
• Embassies closed
• Foreign economic or medical assistance refused
• Foreign language banned
• Newspapers and TV stations were shut down
• Mail and telephone use banned
• Religion, education, health care all gone

5
How was the genocide carried out?

• 2 million people were evacuated from Phnom Pen by
  foot at gunpoint
• 20,000 died along the way
• Forced into slave labor
• Worked from 4 a.m. until 10 p.m. with 2 rest
  periods
• Every 10th day was a day of rest
• 3 days off during Khmer New Year festival
• Many died due to overwork, malnutrition, and
  disease
• Diet consisted of 1 tin of rice every 2 days

6

• Purges were held to get rid of old society
• Educated, wealthy, Buddhist monks, police,
  doctors, lawyers, teachers, former government
  officials
• Anyone who was disloyal to the Khmer Rouge were
  shot
• Whats rotten must be removed
• Unsupervised gatherings of more than 2 people
  were forbidden
• 20,000 people were tortured into false
  confessions