Genocide+in+Cambodia

Genocide in Cambodia By Emma Johnson The genocide in Cambodia was the killing of anyone intellectual and anyone in opposition of the new communist government. The genocide was the government against the people. It happened between 1975 and 1979 and the country is still recovering today.

Genocide is the deliberate, systematic killing of a race, culture, or political group. In 1975, the Khmer Rouge, a guerrilla movement, took control of the Cambodian government. The communist government t ook control after winning a civil war in Cambodia against the Khmer Republic, led by Lon Nol. After the Khmer Rouge gained power, led by Pol Pot, he established a communist government. Huge collective federations were formed. A collective federation is a grouping of people forced to live in the same place, by their government. The people put in these collectives were required to work on a farm for very long hours with little pay. Anyone showing evidence of being different or more privileged was killed, including doctors, lawyers, teachers, and engineers. Religion was banned and religious leaders killed along with anyone in opposition of the government. Some people say the genocide was not really genocide because not one specific group was targeted, but more commonly the Cambodian genocide is referred to as auto genocide because the whole society was targeted. The genocide was wide spread across Cambodia; about 1.7 million people were killed. However, the survivors were sent to live in communes or collective federations. There they were forced to work doing menial jobs for long hours and little pay. Many people would fall ill in these conditions and could not receive treatment because most of the doctors and other medical professionals had been killed. As a result, many more people died because of illness or even starvation.  Genocide occurred in Cambodia for several reasons mostly based around a weak government and wavering public support for the current decisions being made. The genocide in Cambodia resulted from the rise of communism and the Khmer Rouge government. The movement was led by Pol Pot against Lon Nol. Pol Pot used the Vietnam War to gain support from followers because many were angry that Lon Nol had allowed the United States to drop bombs in Cambodia during the Vietnam War. In 1975 Pol Pot finally gained the position he had been seeking by defeating Lon Nol in the civil war. Pol Pot then focused on creating a communist government based around Maoist communism in China. Pol Pot’s plan was to reconstruct Cambodia, renamed Kampuchea, which involved ridding the country of the privileged or opposition; thus beginning the genocide in Cambodia.  The primary people involved were the Khmer Rouge government and the people of Cambodia. There was no one left out of the genocide or the removal of basic human rights except those working for the Khmer Rouge. The secondary involvement was the U.S. and Vietnam. The U.S. was indirectly involved because of the Vietnam War. As a result of the United States bombings in Cambodia many more people were opposed to the government and the Khmer Rouge movement was able to gain support. Vietnam played the biggest part as an outside force. As Cambodia’s neighbor, they were the most influential. After the Vietnam war heavily influencing Cambodia’s desire for a new government and helping Pol Pot rise to power, the Vietnamese came back and helped the country overthrow the tyrants and rebuild. Vietnam helped to establish a new government and stayed for ten years to help keep the peace.  The country has gone through many trials to recover. First the Khmer Rouge government was overthrown by Vietnam on December 5, 1978. Then in1979, the People’s Republic of Kampuchea was established and at last some political normalcy was reestablished. Although another civil war broke out between Vietnamese controlled Phnom Penh and the people of the countryside that still supported the Khmer Rouge. The Vietnamese government had to remain to help keep the country from collapsing again. In 1993 two prime ministers, the prince and a former Khmer Rouge, Hum Sen came in to power in the country establishing both a democracy and monarchy. Since the return of peace and stability to Cambodia, they have been holding trials for the war criminals responsible for the genocide. In 1997 Pol Pot was put on trial and spent time in jail until 1998 when he died. Then in 2001 an international tribunal was held to prosecute the remaining war criminals.   *The political cartoon is commenting on how unfair the trials for the war criminals responsible for the genocide because it is showing all those killed during the genocide while the criminals get a trial.
 * What is genocide and how did occur in Cambodia? **
 * How did the genocide affect the people?**
 * Why did genocide occur in Cambodia? **
 * Who was involved in the conflict? **
 * How did Cambodia recover from genocide? **