Genocide of Cambodia
While mankind has accomplished incredible feats, it has also produced unspeakable horrors. The genocide of Cambodia was one of the worst of these horrors.
Genocide of Cambodia
First, a bit of history. In the 12th century, the Khmer [Cambodians] were the dominant power in Asia ruling over vast expanses from Angkor Wat. For some unknown reason, the Khmer fell and a long, torture history of conflict began. Eventually, the French came to rule the area. Independence was won from the French in 1953 and the country muddled along as a backwater, forgotten land. With a population of roughly seven million, the country was ruled by a King, and was generally considered a place of corruption and backhanded dealings.
In the 1970s, the ruler of Cambodia was deposed by the military. This ruler, Prince Sihanouk, then joined up with a communist rebel group in an effort to take back power. The rebel group was known as the Khmer Rouge and the result was a civil war. To make matters worse, the Vietnam War spilled into Cambodia with the sides taking up support of the relevant powers in Cambodia.
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Eventually, the Khmer Rouge prevailed in the civil war. Upon entering Phnom Penh, their leader undertook one of the most vicious and delusion paths in recorded history. Pol Pot, or Brother Number 1, was determined to return Cambodia to its ancient Khmer might. In his mind, this meant literally returning the country to the ancient way of life. He ordered the calendar reset to year one and then proceeded to implement his plans.
To return to the ancient ways, the Khmer Rouge determined it was necessary to first abandon all of the modern cities. The million or so inhabitants of Phnom Penh were forced into the countryside and the misery began. All intellectuals were killed. Everyone else was forced to work in the fields for the benefit of the new way of life. As with Stalin’s ill-fated collectivism, the plan was a miserable failure. Millions died of disease and a lack of nutrition. Anyone complaining was summarily exterminated. Family members were encouraged to turn each other in and so on. It is estimated as much as a third of the population of Cambodia perished under the rule of the Khmer Rouge.
Special mention must be made of Tuol Sleng Prison. Originally a high school in Phnom Penh, the Khmer Rouge turned it into a death camp. During their rule, roughly 14,000 adults and 2,000 children were sent to the prison. Only seven survived. Yes. Seven people out of 16,000 or so. Such were the ways of the Khmer Rouge.
Eventually, Vietnam invaded and deposed the Khmer Rouge. Fighting continued off and on through the 1980s and the country has major problems to this day with land mines. In total, it is estimated that somewhere between 2 and 2.5 million Cambodians died in the genocide. To date, only two people have ever been convicted of any crimes related to the period.