Ugly History — Cambodian Genocide
Edition #4 of Beyond the Written Word
‘Beyond the written word’ is a weekly analysis of a burning/historical topic to kick-start your Monday mornings.
Alright, guys. I am back from my vacation.
I know you did.
Moving on, I was recently listening to a Ted talk about the aforementioned topic and thought it is a very unfortunate incident that not many people know about. So, I decided what best to mark my return than the deaths of million people?
In the beginning and their “freedom”
From 1975 to 1979, the Communist Party of Kampuchea ruled Cambodia with an iron fist, perpetrating genocide that killed one fourth of the country’s population. Roughly 1 million Cambodians were executed as suspected political enemies or due to their ethnicities. The regime targeted Muslim Cham, Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, and Laotian individuals.
Outside these executions, one million more Cambodians died of starvation, disease, or exhaustion from overwork. This genocidal regime rose to power amidst decades of political turmoil.
Following World War II, Cambodia’s monarch, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, successfully negotiated the country’s independence after roughly 90 years of French colonial rule. But Sihanouk’s strict policies provoked friction with many citizens. Especially militant communist rebels, who had long opposed the French and now turned their attention to overthrowing the prince.
This unstable situation was further complicated by a war raging outside Cambodia’s borders. In Vietnam, millions of American troops were supporting the non-communist south against the communist north. While the US petitioned for Cambodia’s support, Prince Sihanouk tried to stay neutral.
Good lad goes bye bye
In 1970, the prince was overthrown by his prime minister who allowed American troops to bomb regions of Cambodia in their efforts to target North Vietnamese fighters. These attacks killed thousands of Cambodian civilians.
To regain power after being overthrown, the prince allied with his political enemies. The Communist Party of Kampuchea, also known as the Khmer Rouge, was led by Cambodians who dreamed of making their nation a classless society of rice farmers. They opposed capitalist Western imperialism and sought to lead the country to self-sufficiency. But to the public, they mostly represented a force fighting the pro-American government. Have you noticed a pattern that Uncle Sam is there WHEREVER shit happens?
Anyway, angered by destructive American bombing and encouraged by the prince’s call to arms, many Cambodians joined the Khmer Rouge. Eventually, a full blown civil war erupted.
Over five years of fighting, more than half a million Cambodians died in this brutal conflict. But the violence didn’t end when the rebels conquered Phnom Penh in April 1975. Upon taking the capital, the Khmer Rouge executed anyone associated with the previous government. Prince Sihanouk remained stripped of power and was put under house arrest, and the Khmer Rouge began evacuating city residents to the countryside. Those who couldn’t make the trip by foot were abandoned, separating countless families.
New regime — no better
In this new regime, every citizen was stripped of their belongings and given the same clothes and haircut. Umm, 1984 much?
Private property, money, and religion were outlawed. The new agricultural workforce was expected to produce impossible amounts of rice, and local leaders would be killed if they couldn’t fulfill quotas.
Many prioritized their orders to the capital above feeding workers. Underfed, overworked, and suffering from malaria and malnutrition, thousands perished.
The Khmer Rouge members enforcing the system were no safer. When their plan failed to produce rice at the expected rates, Khmer Rouge leadership became paranoid. They believed that internal enemies were trying to sabotage the revolution, and they began arresting and executing anyone perceived as a threat. This brutality continued for almost four years.
Liberation? — Maybe
Finally, in 1979, Vietnamese troops working alongside defected Khmer Rouge
members took control of the country. This political upheaval triggered yet another civil war that wouldn’t end until the 1990s.
In the years that followed, there was no easy path to justice for victims and their families. A hybrid UN-Cambodian tribunal was established in 2003, but it only tried Khmer Rouge in the topmost leadership positions. Lower level Khmer Rouge members appeared in court as well, but they weren’t placed on trial.
Instead, they gave testimony and offered insight into the cruel system that had enabled their superiors’ crimes. Some of these perpetrators were even
legally acknowledged as victims, because they constantly feared for their lives and committed violence as a means of self-preservation.
This perception of low level Khmer Rouge members as victims rather than perpetrators extended beyond the courtroom. Like other Cambodians, most Khmer Rouge members lost family, suffered hunger, were stripped of their homes and belongings, and were overworked to exhaustion. And the paranoia amongst Khmer Rouge leadership had led to a higher rate of execution for Khmer Rouge members than the ethnic majority population.
As a result, many Cambodians today don’t just see the genocide as one committed against ethnic minority groups, but also as a broad campaign of violence impacting the entire population.
Present times
As of 2021, only three people have received prison sentences. Many victims would like the tribunal to pursue further trials of Khmer Rouge leaders. However, a 2018 national survey revealed that most victims feel the tribunal has contributed to justice.
In the wake of such tragedy, it’s tempting to paint conflicts in simplistic terms — casting one group as oppressor and the other as oppressed. But many Cambodians live with a more complex reality. Everyone suffered, even those who contributed to the suffering of others. This perception doesn’t excuse
any acts of violence. But how a society remembers traumatic events plays a part in who is seen as victim, who is seen as perpetrator, and how a shattered society can build a path into the future.
I know it couldn’t have been a pleasant topic to read about genocide. Trust me. It wasn’t pleasant writing it either. However, the topic is so unfortunate that I believe everyone should, at least, have the knowledge of the events that occurred in the nation. That’s why the article.
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