| Khmer Rouge | |
|---|---|
| Political position | Far-left |
What happened when the Khmer Rouge seized power in Cambodia in 1975?
The Khmer Rouge was a brutal regime that ruled Cambodia, under the leadership of Marxist dictator Pol Pot, from 1975 to 1979. Pol Pot’s attempts to create a Cambodian “master race” through social engineering ultimately led to the deaths of more than 2 million people in the Southeast Asian country.
What was the purpose of the Khmer Rouge?
In 1976, the Khmer Rouge established the state of Democratic Kampuchea. The party’s aim was to establish a classless communist state based on a rural agrarian economy and a complete rejection of the free market and capitalism.
What were the major events of the Cambodian genocide?
Lasting for four years (between 1975 and 1979), the Cambodian Genocide was an explosion of mass violence that saw between 1.5 and 3 million people killed at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, a communist political group. The Khmer Rouge had taken power in the country following the Cambodian Civil War.
How did the Khmer Rouge kill their victims?
20,000 people passed through the Security Prison 21, one of the 196 prisons the Khmer Rouge operated, and only seven adults survived. The prisoners were taken to the Killing Fields, where they were executed (often with pickaxes, to save bullets) and buried in mass graves.
Do the Khmer Rouge still exist?
In 1996, a new political party called the Democratic National Union Movement was formed by Ieng Sary, who was granted amnesty for his role as the deputy leader of the Khmer Rouge. The organisation was largely dissolved by the mid-1990s and finally surrendered completely in 1999.
…
| Khmer Rouge | |
|---|---|
| Political position | Far-left |
How did Khmer Rouge gain strength?
In 1970, the Cambodian Communists had few troops in the field and relied on the North Vietnamese to handle the brunt of the fighting. But as the war progressed, Khmer Rouge forces grew in number and battlefield prowess. They captured more and more territory on their own from Lon Nol’s army.
How did the Cambodian genocide affect the economy?
Increasing budgetary expenditures, skyrocketing inflation, shrinking export earnings, and a rising balance-of-payments deficit plagued the war-torn economy. The war’s most damaging effect was on rice production. In 1972 Cambodia needed to import rice (from Japan and from Thailand) for the first time since independence.