The Cambodian Genocide

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The Cambodian Genocide To most people, Cambodia is just a country next to Vietnam, one of many in the puzzle of nations in South East Asia. At a glance, it is an exotic tourist destination immersed in culture, where elephants roam alongside lush jungles and ancient temples. However, concealed underneath this modern paradise is a dark and violent past, a long and tumultuous history of political unrest, terror, and absolute chaos that constituted the Cambodian Genocide. Many political events lead to the eventual rise of the Khmer Rouge, a communist guerrilla organization that was mainly responsible for the genocide. According to the Peace Pledge Union, Cambodia used to be the ancient kingdom of Khmer, under rule of the powerful monarch, Prince Sihanouk. However, when he was overthrown by a military coup by Lon Nol, he joined forces with the Khmer Rouge, where they attacked Lon Nol’s army and government. With this plan of action, the Khmer Rouge and its leader, Pol Pot, had an influx of recruits. By 1975, the Khmer Rouge had 700,000 members. With the help of these new recruits, The Khmer Rouge defeated Lon Nol in 1975, and one of the most horrific atrocities in modern-day history was about to commence. (PPU) During the genocide, the Khmer Rouge planned to reconstruct Cambodia through acts of classification and dehumanization. Once they took over the government, they aimed to turn the newly named Kampuchea into an agrarian utopia, where everyone worked towards “year zero”, a concept where all culture and traditions were completely destroyed so the Khmer Rouge could rebuild society starting from the very beginning. (Fordham University) They targeted educated people like lawyers, doctors, teachers, engineers, scientists and anybody with professions in any field were murdered. Anyone who opposed was eliminated, and these people were automatically assumed to be.
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