Cambodia’s Killing Fields
WHAP/Napp
“The Khmer Rouge took root in Cambodia's northeastern jungles as early as the
1960s, a guerrilla group driven by communist ideals that nipped the periphery of
government-controlled areas. The flash point came when Cambodia's leader, Prince
Norodom Sihanouk, was deposed in a military coup in 1970 and leaned on the
Khmer Rouge for support. The prince's imprimatur lent the movement legitimacy,
although while he would nominally serve as head of state, he spent much of the
Khmer Rouge's rule under house arrest. As the country descended into civil war,
the Khmer Rouge presented themselves as a party for peace and succeeded in
mobilizing support in the countryside.
The pacifist talk belied a sinister agenda, one that would remain hidden to the
outside world for years. When the Khmer Rouge succeeded in capturing the
Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh in 1975, they evacuated the entire population of
the city — more than 2.5 million people — to camps in the countryside. Similar
evacuations took place every time the Khmer Rouge took over a new city.
Simultaneously, the Khmer Rouge were planning the steps necessary for a radical
shift to an agrarian society. During the Khmer Rouge's nascent days, the
movement's leader, Pol Pot, had grown to admire the way the tribes on the outskirts
of Cambodia's jungles lived, free of Buddhism, money or education, and now he
wanted to foist the same philosophy on the entire nation. Pol Pot envisioned a
Cambodia absent of any social institutions like banks or religions or any modern
technology. He sought to triple agricultural production in a year, absent the
manpower or means necessary. On a visit to China in 1975, two Khmer Rouge
members bragged they would ‘be the first nation to create a completely Communist
society without wasting time on intermediate steps.’
It was deadly arrogance. With the cities emptied and the population under Khmer
Rouge control, Pol Pot's means of implementation was to begin exterminating
anyone who didn't fit this new ideal. He declared that he was turning Cambodia —
now renamed the Democratic Republic of Kampuchea — back to ‘Year Zero,’ and
intellectuals, businessmen, Buddhists and foreigners were all purged. ‘What is
rotten must be removed,’ read a popular Khmer Rouge slogan at the time, and
remove they did, often by execution but sometimes simply by working people to
death in the fields.” ~ The Khmer Rouge
Main Points of Passage:
Notes:
I. The Khmer Rouge
A. The ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979
B. Some estimates say up to 2.5 million perished in Cambodia during this years
C. On April 17, 1975, victorious Khmer Rouge troops entered the capital
D. Great relief that the five-year civil war had now come to an end
E. Embittered after years of brutal civil war and American bombing, Khmer
Rouge marched into Phnom Penh with icy stares carved into their faces
F. Troops began to order people to abandon homes and leave Phnom Penh
G. In order to create the ideal communist society, all people would have to live
and work in the countryside as peasants
I. Peasants, in fact, were the Khmer Rouge communist ideal
J. Khmer Rouge felt that some people had made an active choice to live in cities
and thus declared their allegiance to capitalism
K. All city dwellers became enemies of the new communist state
II. Restructuring Cambodia
A. Pol Pot, leader of Khmer Rouge, developed a "four-year plan" in which
Cambodians were expected to produce an average national yield of 3 metric
tons of rice per hectare (1.4 tons per acre)
B. But even during pre-Khmer Rouge, peacetime Cambodia, the average
national yield was only one metric ton of rice per hectare
C. To meet these new demands on rice production the Khmer Rouge enforced
strict policies where workers labored in fields for 12 hours a day without
adequate rest or food
D. Many people lacked any experience in manual labor and became ill and died
E. "Keeping new people [city dwellers] is no benefit," so the Khmer Rouge
slogan went; "Losing them is no loss."
F. Foraging for food was a capital offense, despite fact that food allowance was
so low it would cause hundreds of thousands of people to starve to death
G. New rules in Kampuchea were being imposed by Angka ("The
Organization"), the secretive team of Khmer Rouge leaders
H. Angka banned family relationships and often took advantage of children
I. Young children were seen as being pure and untainted by capitalism/family
J. If you spoke French, were educated, wore glasses, practiced Buddhism, killed
K. Families with connections to previous Cambodian governments were
susceptible to ill treatment; while former soldiers and civil servants executed
L. Among Khmer Rouge’s rules, religion, money, private ownership were
banned; communications with outside world eliminated; families dismantled
M. 2000 years of Cambodian history had now come to an end; April 17 was the
beginning of Year Zero for the new Cambodia: Democratic Kampuchea (DK)
III. Background to Khmer Rouge and More Facts
A. Origins in 1960s, as armed wing of Communist Party of Kampuchea
B. After a right-wing military coup toppled head of state Prince Norodom
Sihanouk in 1970, Khmer Rouge entered into a political coalition with him
C. During his time in remote northeast, Pol Pot influenced by hill tribes, selfsufficient in communal living, no use for money, "untainted" by Buddhism
D. Pol Pot isolated people from rest of world and set about emptying cities,
abolishing money, private property, religion, and setting up rural collectives
E. The Khmer Rouge government was finally overthrown in 1979 by invading
Vietnamese troops, after a series of violent border confrontations
F. While both communist forces grudgingly supported each other as they
fought U.S.-backed Cambodia and South Vietnam during Vietnam War,
ethnic animosities prevented them from developing any lasting bonds
G. Khmer Rouge received support from China, Vietnam's rival to north, while
Vietnamese were assisted by U.S.S.R., which competed with China
H. By January 7, 1979, Vietnamese forces successfully occupied Phnom Penh
I. Vietnamese soldiers shocked to see that Cambodia was pockmarked by
sunken depressions of dirt
J. The depressions marked the spots of mass graves: of hundreds of thousands
of Cambodians slaughtered by their own countrymen (the Killing Fields)
K. Pol Pot was denounced by his former comrades in a show trial in July 1997,
and sentenced to house arrest in his jungle home
L. Less than a year later he was dead - denying the millions of people who were
affected by this brutal regime the chance to bring him to justice
M. The Killing Fields have ended but justice has yet to be administered
Complete the Review Quilt Below (Place Key Points in Each Box):
Vietnam War:
U.S. Bombing of
Cambodia:
Khmer Rouge:
Pol Pot:
Phnom Penh:
Year Zero:
Kampuchea:
Norodom
Sihanouk:
“Killing Fields”:
Genocide:
Evacuation of Cities:
Khmer Rouge
Goals:
Genocide:
Agriculture under
Khmer Rouge:
China and Khmer Vietnam and
Rouge:
Khmer Rouge:
Questions:
1. ______________ in Cambodia is
multi-terraced like an Indian stupa
with seventy-two small stupas that
contain Buddhas.
(A) Angkor Wat
(B) Borobudur
(C) Kandarya
(D) Shiva
6. Prior to 1000 C.E., Southeast Asia was
most influenced by which of the following?
(A) India and China
(B) China and Japan
(C) Korea and Japan
(D) Australia and Polynesia
(E) The Swahili states and the Ottoman
Empire
2. Genocide _____________________.
(A) Occurred when Hitler attempted to
destroy all Jews.
(B) Often requires the cooperation of
ordinary citizens.
(C) Is the systematic annihilation of a
race or ethnic group.
(D) All of the above.
7. China's strategy for modernization and
economic development in the 1950s most
closely resembled the developmental
strategy of
(A) India
(B) Japan
(C) Britain
(D) the Soviet Union
(E) the United States
3. Name the capital city of Cambodia.
(A) Phnom Malai
(B) Pailin
(C) Kampot
(D) Phnom Penh
4. What factor caused Southeast Asia to
experience major political change between
1200 and 1400?
(A) The Chinese and Mongols conquered
parts of Southeast Asia at this time.
(B) The countries of Southeast Asia adopted
Confucianism.
(C) The peoples of Southeast Asia began to
adopt Christian ways.
(D) Democracy became a leading force in
political change.
(E) all of the above
5. Which of the following is an example of a
city built by the Khmer civilization?
(A) Kyoto
(B) Delhi
(C) Angkor Wat
(D) Burma
(E) Malacca
8. Which of the following pairs of belief
systems offered opportunities for women to
lead monastic lives?
(A) Buddhism and Christianity
(B) Buddhism and Judaism
(C) Confucianism and Hinduism
(D) Confucianism and Islam
(E) Hinduism and Islam
9. Although he called himself a Marxist,
Lenin, unlike Marx, believed that
A) The revolution would be led by rural
peasants, not industrial workers.
B) The revolution would be led by a small,
highly disciplined party acting on behalf of
the workers.
C) The revolution would be led by the
intelligentsia acting on behalf of all Russia
people.
D) The revolution would not succeed until
Russian workers were joined by workers
all over the world.
E) The revolution could not succeed if it
alienated the church and the military.
Thesis Statement: Change Over Time: Southeast Asia from 1800 – 2000
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