Located on the Indochina Peninsula in southeast Asia, Cambodia borders Vietnam to the east, Thailand to the northwest, and Laos to the northeast. The country had experienced political upheaval, corruption, and a weak economy for centuries as more powerful Indonesian, Asian, and European counties conquered and colonized it. Cambodia long existed under foreign control rather than as a strong independent state until 1953, when France granted it independence. The Khmer Rouge (an offshoot of the North Vietnamese People’s Army of Vietnam) took power in 1975. By that time, the Vietnam War had spread into neighboring Cambodia, which the U.S. relentlessly bombed from 1969 through 1973 because the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong had set up bases there.

Question

The Khmer Rouge regime dreamed of creating a socialist society that was purely agrarian, with the entire population working as farmers. Under the leadership of Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge ordered the arrest and execution of everyone suspected of having any connection with the former Cambodian government, or with any foreign governments. The state enacted social engineering policies which forced the relocation of the majority Khmer (ethnic Cambodians), as well as minority groups such as the Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese—people of Buddhist, Christian, Muslim faiths—to rural centers, where they endured forced labor, malnutrition, disease, torture, and mass executions.

During the process of identification, the people of Cambodia were issued “warnings” from the Khmer Rouge concerning their political affiliations or “crimes.” Those who received more than two warnings were sent for “re-education” where they were expected to confess their “pre-revolutionary lifestyle and crimes” to the state officials. Crimes included any contact with the outside world, ranging from missionary activity to international relief. The victims were informed that they would be forgiven and the “slate would be wiped clean,” but then forced to relocate to execution centers where many were tortured, killed, and buried in mass graves. The Khmer Rouge regime systematically killed an estimated 2.2 million people from 1975–1979 at death sites known today as the Killing Fields. The Khmer Rouge was eventually removed from power by Vietnam following the Cambodian-Vietnamese War in 1979.

In 1997, the Cambodian government requested UN assistance in setting up a tribunal to prosecute the Khmer Rouge leaders who were responsible for the genocide. In 2006, the judges were sworn in and began to investigate the living Khmer Rouge leaders and prosecute them for war crimes against humanity.

Questions

What was the Khmer Rouge?
What did the Cambodian government do in 1997 to seek justice for the genocide?

Answer 1

The Khmer Rouge was a radical communist regime that ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 under the leadership of Pol Pot. It aimed to create a socialist agrarian society and implemented brutal policies that led to the systematic extermination of an estimated 2.2 million people, including those associated with the former government, minority ethnic groups, and anyone perceived as a threat to their rule. The regime enforced harsh social engineering measures, forced relocations, and widespread executions, which occurred at sites infamously known as the Killing Fields.

In 1997, the Cambodian government sought justice for the genocide committed by the Khmer Rouge by requesting assistance from the United Nations to establish a tribunal. This tribunal aimed to prosecute the leaders of the Khmer Rouge who were responsible for the war crimes and crimes against humanity. The process took time, but in 2006, judges were sworn in, and they began investigating the surviving Khmer Rouge leaders and prosecuting them for their actions during the regime.