The Khmer Rouge was the Communist-inspired ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. During its time in power, the Khmer Rouge attempted to completely remake Cambodian society by systematically imprisoning and executing about two million people, primarily those considered urban and intellectual. The Khmer Rouge were driven from power by the Communist Vietnamese Army in 1979.
Five of the party's leaders are on trial in Cambodia in a tribunal backed by The United Nations. The first person to be tried is Comrade Duch, (real name Kaing Guek Eav), who ran the infamous Tuol Sleng Prison where about 15,000 people died from torture and execution.BBC: First Khmer Rouge trial date set (January 19, 2009) Duch's trial began on February 17, 2009.IHT: Cambodia begins painful look back with Khmer Rouge... (February 17, 2009)
Fast Facts:
- Leaders: Pol Pot, Nuon Chea
- Pol Pot died in 1998
- Years in Power: 1975-1979
- During Khmer Rouge-era Cambodia was known as Democratic Kampuchea
- Killed about two million peopleBBC: First Khmer Rouge trial date set (January 19, 2009)
- Overthrown by Vietnam in 1979
- Area where the regime killed and buried people are referred to as The Killing Fields
- One of the prisons run by the party was the infamous Tuol Sleng Prison
- About 15,000 people died in the prisonBBC: First Khmer Rouge trial date set (January 19, 2009)
- Five of the party's leaders will be tried in Cambodia in a tribunal backed by The United Nations
Background and History
Although both the Khmer Rouge and the forces in Vietnam led by Ho Chi Minh both espoused Communism, the Khmer Rouge allied themselves with China, while North Vietnam, and later, Vietnam, allied themselves with the Soviet Union. The party adopted a draconian view in establishing Communism in Cambodia. All opposition to the establishment of Communism in Cambodia needed to be exterminated, and this, according to the Khmer Rouge, needed to be done through a form of murderous social engineering: the planned execution of the educated classes, along with their family, friends, and acquaintances.
Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge sought to remake the nation from the ground up, using rural farmers and their families as the main beneficiaries of the revolution. After the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge in 1979, the leaders of the movement hid in northern Cambodia.
Pol Pot
Pol Pot officially retired as leader of the Khmer Rouge in the 1980s. He was arrested in 1997 during a violent struggle within the party, and charged with treason. He died in 1998 before a trial took place.BBC News: Pol Pot Life of a Tyrant
