Explain the Khmer Rouge S Rise to Power in Cambodia, and the Nature, Aims and Methods Of

Account for the Khmer Rouge’s rise to power in Cambodia, and explain the nature of Pol Pot’s regime once power was attained.

The Khmer Rouge came to power as a result of its strategic location and the decisions made by both its rulers and those of the United States. Those decisions had catastrophic consequences for Cambodia, as Pol Pot’s regime imposed its bizarre ideology on the country.

Cambodia became embroiled in the Vietnam War because the North Vietnamese used it as a conduit for men and supplies to South Vietnam. Itsleader,Norodom Sihanouk, did not intervene, for fear his country might be dragged into the war. However, following the Tet Offensive, the VC’s presence in Cambodia increased, and President Nixon decided to clear the so-called ‘sanctuaries’. At first, this took the form of bombing, but when that proved ineffective Nixon ordered a ground offensive. Sihanouk refused to accede, so the USencouraged a coup against him in March 1970. His replacement, Lon Nol, declared war on the VC, and invited the USto invade.

The operation was a minor success for the US, but had catastrophic consequences for Cambodia. The incursion drove the VC/NVA deeper inland, giving them control of about half the country by the middle of 1970. The North Vietnamesesought local allies to fight the war for them, and chose the Khmer Rouge (KR) – an obscure guerrilla group numbering about 3,000 men. The KR now found themselves armed with Chinese and Russian weapons, supplied via the Ho Chi Minh trail.

Sihanouk too acted to intensify the conflict, by urging his people to join the KR and fight Lon Nol. This gave the KR legitimacy, allowing them to grow to 60,000.

As the war turned against the Cambodia army, the US stepped up the bombing campaign, but this only played into the KR’s hands. Thousands joined the guerrillas, allowing the VC/NVA to withdraw in 1973, as part of the Paris Peace Agreement.

With American troops now out of Vietnam, Congress ordered a halt to the bombing in August, 1973, leaving the Khmer Rouge in control of most of the country. By April 1975, their forces had taken the capital, becoming the undisputed rulers of Cambodia.

Pol Pot and his henchmen now transformedalmost every aspect of Cambodian life, building the kind of classless society they had advocated for years.

Politically, they replaced all existing parties and institutions with one organization – the so-called ‘Angkar’ – whose leaders exercised virtually unlimited power. The economy was also remade.The free market was abolished, and replaced with a system of forced labour and rationing. Factories and banks were closed down, and money eliminated. All private production, ownership and exchange were abolished.

Socially, the KRcompletely transformedCambodia. They began by emptying the cities and towns, forcing people to work as farmers orlabourers.They also outlawed religion and traditional family structures, and branded intellectuals and professionalsas class enemies. Anyone with an education or who suffered from ‘memory sickness’ (a longing for the past) could be put to death. At least 170,000 people were executed in prison camps, while between one and two million died of disease and starvation.

The Khmer Rouge were in power for less than four years, but in that time they created one of the strangest and most oppressive regimes in history. Responsibility for their victory in 1975 lies with the US, North Vietnam and Prince Sihanouk. Responsibility for their demise can be slated down to Pol Pot himself, who attacked Vietnam and gave his enemies the pretext to remove him from power.