APRIL 17, 2017 Sit Anywhere Get out Paper and Pencil Cambodia Notes and Group Discussion TEST ON WEDNESDAY! Vocab Due Weds.

History Khmer Empire ruled much of SE Asia from 800 to 1300 A.D. Cambodia a French colony from 1867 to 1953 Gain independence from 1953

Impact of Cold War Cambodia wished to remain neutral Influence of Communist China and North Vietnam US in South Vietnam Vietnam War: 1963-1972 US bombs the country Rise of communist Khmer Rouge

Summary of Genocide - Timeline January 7, 1979: Under the leadership of Khmer Rouge defector, Hun Sen, Vietnamese troops take control of Phnom Penh and depose Pol Pot. April 17, 1975: Khmer Rouge overthrows King Sihanouk. Phnom Penh’s 2.5 million residents are evacuated and sent to the countryside. 1976 1977 1978 1979 1975 1980 1979: A genocide court finds Pol Pot and Leng Sary guilty of genocide. Neither appear in court nor serve any sentence. 1975-1979: “Re-education” of the general population, encouraging a communal lifestyle. Those who had been exposed to the “outside world” or who refused “re-education” were killed. All others were sent to the rice fields. It took just four years for the Khmer Rouge to wipe out nearly 25% of the total population of Cambodia in an attempt to “purify” the population.

Perpetrators When: April 17, 1975 – January 7, 1979 Who: Khmer Rouge (Marxism/Maoism) Pol Pot (1925-1998) Secretary General Khmer Rouge Co-Founder Leader of genocide Kaing Guek Eav “Duch” (1942-present) Director of S-21 Nuon Chea (1926-present) Prime Minister The Khmer Rouge was a political group that wanted to create a society where everyone is equal. No one has more money or power, food or access to health care than anyone else. To achieve this goal, they targeted anyone who would prevent this from happening. These five men were the masterminds of the Cambodian genocide. Khieu Samphan (1931-present) President Ieng Sary (1925-2013) Minister of Foreign Affairs Khmer Rouge Co-Founder

Pol Pot Bio Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-leS7D79u0A

Victims Dead: ~2 million people (25% of the total population) Causes: Execution, torture, starvation, exhaustion, disease Targets: Intellectuals, educated people, professionals, monks, religious enthusiasts, Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, ethnic Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, and Cambodians with Chinese, Vietnamese or Thai ancestry. Refugees: Several hundred thousand These people were targeted for their intelligence, experience in the “outside” world, and other reasons that would keep the Khmer Rouge from achieving a politically, socio-economically, religiously, culturally equal society. Life During Genocide: Everyone, no matter age or health, had to work in the rice fields from 4am – 10pm every day under threat of death. Every 10th day was a day of rest and 3 days were given off for New Years. The state controlled all aspects of a person’s life. Money, private property, jewelry, gambling, most reading material and religion were outlawed; agriculture was collectivized; children were taken from their homes and forced into the military; and strict rules governing sexual relations, vocabulary and clothing were laid down. The Khmer Rouge, which renamed the country Democratic Kampuchea, even insisted on realigning rice fields in order to create the symmetrical checkerboard pictured on their coat of arms.

The Killing Fields After being tortured at S-21, victims of the Khmer Rouge were usually taken to one of the country’s Killing Field sites. These photos are from Choeung Ek, the largest and most notorious of the Killing Fields. Here, almost one million people were executed, bodies thrown into mass graves dug around the orchard. You can see in the photo in the bottom right corner, several large ditches where bodies were thrown over the four year genocide. The killing fields weren’t just for prisoners at Tuol Sleng. People who could no longer work in the rice fields were often sent here to be beaten, tortured and killed. Today, both Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek are museums set up to remember and honor the victims of the Khmer Rouge. The photo in the top left is a memorial structure that holds the bones of men, women and children who died.

Tuol Sleng Prison (S21) For those of us who have discussed the End Military Use of Schools Campaign, here is a historical example of what can happen when a military takes over a high school. The Khmer Rouge took over the 5 building high school campus in August of 1975, and turned it into a prison and interrogation center, changing the school’s name to Tuol Sleng, which means “Hill of the Poisonous Trees.” It was also known as S-21. Prisoners were generally there for political reasons, or because they had special education. In the photo on the top left, you can see holes cut into the walls and a chalkboard in the background. In these classrooms, the Khmer Rouge built holding cells, made of wood, brick or cement. Next to it is the balcony walkway. Guards had to put barbed wire fencing on all floors to prevent prisoners from trying to jump to their deaths. In the bottom left, you can see a sign that explains the gallows were originally part of the school’s playground turned interrogation location. The soldiers would tie prisoners’ hands to the ropes upside down until they were unconscious. They would then dunk the prisoner in fertilizer water to wake them up and continue the interrogation. Once the guards had all of the information they needed, prisoners were usually sent to the Killing Fields, if they didn’t die on site.

What’s Happened Since? May 1993: Hun Sen and Prince Norodom Ranariddh are elected Co-Prime Ministers during a UN supervised election. 1998: Civil war ends. Hun Sen becomes Prime Minister. 2001: Cambodia’s National Assembly creates a court to try serious crimes committed during the genocide. June 2007: Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia become functional and prepares to bring charges against Khmer Rouge leaders. 2007-Present: Only 3 Khmer Rouge leaders have been tried. Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan were convicted of crimes against humanity. Kaing Guek Eav was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity. All were sentenced to life in prison. For the next 11 years after the genocide, Vietnamese troops controlled Cambodia. In 1991, at the Paris Peace Talks, the Cambodian People’s Party and the supporters of King Sihanouk (who was overthrown by the Khmer Rouge), developed a tentative agreement. The leaders of each party, former Khmer Rouge defector, Hun Sen, and Prince Ranarriddh were given provisional co-Prime Minister roles in an effort to bring political unity and an end to the civil war that continued to rage under Vietnamese control. Until about 2000, there was still nearly open war in the streets of Phnom Penh. Today, Hun Sen is still the Prime Minister, but the country is relatively at peace. Political corruption, poverty, starvation and lack of education is still rampant. However, in general, the people of Cambodia do not let their nation’s past prevent them from moving on. The majority of those who survived the genocide are now in their 50s, 60s, and 70s, and encourage their family members to not forget the past, but realize it is in the past. Unfortunately, Cambodia’s attempt to bring justice to the victims of the Khmer Rouge has been hampered by the government and corruption. While a handful of people are still on trial, after more than 35 years, only 3 people have been convicted of crimes. Pol Pot died before he could be brought to trial (apparent heart attack, possible suicide). Ieng Sary was pardoned for all crimes by Hun Sen in 1996 because he defected from the Khmer Rouge strong hold in the jungle and brought thousands of soldiers with him. Ultimately, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia reissued charges against Sary but he died before his trial could be completed.

“Enemies of the People” Film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS54FTCMUR4&t=955s