The Cambodian Genocide Emerson Toomey “To spare you is no profit, to destroy you is no loss.” - Khmer slogan (1,3) the Killing Fields (6) the Cambodian flag (6)

Vocabulary (7 & 3) ●Communism: a way of organizing a society in which the government owns the things that are used to make and transport products (such as land, oil, factories, ships, etc.) and there is no privately owned property ○ Marxism-Leninism: a theory and practice of communism developed by Lenin from doctrines of Marx ○ Maoism: the theory and practice of Marxism-Leninism developed in China chiefly by Mao Zedong ●Killing field: a scene of mass killing (as from a battle or massacre) ●Khmer: a member of an aboriginal people of Cambodia (or) the Mon-Khmer language of the Khmer people that is the official language of Cambodia ●Khmer Rouge: Radical communist movement that ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 ●Guerrilla: a person who engages in irregular warfare especially as a member of an independent unit carrying out harassment and sabotage ●Auto-genocide: a genocide of people against itself rather than another ethnic group ●Orange means that one of the stages of genocide is being referenced

Images Map of Cambodia (4) Map of Cambodia (1) Pran (the Killing Fields) in the Killing Fields (6) Tuol Sleng (6)

Quick Facts Took place from (1) Approximately between % of Cambodia’s population was killed (1, 5) Khmer Rouge killed anyone who might oppose them. Victims might include but were not limited to children, the elderly, the ill, the educated, and the religious (1, 8, 5) Technically, America started it (9, 8, 4) o Involved Cambodia in the Vietnam war: Vietnam and Cambodia are neighbors, and Cambodia had been neutral until the US bombed them Lon Nol was the Khmer Republic President/General (8) o Served until 1975, when he finally fled Cambodia after fighting in the civil war Pol Pot, the leader of Khmer Rouge (6) Lon Nol, the US* general (6)

Khmer Rouge v Republic Khmer Rouge (1, 4) Created by Pol Pot because of Vietnam’s “suspicious” relationship with Cambodia Gained support after the US air- raided and killed many civilians Fought in a civil war against the Khmer Republic Captured Phnom Penh in 1975, the capital of Cambodia, and began their rule Khmer Republic (8) Created by Lon Nol in 1970 to help restore Cambodia’s sovereignty in eastern regions Fought in a civil war against the Khmer Rouge Depended almost completely on the US for aid Nol fled in 1975, when not much was left

How did it start? The genocide was fueled by a few things: ●Pol Pot formed the Khmer Rouge because he was suspicious of Vietnam’s relationship with Cambodia (1) After Nixon gave the order for US aircraft to air-raid certain parts of Cambodia and thousands of civilians were killed, more and more people joined the Khmer Rouge movement (1, 4, 8) The Khmer Rouge, now supported by the majority, waged a civil war against Lon Nol, a US backed general, and won (1, 4, 8, 5) o Cambodia defeated Nol in the same year that North Vietnam defeated South Vietnam Not long after, with Pot in power, the Cambodian Genocide began (1, 4, 8, 5) Cambodia celebrating after Nol’s defeat (6)

Video (9)

Sequence of Events (1, 4, 5, 8, 9) 1. In 1968, The Khmer Rouge (KR) is formed 2. More and more join the KR movement 3. In 1975, Nol is defeated, and Pot and the KR begin their reign 4. All citizens are forced out of cities and onto farms; media is outlawed or censored 5. Anyone and everyone who could potentially oppose the KR is killed or tortured (the Killing Fields, Tuol Sleng) 6. The economy suffers throughout 7. Vietnam intervenes in 1979 and effectively ends the genocide 8. Vietnam helps get the government in shape and leaves Cambodia in Mass graves discovered in Pot dies in 1998 of natural causes 11. KR officially disbands in Perpetrators put on trial; present UK and US back the KR because of their hatred for Vietnam’s communist government 4-6 occurred during the genocide

The Genocide The genocide itself is a specific kind, called an auto-genocide (3) The Khmer Rouge killed people for as little as what their religion was, if they wore glasses (a sign of intelligence) or if they smiled. (1, 4, 3) Most of the killings were done by children themselves (5, 8, 9) Many people were forced into prisons or camps, like Tuol Sleng, a high school that was converted into a prison/torture center (5, 8) There are many terrifying stories of torture and killing (5, 8) o One of the most famous graves is known as the Killing Fields (5, 9) Photos of Tuol Sleng prisoners (6)

Extermination and Denial Victims were killed extremely cruelly (5, 8) ●Prisoners were tortured: fingernails ripped out, people were bled dry, hung, heads dunked in sewer water when they passed out, etc (Tuol Sleng) (5, 8) ●When bullets were too expensive, sharpened bamboo sticks, poles, or other makeshift weapons were used (5, 8) ●Some were forced to dig their own graves; many were forced to the ground and then shot, sometimes blindfolded first (5, 8) ● Children often had their heads cracked open/were bashed against trees (5, 8) After the genocide, denial came in the form of blaming others (1, 4, 5) This includes the US CIA, Russian KGB, and the victims themselves (4) The Khmer Rouge got away with being in denial for quite some time, as no one bothered to do anything until the late 80’s/90’s (4, 5)

International Response US participation: ●Before: The US backed the Khmer Republic/South Vietnam, which was ultimately defeated, allowing the Khmer Rouge to take power (1, 4, 5) ○ The US’ fight against the Viet Cong, part of it occurring in Cambodia, drove people to join the Khmer Rouge party/movement (1) ●After ○ Some escaped guerrillas received American aid upon arrival in Thailand (4) ○ The Cold War/The West allowed the Khmer Rouge to retain the Cambodian seat in the UN (4, 5) ○ The US supported the Khmer Rouge movement throughout the 80’s because of a shared hostility towards Vietnam (4, 5) ○ CIA has been blamed for what happened (Russia KGB and Vietnam too) (4) UN participation: ● Called for a Khmer Rouge tribunal in 1997, and a trial in 2007 (3, 4) ○has continued through 2010, with Duch sentenced in 2012 (2) ● The Cold War/The West allowed the Khmer Rouge to retain the Cambodian seat in the UN (4) Why? ●Both did participate, but later on then most would have liked (1, 4) ●The US backed the Khmer Rouge until they disbanded, so they weren’t likely to suddenly turn against them (4) ●The UN has been too late to act many times before, so unfortunately it’s not much of a surprise that they would fail to act in this instance (10) What this means: ●Almost ¼ of the entire population was killed because others failed to act; there was no need to claim sovereignty at any point during the genocide, and after it the Khmer Rouge was already gone (1, 8)

Recovery of the area After the genocide, the country of Cambodia could not reclaim their sovereignty until 1988, when Vietnam finally removed all of its troops and influence (4) ●There had been no need to claim sovereignty during the genocide, but for an end to come about the country lost its independence (temporarily) (4) ●The Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng were converted into a genocide memorials (4, 5, 8) ●Cambodia’s main industries are fabrics and tourism, and they’re in a relatively tranquil state (1) ●Buddhism was named the state’s official religion (1) Justice? ●Pol Pot was arrested in 1997 (1, 4) ○ Put on trial and found guilty, but died in 1998 of natural causes (1, 4) ●The Khmer Rouge disbanded one year later: many perpetrators were killed in a struggle with Vietnam or were eliminated because they posed threats to the Khmer Rouge itself (1, 2, 4) ●The trials for the remaining perpetrators are still going on (2) ○ Duch, the man who ran Tuol Sleng, was sentenced to life in prison in 2012 (2) Duch (6)

Works Cited 1."Cambodian Genocide | World Without Genocide." Cambodian Genocide | World Without Genocide. Web. 10 Mar "Cambodia's Khmer Rouge Trials Are a Shocking Failure | TIME." Time. Time. Web. 11 Mar Confronting Genocide: Never Again? Providence, RI: Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University, Print. 1."GENOCIDE - CAMBODIA." GENOCIDE - CAMBODIA. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar "Google." Google. Web. 11 Mar "Google Images." Google Images. Web. 11 Mar

Works Cited 7. Merriam Webster. N.p., n.d. Web.. 8. Toomey, John J. "Cambodian Genocide." Personal interview. 9. The Killing Fields (Film) 10. "Video: Worse Than War." PBS Video. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar