Cambodia Genocide Essay

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The death of Tulane people shows that the communist dictatorship creates an environment where genocide is possible. During 1975-1979 the world's most disturbing and hate-filled killings took place. It was the Cambodian genocide. Cambodia, then known as Kampuchea, is located between the South Asian countries of Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. A man known as Pol Pot was born into a farming family in central Cambodia in 1925. While in his twenties, he traveled to Paris to study radio electronics, but soon after became fascinated and extremely inspired by Marxism. He then give up the studies of electronics and returned to Cambodia 4 years late rand joined the underground communist movement.

By 1962, the leader of the Cambodian Communist Party was …show more content…
This attack instead drove the northern Vietcong fighters deeper into Cambodia in which the Viet Cong joined with the Khmer Rouge. During the period of 1969 and 1973, the United States continued to attack in the North Vietnamese sanctuary in eastern Cambodia. Although the United States did not intentionally harm any Cambodian citizens, it is believed that over 150,000 Cambodian peasants and farmers were killed. Due to these bombings, Cambodian peasants fled by the hundreds of thousands to the capital of Cambodia. These events led to economic and military deterioration, causing a spike in popularity for Pol Pots rein in a desire for change. By the time the United states had withdrawn their troops from Vietnam, it left a weakened economy in Cambodia and also had lost its American military support. Pol Pot used teenagers and peasants to fight for the support of the Khmer Rouge. Taking advantage of the weekend economy in the military, Pol Pot seized control of Cambodia. During Pol Pot's rein over communist Cambodia, he attempted to change the country into an agriculturally based society. This change ended up annihilating 25% of Cambodia's population. While transforming his country's society, many died under Pol Pot from exhaustion disease and starvation. Burning villages, making labor camps and child prisons. Under the Khmer Rouge, people were forced to work 16 hours a day without rest.
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