Democratic Kampuchea

**Democratic Kampuchea** was the official name of Cambodia, or Kampuchea, from 1976 to January 1979. Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge ruled the country. When Vietnam invaded Cambodia in 1979 and took over the government, Democratic Kampuchea became the People's Republic of Kampuchea.

## Cambodian genocide

As many as 3,000,000 Cambodians ( of the Cambodian population) died in the Cambodian genocide ( **/** ) committed by Democratic Kampuchea's Khmer Rouge regime. This was around 25% of the population: one in every four people.

### Killing fields

The Khmer Rouge massacred at least hundreds of thousands of people in the "killing fields," and buried them in mass graves to destroy evidence that could be used for proving their genocide. They also forced city populations into the countryside to work in labor camps, where many died from starvation, overwork, and disease.

## End

In January 1979, communist Vietnam invaded Cambodia. They wanted to oust Pol Pot from power as his army had crossed the Cambodian–Vietnamese border to massacred Vietnamese civilians. They removed the Khmer Rouge from power and propped up another pro-Vietnamese communist dictatorship, which was not recognized by many UN members. Hundreds of thousands of survivors fled to refugee camps in Thailand, Many of whom immigrated to the United States afterwards.

### Trials

In 2006, the United Nations and the Cambodian government established a special court called the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). This court has tried some former Khmer Rouge leaders for crimes against humanity.

Kaing Guek Eav – also known as Comrade Duch – was the first to be tried before the ECCC. Eav was the head of Security Prison 21 during the genocide. The court found him guilty of crimes against humanity and breaking the Geneva Conventions of 1949. He was eventually sentenced to life imprisonment.

In 2011, the ECCC convicted two top Khmer Rouge officials, Noun Chea and Khieu Samphan, for crimes against humanity, genocide, and breaking the Geneva Conventions.

## Infobox (country)

- **native name**: **Kampuchea**

<hr>**Democratic Kampuchea**

- **common name**: Kampuchea
- **life span**: 1975 – 1982
- **era**: Cold War
- **capital**: Phnom Penh
- **event start**: Cambodian Civil War#Fall of Phnom Penh, Fall of Phnom Penh
- **date start**: 17 April
- **year start**: 1975
- **date event1**: 15 January 1976
- **event1**: Proclamation
- **date end**: 7 January
- **event end**: Cambodian–Vietnamese War#Invasion of Kampuchea, Vietnamese invasion
- **year end**: 1979
- **date post**: 22 June 1982
- **event post**: Establishment of the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea
- **p1**: Khmer Republic
- **flag p1**: Flag of the Khmer Republic.svg
- **s1**: People's Republic of Kampuchea
- **flag s1**: Flag of the People's Republic of Kampuchea.svg
- **s2**: Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea
- **flag s2**: Flag of Democratic Kampuchea.svg
- **image flag**: Flag of Cambodia.svg
- **flag**: Flag of Democratic Kampuchea
- **flag type**: <small>Top: (1975 - 76)
Bottom: (1976 - 82)</small>
- **image flag2**: Flag of Democratic Kampuchea.svg
- **image coat**: Emblem of Democratic Kampuchea (1975–1979).svg
- **symbol**: National Emblem of Kampuchea
- **symbol type**: Emblem
<small>(1975–82)</small>
- **image map**: Cambodia Cold War (orthographic projection).svg
- **image map caption**: Location of Democratic Kampuchea
- **national anthem**:

"Majestic Kingdom"
(1975–1976)

"Victorious Seventeenth of April"
(1976–1982)
- **government type**: Unitary state, Unitary One-party state, one-party socialist republic under a Totalitarianism, totalitarian dictatorship (under a coalition government from 75 - 76)
- **title leader**: General Secretary
- **leader1**: Pol Pot
- **year leader1**: 1975 – 1979
- **title representative**: Head of State
- **representative1**: Norodom Sihanouk
- **year representative1**: 1975 – 1976
- **representative2**: Khieu Samphan
- **year representative2**: 1976 – 1979
- **title deputy**: Prime Minister
- **deputy1**: Penn Nouth
- **year deputy1**: 1975 – 1976
- **deputy2**: Khieu Samphan
- **year deputy2**: 1976
- **deputy3**: Pol Pot
- **year deputy3**: 1976 – 1979
- **legislature**: Kampuchean People's Representative Assembly
- **currency**: None
- **stat area1**: 181035
- **drives on**: right
- **calling code**: 855
- **today**: Cambodia
- **official languages**: Khmer language, Khmer
- **religion**: State atheism
- **demonym**: Kampuchean • Cambodian