វាលពិឃាត: អំពើ​ប្រល័យ​ពូជសាសន៍

អំពើ​ប្រល័យ​ពូជសាសន៍
របប​ខ្មែរ​ក្រហម​បាន​ចាប់​ខ្លួន​ និង​ប្រហារជីវិត​រាល់​ជន​ណា​ដែល​​គេ​មាន​ការ​សង្ស័យ​ថា​មាន​ទំនាក់ទំនង​​ជាមួយ​រដ្ឋាភិបាល​របប​ចាស់ ឬ​ជាមួួយ​រដ្ឋាភិបាល​បរទេស​ ក៏​ដូច​ជា​សាស្ត្រាចារ្យ និង​បញ្ញាវ័ន្ត។ ជនជាតិ​វៀតណាម​ ជនជាតិ​ថៃ ជន​ជាតិ​ចិន​ ជនជាតិ​ចាម​ ខ្មែរ​កាន់​សាសនា​គ្រិស្ត និង​ព្រះសង្ឃ​ក្នុង​ព្រះពុទ្ធសាសនា គឺ​ជា​គោលដៅ​ក្នុង​ការ​ចាប់​ខ្លួន។ ជា​លទ្ធផល​ ប៉ុលពត​ពេល​ខ្លះ​ត្រូវ​គេ​ពណ៌នា​ថា​«​ហ៊ីត្លែរ​នៃ​កម្ពុជា» និង «បិសាច​ប្រល័យ​ពូជសាសន៍?»William Branigin, Architect of Genocide Was Unrepentant to the End  The Washington Post, April 17, 1998។ លោក​ Martin Shaw បាន​ពណ៌នា​អំពើ​ប្រល័យ​ពូជសាសន៍​នៅកម្ពុជា​ជា​«អំពើ​ប្រល័យពូជសាសន៍​ដ៏​ពិត​ប្រាកដ​ក្នុង​សម័យ​សង្គ្រាម​ត្រជាក់»Theory of the Global State: Globality as Unfinished Revolution by Martin Shaw, Cambridge University Press, 2000, pp 141, ISBN 978-0-521-59730-2។

Ben Kiernan estimates that about 1.7 million people were killed.The CGP, 1994–2008 Cambodian Genocide Program, Yale University Researcher Craig Etcheson of the Documentation Center of Cambodia suggests that the death toll was between 2 and 2.5 million, with a "most likely" figure of 2.2 million. After 5 years of researching some 20,000 grave sites, he concludes that, "these mass graves contain the remains of 1,386,734 victims of execution." A UN investigation reported 2–3 million dead, while UNICEF estimated 3 million had been killed.William Shawcross, The Quality of Mercy: Cambodia, Holocaust, and Modern Conscience (Touchstone, 1985), p115-6  Demographic analysis by Patrick Heuveline suggests that between 1.17 and 3.42 million Cambodians were killed,Heuveline, Patrick (2001). "The Demographic Analysis of Mortality in Cambodia." In Forced Migration and Mortality, eds. Holly E. Reed and Charles B. Keely. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. while Marek Sliwinski suggests that 1.8 million is a conservative figure.Marek Sliwinski, Le Génocide Khmer Rouge: Une Analyse Démographique (L'Harmattan, 1995).  Even the Khmer Rouge acknowledged that 2 million had been killed—though they attributed those deaths to a subsequent Vietnamese invasion.Khieu Samphan, Interview, Time, March 10, 1980  By late 1979, UN and Red Cross officials were warning that another 2.25 million Cambodians faced death by starvation due to “the near destruction of Cambodian society under the regime of ousted Prime Minister Pol Pot,”New York Times, August 8, 1979. who were saved by international aid after the Vietnamese invasion.

Cambodia's ethnic minorities constituted 15 percent of the population in pre-Khmer Rouge era. Of the 400,000 Vietnamese who lived in Cambodia before 1975, some 150–300,000 were expelled by the previous Lon Nol regime. When Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge came to power, there remained about 100–250,000 Vietnamese in the country. Almost all of them were repatriated by December 1975. 

The Chinese community (about 425,000 people in 1975) was reduced to 200,000 during the next four years. In the Khmer Rouge's Standing Committee, four members were of Chinese ancestry, two Vietnamese, and two Khmers. Some observers argue that this mixed composition makes it difficult to argue that there was an intent to kill off minorities.United Nations' General Assembly Resolution 260 (Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide) requires that a, “national, ethical, racial or religious group” be specifically targeted to be considered Genocide. The Khmer Rouge did not meet this legal definition since all people, including the Khmer Rouge themselves, were equally targeted. Therefore the United Nations and the  Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) has, as of December 2009, only charged two individuals with "Genocide," for the targeting of the Vietnamese and ethnic Cham Muslims.(See AP)  Instead, most have been charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Convention, homicide, torture and religious persecution.(see)(see also )  R.J. Rummel, an analyst of political killings, argues that there was a clear genocidal intent:

One estimate is that out of 40,000 to 60,000 monks, only between 800 and 1,000 survived to carry on their religion. We do know that of 2,680 monks in eight monasteries, a mere seventy were alive as of 1979. As for the Buddhist temples that populated the landscape of Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge destroyed 95 percent of them, and turned the remaining few into warehouses or allocated them for some other degrading use. Amazingly, in the very short span of a year or so, the small gang of Khmer Rouge wiped out the center of Cambodian culture, its spiritual incarnation, its institutions....As part of a planned genocide campaign, the Khmer Rouge sought out and killed other minorities, such as the Moslem Cham. In the district of Kompong Xiem, for example, they demolished five Cham hamlets and reportedly massacred 20,000 that lived there; in the district of Koong Neas only four Cham apparently survived out of some 20,000.http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/WF.CHAP6.HTM