Khmer Rouge History | Cambodia Tribunal Monitor Khmer (pdf) Significant portions of the following historical overview were contributed by DC-Cam from Khamboly Dy’s “A History of Democratic Kampuchea (1975-1979).” Overview The Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), otherwise known as the Khmer Rouge, took control of Cambodia on April 17, 1975. The CPK created the state of Democratic Kampuchea in 1976 and ruled the country until January 1979. The party’s existence was kept secret until 1977, and no one outside the CPK knew who its leaders were (the leaders called themselves “Angkar Padevat”). While the Khmer Rouge was in power, they set up policies that disregarded human life and produced repression and massacres on a massive scale. They turned the country into a huge detention center, which later became a graveyard for nearly two million people, including their own members and even some senior leaders. The Rise of the Khmer Rouge The Cambodian communist movement emerged from the country’s struggle against French colonization 1940s, and was influenced by the Vietnamese.

Fueled by the first Indochina War in the 1950s, and during the next 20 years, the movement took roots and began to grow. In March 1970, Marshal Lon Nol, a Cambodian politician who had previously served as prime minister, and his pro-American associates staged a successful coup to depose Prince Sihanouk as head of state. At this time, the Khmer Rouge had gained members and was positioned to become a major player in the civil war due to its alliance with Sihanouk. Their army was led by Pol Pot, who was appointed CPK’s party secretary and leader in 1963. Pol Pot, born in Cambodia as Solath Sar, spent time in France and became a member of the French Communist Party. Upon returning to Cambodia in 1953, he joined a clandestine communist movement and began his rise up the ranks to become one of the world’s most infamous dictators. Aided by the Vietnamese, the Khmer Rouge began to defeat Lon Nol’s forces on the battlefields. By the end of 1972, the Vietnamese withdrew from Cambodia and turned the major responsibilities for the war over to the CPK.

From January to August 1973, the Khmer Republic government, with assistance from the US, dropped about half a million tons of bombs on Cambodia, which may have killed as many as 300,000 people. Many who resented the bombings or had lost family members joined the Khmer Rouge’s revolution. By early 1973, about 85 percent of Cambodian territory was in the hands of the Khmer Rouge, and the Lon Nol army was almost unable to go on the offensive. However, with US assistance, it was able to continue fighting the Khmer Rouge for two more years. April 17, 1975 ended five years of foreign interventions, bombardment, and civil war in Cambodia. On this date, Phnom Penh, a major city in Cambodia, fell to the communist forces. Life in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge Regime A few days after they took power in 1975, the Khmer Rouge forced perhaps two million people in Phnom Penh and other cities into the countryside to undertake agricultural work. Thousands of people died during the evacuations.

The Khmer Rouge also began to implement their radical Maoist and Marxist-Leninist transformation program at this time. They wanted to transform Cambodia into a rural, classless society in which there were no rich people, no poor people, and no exploitation. To accomplish this, they abolished money, free markets, normal schooling, private property, foreign clothing styles, religious practices, and traditional Khmer culture. Public schools, pagodas, mosques, churches, universities, shops and government buildings were shut or turned into prisons, stables, reeducation camps and granaries. There was no public or private transportation, no private property, and no non-revolutionary entertainment. Leisure activities were severely restricted. People throughout the country, including the leaders of the CPK, had to wear black costumes, which were their traditional revolutionary clothes. During this time, everyone was deprived of their basic rights. People were not allowed to go outside their cooperative. The regime would not allow anyone to gather and hold discussions. If three people gathered and talked, they could be accused of being enemies and arrested or executed. Family relationships were also heavily criticized. People were forbidden to show even the slightest affection, humor or pity.

The Khmer Rouge asked all Cambodians to believe, obey and respect only Angkar Padevat, which was to be everyone’s “mother and father.” The Khmer Rouge claimed that only pure people were qualified to build the revolution. Soon after seizing power, they arrested and killed thousands of soldiers, military officers and civil servants from the Khmer Republic regime led by Marshal Lon Nol, whom they did not regard as “pure.” Over the next three years, they executed hundreds of thousands of intellectuals; city residents; minority people such as the Cham, Vietnamese and Chinese; and many of their own soldiers and party members, who were accused of being traitors. Many were held in prisons, where they were detained, interrogated, tortured and executed. The most important prison in Cambodia, known as S-21, held approximately 14,000 prisoners while in operation. Only about 12 survived. Under the terms of the CPK’s 1976 “Four-Year Plan,” Cambodians were expected to produce three tons of rice per hectare throughout the country. This meant that people had to grow and harvest rice all 12 months of the year.

In most regions, the Khmer Rouge forced people to work more than 12 hours a day without rest or adequate food. Fall of the Khmer Rouge By the end of 1977, clashes broke out between Cambodia and Vietnam. Tens of thousands of people were sent to fight and thousands were killed. In December 1978, Vietnamese troops fought their way into Cambodia. They captured Phnom Penh on January 7, 1979. The Khmer Rouge leaders then fled to the west and reestablished their forces in Thai territory, aided by China and Thailand. The United Nations voted to give the resistance movement against communists, which included the Khmer Rouge, a seat in its General Assembly. From 1979 to 1990, it recognized them as the only legitimate representative of Cambodia. In 1982, the Khmer Rouge formed a coalition with Prince Sihanouk, who was exiled in China after the Cambodian Civil War, and the non-communist leader Son Sann to create the Triparty Coalition Government.

In Phnom Penh, on the other hand, Vietnam helped to create a new government – the People?s Republic of Kampuchea – led by Heng Samrin. The Khmer Rouge continued to exist until 1999 when all of its leaders had defected to the Royal Government of Cambodia, been arrested, or had died. But their legacy remains. Life in Cambodia Today Democratic Kampuchea was one of the worst human tragedies of the 20th century. Nearly two million Cambodians died from diseases due to a lack of medicines and medical services, starvation, execution, or exhaustion from overwork. Tens of thousands were made widows and orphans, and those who lived through the regime were severely traumatized by their experiences. Several hundred thousand Cambodians fled their country and became refugees. Millions of mines were laid by the Khmer Rouge and government forces, which have led to thousands of deaths and disabilities since the 1980s. A large proportion of the Cambodian people have mental problems because their family members were lost and their spirits damaged. These factors are one of the major causes of the poverty that plagues Cambodia today.

Democratic Kampuchea | Military Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia This article contains Khmer text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Khmer script. Democratic Kampuchea (Khmer: កម្ពុជាប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ , Kâmpŭchéa Prâcheathippadey), was the name of the Khmer Rouge -controlled state that, between 1976 and 1979, ruled the Southeast Asian country of Cambodia . It was founded when the Khmer Rouge forces defeated the Khmer Republic of Lon Nol . After losing control of most of Cambodian territory to Vietnamese occupation, it survived as a rump state supported by the West and China. In June 1982, the Khmer Rouge formed the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea with two non-communist guerilla factions, which retained international recognition. [1] The state was renamed Cambodia in 1990 in the run up to the UN-sponsored Paris Peace Agreement conference of 1991.

The Khmer Rouge were heavily influenced by Maoism, [2] the French Communist Party and the writings of Marx and Lenin , [3] as well as ideas of Khmer racial superiority. [4] This resulted in the drive to create both an ethnically pure and classless Khmer society, [4] [5] which made the Khmer Rouge regime reminiscent of both Communism and National Socialism , or fascism, according to some scholars. [5] [6] Others reject the notion that the regime was fascist on the basis that the Khmer Rouge lacked protection for private property. [7] The governing body was referred to as "Angkar Loeu" (Khmer language: អង្គការ លើ upper organization). [8] The Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) leadership referred to themselves as "Angkar Padevat" during this period. [9] Its constitution defined it as a "State of the people, workers, peasants, and all other Kampuchean labourers" [10] Under the leadership of Pol Pot , cities were emptied, organized religion was abolished, and private property, money and markets were eliminated.

[11] An unprecedented genocide campaign ensued that led to annihilation of about 25% of the country's population, with much of the killing being motivated by Khmer Rouge ideology which urged "disproportionate revenge" against rich and powerful oppressors. [12] [13] [14] Victims included such class enemies as rich capitalists, professionals, intellectuals, police and government employees (including most of Lon Nol's leadership), [15] along with ethnic minorities such as Chinese , Vietnamese, Lao, and Cham . [5] The genocide was essentially stopped only in 1979 by invasion of Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation and People's Army of Vietnam troops, following which the People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK) was installed. The PRK had a pro-Soviet government, which started to recreate the totally devastated country. This process was significantly hampered by defeated Khmer Rouge forces, which regrouped along the border with Thailand and retained the structure of the Democratic Kampuchea state in the regions they controlled.

The situation was exacerbated by the fact that the People's Republic of China , the Khmer Rouge's strongest supporter, [16] and most Western nations continued to recognize Democratic Kampuchea as the legitimate government of the country. Contents Flag of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), the political arm of the Khmer Rouge . [16] In 1970, Premier Lon Nol and the National Assembly deposed Norodom Sihanouk as the head of state. Sihanouk, opposing the new government, entered into an alliance with the Khmer Rouge against them. Taking advantage of Vietnamese occupation of eastern Cambodia, massive U.S. carpet bombing ranging across the country, and Sihanouk's reputation, the Khmer Rouge were able to present themselves as a peace-oriented party in a coalition that represented the majority of the people. With large popular support in the countryside, they were able to take the capital Phnom Penh on 17 April 1975. They continued to use Sihanouk as a figurehead for the government until 2 April 1976 when Sihanouk resigned as head of state.

Sihanouk remained under comfortable, but insecure, house arrest in Phnom Penh, until late in the war with Vietnam he departed for the United States where he made Democratic Kampuchea's case before the Security Council. He eventually relocated to China. In January 1976 the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) promulgated the “Constitution of Democratic Kampuchea”. The Constitution provided for a “ Kampuchean People's Representative Assembly ” (“KPRA”) to be elected by secret ballot in direct general elections and a State Praesidium to be selected and appointed every five years by the KPRA. The KPRA met only once in April 1976. The members of the KPRA, however, were never elected; the Central Committee of CPK appointed the chairman and other high officials both to it and to the State Praesidium. Plans for elections of members were discussed, but the 250 members of the KPRA were in fact appointed by the upper echelon of CPK. Actually all power belonged to the Standing Committee of CPK, the membership of which was comprised by the Secretary and Prime Minister Pol Pot , his Deputy Secretary Nuon Chea and seven others.

Its daily work was conducted from Office 870 in Phnom Penh. Office 870 and the Standing Committee were known also as the “Centre”, the “Organization,” or “ Angkar ”. The Khmer Rouge destroyed the legal and judicial structures of the Khmer Republic. There were no courts, judges, laws or trials in Democratic Kampuchea. The “people’s courts” stipulated in Article 9 of the Constitution were never established. The old legal structures were replaced by re-education, interrogation and security centres where former Khmer Republic officials and supporters, as well as others, were detained and executed. [17] Immediately after the fall of Phnom Penh, the Khmer Rouge evacuated the city, spreading rumours that American soldiers were planning to bomb the city. The roads out of the city were clogged with evacuees. Phnom Penh —the population of which, numbering 2.5 million people, included as many as 1.5 million wartime refugees living with relatives or in urban center—was soon nearly empty. Similar evacuations occurred at Battambang , Kampong Cham, Siem Reap , Kampong Thom , and in other towns.

The Khmer Rouge was determined to turn the country into a nation of peasants in which the corruption and "parasitism" of city life would be completely uprooted. Communalization was implemented by putting men, women and children to work in the fields, which disrupted family life. The regime claimed to have “liberated” women through this process, and according to Zal Karkaria, "appeared to have implemented Engels's doctrine in its purest form: women produced, therefore they had been freed." [16] On the surface, society in Democratic Kampuchea was strictly egalitarian . This was not the case in practice, however. Members and candidate members of the CPK, local-level leaders of poor peasant background who collaborated with the Angkar, and members of the armed forces had a higher standard of living than the rest of the population.[ citation needed ] Ironically, considering the intensity of their revolutionary ideology, the Khmer Rouge leadership practiced nepotism to a level that nearly matched that of the Sihanouk-era elite. Family ties were important, both because of the culture and because of the leadership's intense secretiveness and distrust of outsiders, especially of pro-Vietnamese communists. Greed was also a motive.

Different ministries, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Industry, were controlled and exploited by powerful Khmer Rouge families. Administering the diplomatic corps was regarded as an especially profitable fiefdom. The Khmer Rouge regime was one of the most brutal in recorded history, especially considering how briefly it ruled the country. Based on an analysis of mass grave sites, the DC-Cam Mapping Program and Yale University estimated that the Khmer Rouge executed over 1.38 million people. [18] [19] If deaths from disease and starvation are counted, as many as 2.5 million people died as a result of Khmer Rouge rule. [20] This included most of the country's minority populations. For instance, the country's ethnic Vietnamese population was almost completely wiped out; nearly all ethnic Vietnamese who didn't flee immediately after the takeover were exterminated. One prison held 17,000 people at one time or another, of which only seven survived. Immediately following the Khmer Rouge victory in 1975, there were skirmishes between their troops and Vietnamese forces. A number of incidents occurred in May 1975.

The following month, Pol Pot and Ieng Sary visited Hanoi. They proposed a friendship treaty between the two countries, an idea that met with a cool reception from Vietnam's leaders. Faced with growing Khmer Rouge belligerence, the Vietnamese leadership decided in early 1978 to support internal resistance to the Pol Pot regime, with the result that the Eastern Zone became a focus of insurrection. War hysteria reached bizarre levels within Democratic Kampuchea. In May 1978, on the eve of So Phim 's Eastern Zone uprising, Radio Phnom Penh declared that if each Cambodian soldier killed thirty Vietnamese, only 2 million troops would be needed to eliminate the entire Vietnamese population of 50 million. It appears that the leadership in Phnom Penh was seized with immense territorial ambitions, i.e., to recover the Mekong Delta region, which they regarded as Khmer territory. Massacres of ethnic Vietnamese and of their sympathizers by the Khmer Rouge intensified in the Eastern Zone after the May revolt. In November, Vorn Vet led an unsuccessful coup d'état. There were now tens of thousands of Cambodian and Vietnamese exiles in Vietnamese territory.

On December 3, 1978, Radio Hanoi announced the formation of the Kampuchean National United Front for National Salvation (KNUFNS). This was a heterogeneous group of communist and non-communist exiles who shared an antipathy to the Pol Pot regime and a near total dependence on Vietnamese backing and protection. The KNUFNS provided the semblance, if not the reality, of legitimacy for Vietnam's invasion of Democratic Kampuchea and for its subsequent establishment of a satellite regime in Phnom Penh. In the meantime, as 1978 wore on, Cambodian bellicosity in the border areas surpassed Hanoi's threshold of tolerance. Vietnamese policy makers opted for a military solution and, on December 22, Vietnam launched its offensive with the intent of overthrowing 'Democratic Kampuchea'. An invasion force of 120,000, consisting of combined armor and infantry units with strong artillery support, drove west into the level countryside of Cambodia's southeastern provinces. After a seventeen-day blitzkrieg, Phnom Penh fell to the advancing Vietnamese on January 7, 1979.

[21] The new administration was supported by a substantial Vietnamese military force and civilian advisory effort. As events in the 1980s progressed, the main preoccupations of the new regime were survival, restoring the economy, and combating the Khmer Rouge insurgency by military and political means. Armed Forces of Democratic Kampuchea Edit Aircraft roundel of the RAK, 1975 to 1979. The 68,000-member Khmer Rouge-dominated CPNLAF (Cambodian People's National Liberation Armed Forces) force, which completed its conquest of Cambodia in April 1975, [22] was renamed the RAK (Revolutionary Army of Kampuchea). This name dated back to the peasant uprising that broke out in the Samlot district of Batdambang Province in 1967. Under its long-time commander and then Minister of Defense Son Sen , the RAK had 230 battalions in 35 to 40 regiments and in 12 to 14 brigades. The command structure in units was based on three-person committees in which the political commissar ranked higher than the military commander and his deputy.

Cambodia was divided into zones and special sectors by the RAK, the boundaries of which changed slightly over the years. Within these areas, the RAK's first task upon "liberation," as a calculated policy, was the peremptory execution of former Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK) officers and of their families, without trial or fanfare. The next priority was to consolidate into a national army the separate forces that were operating more or less autonomously in the various zones. The Khmer Rouge units were commanded by zonal secretaries who were simultaneously party and military officers, some of whom were said to have manifested " warlord characteristics". Troops from one zone frequently were sent to another zone to enforce discipline. These efforts to discipline zonal secretaries and their dissident or ideologically impure cadres gave rise to the purges that were to decimate RAK ranks, to undermine the morale of the victorious army, and to generate the seeds of rebellion. [23] Foreign relations Edit The orientation of the Khmer Rouge was highly xenophobic, emphasizing an idealized, isolated, and self-sufficient version of Cambodian society.

Democratic Kampuchea maintained embassies in only three countries: the People's Republic of China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), and Vietnam. (Relations with the latter soured and were suspended in 1977.) [24] One of the few foreign policy priorities for the regime was recognition by the United Nations, which was ultimately successful. [25] Administrative divisions Edit In 1975, the Khmer Rouge government did away with all former Cambodian traditional administrative divisions. Instead of provinces, Democratic Kampuchea was divided into geographic zones, derived from divisions established by the Khmer Rouge when they fought against the ill-fated Khmer Republic led by General Lon Nol. [26] There were seven zones: The Northwest, the North, the Northeast, the East, the Southwest, the West and the Center, plus two "Special Regions": The Kratie Special Region no 505 and (before mid-1977) the Siemreap Special Region no 106. [27] The regions were subdivided into smaller areas or damban. These were known by numbers, which were assigned without a seemingly coherent pattern.

Villages were also subdivided into 'groups' (krom) of 15–20 households who were led by a group leader (Meh Krom). This practice continued after the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia . It is no longer part of the official administrative system and is now unevenly applied. See also What Nation Was Ruled by the Oppressive Military Regime Known as the Khmer Rouge? | The Classroom | Synonym What Nation Was Ruled by the Oppressive Military Regime Known as the Khmer Rouge? by Lynn Blanch The Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia from 1975 to1979, resulting in the deaths of 2 million people. Related Articles What Happened to the Polish People After the Invasion by Germany? “The worst violator of human rights in the world” is the phrase President Jimmy Carter used to describe Cambodia's Kampuchea- Khmer Rouge regime. Though the regime lasted only four years, from 1975 to 1979, the Khmer Rouge's military was responsible for the deaths of an estimated 2 million citizens -- about 20 percent of the country's population. Many died in torture chambers, starved or were worked to death.

Many more were killed in mass executions, or “purges.” Pol Pot and Comrades Take Control The dethroning of Prince Norodom Sihanouk during a military coup in 1970 caused political instability in Cambodia, and the Khmer Rouge's communist leaders began to form ranks. They succeeded in taking the capital Phom Penh in 1975, followed by the rest of the country. Pol Pot changed Cambodia's name to Democratic Kampuchea and became its prime minister. Other prominent members of his party included head of state Khieu Samphan, ideologist Nuon Chea and prison overseer Comrade Duch. Khmer Rouge Ideology vs. Reality Like China and Vietnam, the communist Khmer Rouge regime's ideology was based on the creation of a Utopian society not corrupted by Western imperialist values. Their campaign to “purify” the country included the elimination of religion, private property, public education, money and family relations. They particularly targeted the country's educated and intellectual classes, going so far as to execute anyone wearing glasses. The majority of the population was taken to the countryside and put to work in rice fields, often performing 12 hours or more of forced labor under brutal circumstances every day.

The slightest infraction could result in execution. Death in the S-21 Prison An estimated 15,000 Cambodians were killed in the dreaded S-21 prison. S-21 interrogators used torture to extract confessions. Torture methods included beatings, electrical shocks, removing fingernails, suffocation through water-boarding or with a plastic bag, being stung by insects and being forced to eat feces, according to a "Newsweek" report. Many prisoners were accused of siding with the Vietnamese or working for the KGB or CIA. American civilians Michael Deeds and Chris Delance were captured, tortured and forced to sign false confessions that they were CIA agents. They were burned alive days before the Vietnamese invaded Cambodia and toppled the Khmer Rouge regime. UN War Crimes Trials A UN-backed war crimes tribunal to try surviving Khmer Rouge regime members has experienced political turbulence, with two UN-appointed judges resigning in 2011 and 2012. Both judges, Siegfried Blunk and Laurent Kasper-Ansermet, claimed that local politics hampered their investigations. Current Prime Minister Hun Sen and many of his party members were members of the Khmer Rouge regime.

Human Rights Watch and victims' associations have been critical of local and UN appointees, expressing the importance of serving justice to the regime that brutalized so many Cambodians. In 2010 the court sentenced prison chief Comrade Duch to life in prison. Khmer Rouge's ideologist Nuon Chea and head of state Khieu Samphan stood trial in 2013 where they pleaded not guilty to charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Khmer Rouge in Film A few filmmakers have drawn international attention to the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime. Among them are Roland Joffe's 1984 film “The Killing Fields” starring Sam Waterston as ''New York Times'' reporter Sydney Schanberg. Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh was nominated for an Academy Award for his 2013 documentary film “The Missing Picture” about his experience growing up under the Khmer Rouge. In the 2009 documentary “Enemies of the People” by Cambodian journalist Thet Sambath, executioners are interviewed about the traumatizing impact the killings had on them.

Thet Sambath also forged a relationship with aging Khmer Rouge minister Nuon Chea over several years, interviewing him about the brutal conduct of the Khmer Rouge regime. References Pol Pot - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com Google Pol Pot: The Early Years Saloth Sar, better known by his nom de guerre Pol Pot, was born in 1925 in the small village of Prek Sbauv, located about 100 miles north of the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. His family was relatively affluent and owned 50 acres of rice paddy, or roughly 10 times the national average. In 1934 Pol Pot moved to Phnom Penh, where he spent a year at a Buddhist monastery before attending a French Catholic primary school. His Cambodian education continued until 1949, when he went to Paris on a scholarship. While there, he studied radio technology and became active in communist circles. Did You Know? An estimated 1.5 million people living in Cambodia were killed during the brutal regime of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.

Their bodies were buried in mass graves that became known as “killing fields.” When Pol Pot returned to Cambodia in January 1953, the whole region was revolting against French colonial rule. Cambodia officially gained its independence later that year. Pol Pot, meanwhile, joined the proto-communist Khmer People’s Revolutionary Party (KPRP), which had been set up in 1951 under the auspices of the North Vietnamese. From 1956 to 1963, Pol Pot taught history, geography and French literature at a private school while simultaneously plotting a revolution. In 1960 Pol Pot helped to reorganize the KPRP into a party that specifically espoused Marxism-Leninism. Three years later, following a clampdown on communist activity, he and other party leaders moved deep into the countryside, encamping at first with a group of Viet Cong. Pol Pot, who had begun to emerge as Cambodian party chief, and the newly formed Khmer Rouge guerilla army launched a national uprising in 1968. Their revolution started off slowly, though they were able to gain a foothold in the sparsely populated northeast.

The Khmer Rouge Seizes Control In March 1970, General Lon Nol initiated a coup while Cambodia’s hereditary leader, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, was out of the country. A civil war then broke out in which Sihanouk allied himself with the Khmer Rouge and Lon Nol received the backing of the United States. Both the Khmer Rouge and Lon Nol’s troops purportedly committed mass atrocities. At the same time, about 70,000 U.S. and South Vietnamese soldiers stormed across the border to fight North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops who had taken sanctuary there. U.S. President Richard Nixon also ordered a secret bombing campaign as part of the Vietnam War . Over the span of four years, U.S. planes dropped 500,000 tons of bombs on Cambodia, more than three times the amount dropped on Japan during World War II . By the time the U.S. bombing campaign ended in August 1973, the number of Khmer Rouge troops had increased exponentially, and they now controlled approximately three-quarters of Cambodia’s territory. Soon after, they began shelling Phnom Penh with rockets and artillery.

A final assault of the refugee-filled capital started in January 1975, with the Khmer Rouge bombarding the airport and blockading river crossings. A U.S. airlift of supplies failed to prevent thousands of children from starving. Finally, on April 17, 1975, the Khmer Rouge entered the city and ended the fighting. About half a million Cambodians had died during the civil war, yet the worst was still to come. Life Under the Khmer Rouge Almost immediately after taking power, the Khmer Rouge evacuated Phnom Penh’s 2.5 million residents. Former civil servants, doctors, teachers and other professionals were stripped of their possessions and forced to toil in the fields as part of a reeducation process. Those that complained about the work, concealed their rations or broke rules were usually tortured in a detention center, such as the infamous S-21, and then killed. The bones of people who died from malnutrition or inadequate healthcare also filled up mass graves across the country. Under Pol Pot, 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. At first, Pol Pot largely governed from behind the scenes. He became prime minister in 1976 after Sihanouk resigned. By that time, border skirmishes were occurring regularly between the Cambodians and the Vietnamese. The fighting intensified in 1977, and in December 1978 the Vietnamese sent more than 60,000 troops, along with air and artillery units, across the border. On January 7, 1979, they captured Phnom Penh and forced Pol Pot to flee back into the jungle, where he resumed guerilla operations. Pol Pot’s Final Years Throughout the 1980s, the Khmer Rouge received arms from China and political support from the United States, which opposed the decade-long Vietnamese occupation.

But the Khmer Rouge’s influence began to decrease following a 1991 ceasefire agreement, and the movement completely collapsed by the end of the decade. In 1997 a Khmer Rouge splinter group captured Pol Pot and placed him under house arrest. He died in his sleep on April 15, 1998, due to heart failure. To date, a United Nations-backed tribunal has convicted only a handful of Khmer Rouge leaders of crimes against humanity. Tags Khmer Rouge Page - Killing Fields | Pol Pot | Ieng Sary | Nuon Chea | Kang Kek Ieu - Cambodian Information Center Khmer Rouge News Khmer Rouge Page Khmer Rouge derives from the French word, Khmer + Rouge = Red Khmer, named by the former King Norodom Sihanouk, for the label of Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) in 1971. The organization was originally formed as the Revolutionary Army of Kampuchea in January 1968. In 1981, it's later changed to Party of Democratic Kampuchea.

Khmer Rouge seized power in 1975, and in 1976 Khmer Rouge established a new constitution with the new flag under offical name, Democratic Kampuchea. As one of the most violent regimes of the 20th century, the Khmer Rouge regime was responsible for the deaths of approximately 1.7 million people by execution, starvation and forced labor. Known Name of Khmer Rouge: Khmer Krah-Ham (in Khmer, means Red Khmer) Angkar (in Khmer, means Government) Brief Background of Khmer Rouge: Powered by the Vietnamese, the Cambodian communist movement was created to fight against French colonization during decade of 1940s. In 1960, twenty one politicians formed Kampuchean (or Khmer) People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP). The Khmer Rouge, organized by Pol Pot in the Cambodian jungle in the 1960s, advocated a radical Communist revolution that would wipe out Western influences in Cambodia and set up a solely agrarian society.

In 1970, aided by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops, Khmer Rouge guerrillas began a large-scale insurgency against Cambodian government forces, soon gaining control of nearly a third of the country. By 1973, secret U.S. bombings of Cambodian territory controlled by the Vietnamese Communists forced the Vietnamese out of the country, creating a power vacuum that was soon filled by Pol Pot's rapidly growing Khmer Rouge movement. In April 1975, the Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital, overthrew the pro-U.S. regime, and established a new government, the Kampuchean People's Republic. As the new ruler of Cambodia, Pol Pot set about transforming the country into his vision of an agrarian utopia. The cities were evacuated, factories and schools were closed, and currency and private property was abolished. Anyone believed to be an intellectual, such as someone who spoke a foreign language, was immediately killed. Skilled workers were also killed, in addition to anyone caught in possession of eyeglasses, a wristwatch, or any other modern technology.

In forced marches punctuated with atrocities from the Khmer Rouge, the millions who failed to escape Cambodia were herded onto rural collective farms. Between 1975 and 1978, an estimated two million Cambodians died by execution, forced labor, and famine. In 1978, Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia, capturing Phnom Penh in early 1979. A moderate Communist government was established, and Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge retreated back into the jungle. In 1985, Pol Pot officially retired but remained the effective head of the Khmer Rouge, which continued its guerrilla actions against the government in Phnom Penh. In 1997, however, he was put on trial by the organization after an internal power struggle ousted him from his leadership position. Sentenced to life imprisonment by a "people's tribunal," which critics derided as a show trial, Pol Pot later declared in an interview, "My conscience is clear." Much of the international community hoped that his captors would extradite him to stand trial for his crimes against humanity, but he died of apparently natural causes while under house arrest in 1998.

Dap Prampi Mesa Chokchey [ដប់ប្រាំពីរ មេសា ជោគជ័យ] (English: Glorious Seventeenth of April) The bright red blood was spilled over the towns And over the plain of Kampuchea, our motherland, The blood of our good workers and farmers and of Our revolutionary combatants, of both men and women. Their blood produced a great anger and the courage To contend with heroism. On the 17th of April, under the revolutionary banner, Their blood freed us from the state of slavery. Hurrah for the glorious 17th of April! That wonderful victory had greater significance Than the Angkor period! To construct a Kampuchea with a new and better society, Democratic, egalitarian and just. We follow the road to a firmly-based Independence. We absolutely guarantee to defend our motherland, Our fine territory, our Magnificent revolution! Hurrah for the new Kampuchea, A splendid, democratic land of plenty! We guarantee to raise aloft and wave the red banner of the revolution. We shall make our motherland prosperous beyond all others, Magnificent, wonderful!

Trial of Khmer Rouge June 21, 1997, Cambodian Co-Prime Norodom Ranariddh and Co-Prime Minister Hun Sen requested United Nations assistance in organizing the process for the Khmer Rouge trials. UN Secretary established a group of experts to study the process and to present a completely international tribunal to the General Assembly and Security Council. In 2001, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) was established and the Law was signed by His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk. In 1999, Kang Kek Iew known as Duch, former director of S-21 Tuol Sleng prison was arrested and charged with the 1994 Law to Outlaw the Democratic Kampuchea Group. Ta Mok, Khmer Rouge military leader was arrested and charged with violation of the 1994 Law to Outlaw the Democratic Kampuchea Group. WELL-KNOWN LEADERS of KHMER ROUGE Salot Sar known as Pol Pot [ Click picture to see more pictures of IENG SARY ] Original Name: Salot Sar, born in May 1925.

He grew up in a well off farming family in Kompong Thong province (about 140 kilometers north of Phnom Penh ). 1931, moved to live with his brother in Phnom Penh . His brother was an official of Palace 1946, joined Indochinese Communist Party to help oust French 1949, received a scholarship to study radio-electricity in France 1952, joined the French Communist Party, and later failed examination 1953, returned to Cambodia and joined Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP) 1954, taught history and geography in a private school in Phnom Penh while joined and worked for communist movement 1956, married to Khieu Ponnary 1960, helped with Paris's Student group to restructure KPRP and raname it, Workers' Party of Kampuchea (WPK) 1963, become command of WPK 1965, went to Hanoi and was approached to ousted the U.S.

out of Indochinese 1966, visited to China, and renamed his party to, Kampuchean Communist Party (KCP) 1967, refuged to live in the northeast of Cambodia 1968, his party established revolutionary army of Kampuchea 1975, turned Cambodia to the Democratic Republic of Kampuchea 1976, became Prime Minister and the official Cambodian head of state 1977, visited to China to seek military assistance against Vietnam 1979, fled by helicopter to Thailand after his regime was ousted by Vietnamese invasion 1985, resigned from the Khmer Rouge military forces 1997, was convinced that his minister for defence, Song Sen, was collaborating with the Hun Sen Government. Then, he was arrested by Ta Mok, commander of Khme Rouge 'Brother Number Five'. During his trail, he agreed to an interview with Nate Thayer, a journalist with the 'Far Eastern Economic Review'. He told Thayer, "First, I want to let you know that I came to join the revolution, not to kill the Cambodian people,... Look at me now. Do you think ...

am I a violent person? No. So, as far as my conscience and my mission were concerned, there was no problem. This needs to be clarified... Whoever wishes to blame or attack me is entitled to do so. I regret I didn't have enough experience to totally control the movement. On the other hand, with our constant struggle, this had to be done together with others in the communist world to stop Kampuchea becoming Vietnamese...

For the love of the nation and the people it was the right thing to do but in the course of our actions wemade mistakes." 1998, died in the evening of 15 April, reportedly from heart failure References: has three daughters and a son 1960, taught history and geography at Kampuch Botr School 1 1963, fled to join the force at a northeastern jungle in Kampong Cham 1 1970, went to Vietnam to seek help from Vietnam 1 1972, became the commander in chief of northeastern zone's military 1 1973, worked in a secret office of the party in suburb of Hanoi, Vietname 1 1975, became a member of the People’s Revolutionary Party and later in September, was a member of the central committee 1 9 October 1975, in charge of foreign affairs of the party and the state 1 30 March 1976, was appointed Deputy Prime Minister, in charge of Foreign Affairs 1 1996, surrendered to the government and was granted amnesty [ Click picture to see more pictures of KHIEU SAMPHAN ] born

 July 27, Kompong Cham Province (?) 1959, finished his study of Economy in France 1950 - 1960, an official for Sihanouk 1962 - 1966; was elected to the National Assembly 1967 - fled to join Communist Movement 1976 - 1979, chairman of the state presidium of Cambodia 1979, led a rebel government 1981, held talk with Sahnouk in Pyongyang, North Korea 1982, met Sihanouk in Beijing and maintained some international recognition 1985, succeeded Pol Pot as leader of Democratic Kampuchean faction 1987 - 1991, representatives of the Khmer Rouge for the 1991 Paris Peace Accords 1998, surrendered to the Cambodian government Khmer Rouge Crimes Khmer Rouge Crimes: The Elusive Search for Justice by Brian D.

Tittemore* In presenting his 1999 Annual Report to the UN General Assembly this past September, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan proclaimed that the core challenge to the United Nations, and specifically to the Security Council, in the next century will be to forge unity behind the principle that massive and systematic violations of human rightswherever they may take placeshould not be allowed to stand. No situation illustrates the grave implications of international ambivalence on this issue more starkly than the 20-year failure to bring officials of Cambodias former Khmer Rouge regime to account for their crimes. The Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia from April 17, 1975, to January 7, 1979, during which time an estimated 1.7 million people were executed or died from disease and starvation as a result of the regimes policies. Since that time, calls from both inside and outside Cambodia for trials for genocide and other crimes against humanity have gone unanswered, and those officials responsible for some of the most egregious and widespread human rights abuses since World War II continue to enjoy complete impunity.

Cambodia Under the Khmer Rouge The Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), more widely known as the Khmer Rouge, seized control of the government of Cambodia in April 1975, when it ousted the ruling Khmer Republic government and renamed the country Democratic Kampuchea. The Khmer Rouge governed Cambodia until 1979, when Vietnamese military forces drove it out of power. During its rule over Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge, under the political and ideological leadership of Pol Pot, strove to build a socially and ethnically homogeneous society by abolishing all pre-existing economic, social, and cultural institutions, and transforming the population of Cambodia into a collective workforce. In pursuing this objective, the CPK displaced between 2 million and 3 million Cambodians, and subjected them to forced labor and inhumane living conditions, including physical exhaustion, starvation, and disease. Contemporaneously, it endeavored to purge perceived ideological enemies from inside and outside of the party through methods that included torture and extra-judicial executions, targeting particular ethnic minorities, religious leaders, teachers, students, and other educated groups.

Following the collapse of Democratic Kampuchea in 1979 and the installation of the Vietnamese-supported Peoples Republic of Kampuchea, many of the remaining Khmer Rouge leaders fled and re-established themselves on the Cambodian-Thai border. For the next ten years, the Khmer Rouge continued to battle the Peoples Republic of Kampuchea and retained a degree of control over parts of Cambodia, as well as Cambodias seat at the United Nations. It was not until approximately 1993 that the Khmer Rouge ceased to be an active fighting force. Since that time, many Khmer Rouge members have returned to civilian life and now live freely in parts of Cambodia. The Cambodian government has integrated other members into the Cambodian national army and granted them immunity from prosecution under a 1994 Cambodian law that criminalized membership in the Khmer Rouge.

The UN Group of Experts and Prospects for an International Criminal Tribunal for Cambodia Internal defections within the Khmer Rouge throughout the 1990s and the corresponding re-emergence of its members in Cambodian society presented the Cambodian government with the controversy of whether and how to prosecute former Khmer Rouge officials for crimes committed during the period of CPK rule. Most significantly, in early 1998, the press reported that Pol Pots Khmer Rouge compatriots arrested him and tried him for treason. Detailed information concerning Pol Pots situation remained limited, and on April 15, 1998, Thai officials reported that Pol Pot had died, apparently from a heart attack. Furthermore, in December 1998, Nuon Chea, the former deputy secretary of the Central Committee of the CPK, and Khieu Samphan, Central Committee member and former Democratic Kampuchea state president, surrendered to the Cambodian government. Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan, who are reported to be living freely in western Cambodia with other Khmer Rouge defectors, are leading candidates for prosecution for crimes committed during the CPK regime.

In the spring of 1999, the Cambodian government apprehended two additional well-known Khmer Rouge figures. It arrested Ta Mok, former Khmer Rouge military commander of the south-west region and member of the CPK Central Committee, on March 6, 1999, and Kaing Khek Iev, better known as Duch, the former Khmer Rouge chief of police, who directed the notorious prison and torture center at Tuol Sleng, on May 9, 1999. The Cambodian government detained Ta Mok and Duch, unlike many other former Khmer Rouge officials, apparently singling them out for prosecution for genocide and other crimes allegedly committed during the CPK regime. The Cambodian government initially responded to these developments by acknowledging its inability to convene proper trials for the Khmer Rouge members and looked to the United Nations for assistance.

In a letter to Secretary-General Annan dated June 21, 1997, then-Cambodian First Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh and Second Prime Minister Hun Sen requested the assistance of the United Nations and the international community in bringing to justice those persons responsible for the genocide and crimes against humanity during the rule of the Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979. In so doing, the Cambodian leaders stated that Cambodia does not have the resources or expertise to conduct this very important procedure. Citing the ad hoc tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, they asked that similar assistance be given to Cambodia. They added, We believe that crimes of this magnitude are of concern to all persons in the world, as they greatly diminish respect for the most basic right, the right to life. We hope that the United Nations and the international community can assist the Cambodian people in establishing the truth about this period and bringing those responsible to justice.

Only in this way can this tragedy be brought to a full and final conclusion. On December 12, 1997, in UN General Assembly Resolution 52/135, the UN Member States requested that the Secretary-General examine the Cambodian governments appeal and consider the possibility of appointing a Group of Experts to evaluate how the United Nations could assist Cambodia. In July 1998, pursuant to this request, the Secretary-General appointed a three-member Group of Experts, comprising Chairman Sir Ninian Stephen (Australia), Judge Rajsoomer Lallah (Mauritius), and Professor Steven R. Ratner (United States). The Group of Experts had three principal tasks: to evaluate existing evidence to determine the nature of the crimes Khmer Rouge leaders committed in the years 1975 to 1979; to assess the feasibility of apprehending, detaining and extraditing, or surrendering Khmer Rouge leaders; and to explore options for bringing Khmer Rouge leaders to justice before an international or national tribunal.

After the Group of Experts completed its investigation, which included a trip to Cambodia and Thailand from November 14 to 24, 1998, it delivered its Report to the Secretary-General (Report) on February 18, 1999. The Group of Experts concluded that serious crimes under international and Cambodian law had been committed during the period of CPK rule. They found these crimes to include genocide and other crimes against humanity, war crimes, and other acts incurring individual responsibility, in particular forced labor, torture, and crimes against internationally protected persons. The Group of Experts also found that domestic trials organized under Cambodian law could not meet international standards of due process and the United Nations should not support them through financing or the involvement of trained personnel. They based this finding on their informed opinion that Cambodia still lacks a culture of respect for an impartial criminal justice system, and concerns that domestic prosecutors, investigators, and judges may be subject to political pressure and influence. The Group of Experts concluded that the Cambodian judiciary presently lacks three key criteria for a fair and effective judiciary: a trained cadre of judges, lawyers and investigators; an adequate infrastructure; and a culture of respect for due process.

Organizations inside and outside of Cambodia expressed similar concerns. For example, a coalition of legal aid organizations in Cambodia declared in a public statement on October 22, 1999, that judicial independence in trials for former Khmer Rouge leaders could be achieved only if a neutral body appointed all court officials, and that the United Nations, not the Cambodian government, is best suited for this responsibility. The Group of Experts apprehensions regarding judicial independence and the potential for political interference with trials also caused the Group to reject the prospect of a tribunal established under Cambodian law but subject to the control and operation of the United Nations. Instead, the Group of Experts recommended that the Security Council or the General Assembly establish an ad hoc tribunal. The tribunal would limit its temporal jurisdiction to the period of the Democratic Kampucheas rule, and the tribunals subject matter jurisdiction would encompass crimes against humanity and genocide, with consideration given to adding forced labor and torture.

The tribunals personal jurisdiction would target those persons most responsible for the most serious violations of human rights during the reign of Democratic Kampuchea. According to the Group of Experts, this would include senior leaders with responsibility over the abuses, as well as those at lower levels who are directly implicated in the most serious atrocities. The Group refrained from offering a numerical limit on the number of such persons who could be targets of investigation. The Group of Experts Report, therefore, constituted a significant step forward in the effort to bring the Khmer Rouge leaders to justice. Not only did a specialized UN body investigate and sustain a basis for Khmer Rouge accountability, it also endorsed the creation of an international criminal tribunal for Cambodia. Recalcitrance by the Cambodian Government No sooner had the United Nations floated the prospect of an international criminal tribunal for Cambodia than the Cambodian government deflated its feasibility.

In his letter of March 15, 1999, transmitting the Group of Experts Report to the Security Council and General Assembly, Secretary-General Annan reported that the Cambodian government, which was now under the exclusive leadership of Hun Sen following a coup on July 5 and 6, 1997, had considered the Group of Experts recommendations. The Hun Sen government responded that the Cambodian courts were fully competent to conduct trials of former Khmer Rouge officials. The Hun Sen government also emphasized that any decision to bring Khmer Rouge leaders to justice must take into account Cambodias need for peace and national reconciliation, and expressed concerns that implementing the Group of Experts recommendations might cause panic among former members of the Khmer Rouge and lead to a renewal of guerrilla war. Since March 1999, various efforts have been undertaken to develop a mechanism that will accommodate the concerns of both the Cambodian government and the international community, so far without success.

From August 25 to August 31, 1999, Ralph Zacklin, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, headed a UN Secretariat delegation to Phnom Penh to discuss with the Cambodian government the possibility of creating a joint or mixed tribunal. The United Nations contemplated that such a tribunal would be established under Cambodian law, but would allow UN-appointed foreign judges and prosecutors to participate in the trials of former Khmer Rouge officials. The two parties, however, did not reach an agreement during the visit. One of the primary reasons for this disagreement was the refusal of the Hun Sen government to accept the UN proposal that a majority of the judges on the tribunal be internationally appointed. The Cambodian government also informed the Secretary-General that it had decided to try Ta Mok before a Cambodian court under Cambodian law, and to accept foreign assistance and expertise to that end. On September 8, 1999, a Cambodian military court charged Ta Mok with genocide. In October 1999, following discussions between Prime Minister Hun Sen and Secretary-General Annan, the Hun Sen government appeared to harden its position.

It indicated that it would not allow the United Nations to take an active role in Khmer Rouge trials, but rather would limit the United Nations to providing advisers and technical assistance. The Hun Sen government also suggested that if the United Nations did not participate, it still would invite individual nations to contribute advisers, and possibly judges and prosecutors. Most recently, it was reported that in October 1999, the Cambodian government endorsed a proposal from the United States aimed at breaking the United Nations-Cambodia deadlock. According to press reports, the U.S. proposal would create a mixed panel of foreign and Cambodian judges that would have a Cambodian majority, but would require at least one foreign judges agreement to pass rulings. The U.S. proposal also apparently provided for the involvement of both Cambodian and foreign prosecutors and investigating magistrates, although it is not clear who would appoint judges and prosecutors. Other aspects of the U.S. plan reportedly call for UN monitoring of the tribunal, limiting the scope of prosecutions, and creating a special chamber within the existing Cambodian court system to try the Khmer Rouge. As of this writing, details of the proposal officially had not been revealed.

The Cambodian government has indicated that it will present a plan to the United Nations this November, which is expected to incorporate aspects of the U.S. proposal. The Uncertain Path Ahead Cambodias repudiation of the Group of Experts Report, together with its plans for domestic trials of certain Khmer Rouge officials, have introduced further complications and uncertainties into the prospects for genuine accountability for atrocities committed under the CPK regime. Most significantly, as matters currently stand, there is continuing concern that the Cambodian government will prosecute select Khmer Rouge officials through domestic trials that fail to conform to international standards of fairness, a development that would result in additional serious violations of international law. It is well established under international law that criminal trials, including those for serious violations of international humanitarian law, must comply with minimal standards of due process. According to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Cambodia became a party on May 26, 1992, due process standards include the right to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal established by law (Article 14(1)) and the right to have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of a defense (Article 14(3)(b)).

It also includes the right not to be held guilty of any criminal offense on account of any act or omission that did not constitute a criminal offense, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed (Article 15(1)). It is axiomatic, therefore, that states comply with international due process standards while they fulfill their obligations under applicable treaty and customary law to prosecute certain serious violations of international humanitarian law, such as genocide and torture. It is notable in this regard that the Statutes of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia (Article 10) and Rwanda (Article 9) specifically recognize that domestic trials for acts constituting serious violations of international law will not, under the double jeopardy rule, preclude subsequent international prosecutions for the same acts, where those prior domestic trials were not impartial, independent, or diligently prosecuted, or where they were designed to shield the accused from international criminal responsibility. It is hoped that an acceptable compromise between the United Nations and the Cambodian government will yet be reached. Considering the fundamental nature of the United Nationss due process concerns, however, collaboration between the United Nations and Cambodia does not appear to be forthcoming, absent a significant change in Cambodias position.

Should Cambodia maintain its current stance, the possibilities for the international community to prosecute Khmer Rouge officials without the cooperation of the Cambodian government remain uncertain. Of the options available, the most effective alternatives are the creation of an ad hoc tribunal by the Security Council, or alternatively, trials convened before competent tribunals in UN Member States other than Cambodia. The Group of Experts preferencean ad hoc tribunal established by the Security Council as an enforcement measure under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charteris attractive because this approach would clothe the tribunal with significant legal authority. It would also overcome any objection that the tribunals creation or functions contravene the principle under Article 2(7) of the UN Charter that prohibits intervention in matters that are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state. In order to invoke this option, however, the Security Council would have to determine that the situation in Cambodia represents a threat to international peace and security. The prospect of such a finding under current circumstances is questionable. Another possible prospect for independent action by the international community is prosecuting Khmer Rouge officials in countries outside of Cambodia.

Indeed, it has been reported that a Belgian magistrate issued an international arrest warrant for Kaing Khek Iev in May 1999. In its Report, the UN Group of Experts endorsed prosecutions in states other than Cambodia as a viable, but subsidiary, means of securing the accountability of Khmer Rouge officials. Some former Khmer Rouge officials are believed to be living in Thailand and other Southeast Asian states, thereby raising the possibility that suspects could be captured and prosecuted outside of Cambodia. Consequently, the prospect of trials outside of Cambodia should not be discounted, and UN Member States should remain receptive to future opportunities to arrest former Khmer Rouge officials. The possibility of domestic courts in states other than Cambodia prosecuting Khmer Rouge officials has complications. As the Group of Experts noted, securing custody over Khmer Rouge officials located in Cambodia is particularly problematic given the dearth of Cambodian extradition treaties and the fact that the surrender of officials, by extradition or otherwise, will ultimately require the consent of the Cambodian government, which it will unlikely give. While the international community must remain conscious of these alternatives, the most likely prospect for Khmer Rouge accountability currently entails prosecutions before a joint or mixed tribunal, which would be established under Cambodian law but would involve international support and participation.

In considering this option, the international community must continue to question the serious weaknesses identified in Cambodias justice system as presently constituted, and must be cautious not to become a party to further serious violations of Cambodias international human rights obligations through unfair trials. Both the international community and the Government of Cambodia should also bear in mind that Cambodian prosecutions of Khmer Rouge officials for acts that constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law in proceedings that do not meet international standards of impartiality and independence will not necessarily preclude the United Nations or its Member States from subsequently trying Khmer Rouge officials for the same acts in appropriate international or domestic trials. Nevertheless, hope remains that the Cambodian government and the United Nations will succeed in finding an appropriate balance between the need for minimal guarantees of due process and Cambodias desire to assume primary responsibility for trying the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge against its people. Conclusion The recent impasse between the United Nations and the Hun Sen government of Cambodia is one in a series of setbacks and frustrations surrounding the quest for Khmer Rouge accountability. The difficulties are not insurmountable, however, and the United Nations must persevere in its attempts to reach an acceptable arrangement with the Cambodian government.

The most feasible prospect at present involves prosecutions by a joint or mixed tribunal under Cambodian law with international participation and support, and it is hoped that the interests of concerned parties inside and outside of Cambodia can be reconciled through this mechanism. At the same time, adherence to minimal standards of due process must remain a fixed condition of any acceptable solution, and the international community should remain conscious of alternative means of prosecuting Khmer Rouge officials that do not necessitate Cambodias voluntary cooperation, should negotiations with the Cambodian government ultimately fail. *Brian D. Tittemore, LLM 95, is a staff attorney at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and a senior research associate at the War Crimes Research Office at the Washington College of Law. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Organization of American States or its organs, or the War Crimes Research Office. Other websites that may be of interest: Cambodia Essay By: Fatih • 1,034 Words • May 27, 2010 • 400 Views Page 1 of 5 Cambodia Cambodia is a country in South East Asia, less than half the size of California and twice the size of Scotland.

Once it was the centre of the ancient kingdom of the Khmer, and its capital was Angkor, famous for its 12th century temples. The present day capital is Phnom Penh. In 1953 Cambodia gained independence after nearly 100 years of French rule. In the 1960s the population was over 7million, almost all Buddhists, under the rule of a monarch, Prince Sihanouk. Cambodia was also caught up in another country's war. Cambodia's neighbor to the east is Vietnam, which had also fought against the French to gain independence. When the French were defeated in 1954, Vietnam was divided in two: communist North Vietnam and pro-Western South Vietnam. Civil war immediately broke out. The Viet Cong, a group of Vietnamese communist guerrillas, based themselves in the jungles of South Vietnam and fought against the South Vietnamese army from there. In 1964, the USA entered the Vietnam war, with airpower, firebombs and poisonous defoliants, but found they could not budge the determined Vietnamese communists.

The inconclusive war in Vietnam cost many American and Vietnamese lives, devastated the country, and achieved nothing but misery for anyone caught up in it, including the Cambodians. The Khmer Rouge guerrilla movement in 1970 was small. Their leader, Pol Pot, had been educated in France and was an admirer of Maoist (Chinese) communism; he was also suspicious of Vietnam's relations with Cambodia. The heavy American bombardment, and Lon Nol's collaboration with America, drove new recruits to the Khmer Rouge. So did Chinese backing and North Vietnamese training for them. By 1975 Pol Pot's force had grown to over 700,000 men. Lon Nol's army was kept busy trying to suppress not only Vietnamese communists on Cambodian territory but also Cambodia's own brand of communists, the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge from 1975 until 1979 when Cambodia was ruled by the government of Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge party the official name of the country was Democratic Kampuchea French. The period saw the death of approximately 1.7 million Cambodians through the combined result of political executions, starvation, and forced labor.

Invasion by neighbor and former ally Vietnam led to the Khmer Rouge's downfall left Cambodia under Vietnamese occupation for a decade and sparked the Third Indochina War in 1978. Finally, on March 17, 2003, the United Nations reached a draft agreement with the Cambodian government for an international criminal tribunal to try former Khmer Rouge leaders. The agreement came after five years of negotiations and 24 years after the Khmer Rouge were driven from power. Under the agreement, the panel of judges will include a majority of Cambodians. Human rights groups argue that the government's ability to impose its will on these judges poses an unacceptable obstacle to justice. On the other hand, with many likely defendants over the age of 70, time is running out for justice to be served. No senior Khmer Rouge official has ever been called to account for the regime's atrocities. Pol Pot died in 1998 under mysterious circumstances in the jungles of Thailand as the international community closed in on his capture.

Two of his top deputies вЂ“ Ta Mok and Kaing Khek Iev вЂ“ are in jail after being seized by the government in recent years, but have not been convicted of any crimes. Other key leaders like Nuon Chea, Khieu Sampheu, and Ieng Sary remain free. Thousands of perpetrators continue to roam the countryside. After years of pained negotiation between the United Nations and the Cambodian government, an agreement was reached last year establishing special chambers within the Cambodian court structure to prosecute the handful of former Khmer Rouge leaders deemed "most responsible" for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. The tribunal is to consist of both foreign and Cambodian prosecutors and judges. In an awkward and complex formula, Cambodian judges would outnumber their foreign counterparts, but would need the vote of at least one foreign judge to confirm any decisions. After years UN Intervention in Cambodia A report by: Sources: Erika Dimaguila and * Godieman Aranas of AB Pol. Sci.

I-A * * * 544 Words | 3 Pages The Cambodias Best-Known LiteratureCulture Hero By Lay Vicheka March 11, 2005 Ў§Choun NatЎЁ is known as the most impressive literature and cultural promoter that Cambodia 1,560 Words | 7 Pages Bamboo Flooring: Setting up in Cambodia By: Sharina Mutreja 4680260 Shruti Mishra Pakkapong Veerakiatikit Chanika Limkriengkrai Table of Contents Executive Summary Introduction There are about 2,492 Words | 10 Pages When the people in the outside world were living the life of their dreams, the Cambodians were left all alone with their broken hearts thatвЂ™s 2,224 Words | 9 Pages paper used at Beloit college, prof. Rapp. Was presented to the entire college. Thought you might wanna know. Cambodia, a Southeast Asian country that shares 3,978 Words | 16 Pages

Question: Which country was known as Democratic Kampuchea when it was ruled by the Khmer Rouge From 1975 to 1990?
Answer: Cambodia