Regime of Khmer Rouge in Cambodia - Essay Example

May 29 Khmer Rouge Life in Cambodia was very peaceful, a place where people slept and lived happily without much ambition before the arrival of the Khmer Rouge. Cambodia began unraveling early 1970 when Vietnam War spilled across its border. In the Cambodian countryside, Americans were intimidating North Vietnamese campsites and the US was upholding the corrupt government in the capital. Cambodia found itself in lots of chaos and civil war between its citizens. A communist’s rebel group had emerged, and it was fighting in an attempt to oust the government that was present. From BBC, it is clear that it was a communist party belonging to Kapuchea. Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, had a reputation for brutality because they used to kill the villagers and the village chiefs. Khmer Rouge group ensured people were dispersed to the forest by burning both villages and major towns where there were huge populations. Moreover, by the time the chaos reached the peak, many Americans had held demonstrations protesting the involvement of United States in Cambodia. Things had gone so badly in Vietnam and their only interest in Southeast Asia was in getting out. Many people ran away from the cities and small towns to avoid Khmer Rouge. According to White (2010, pg. 16) Cambodia was turned into a camp that starved and terrorized people. On April 17 1975, Cambodia fell when Phnom Penh came face to face with the Khmer Rouge. Khmer Rouge was different, and they were dead behind the eyes. When Khmer Rouge took power, they started to re-invent Cambodia by emptying the cities forcing all the residents into the countryside and towards a dark future. Cadre spread the word that the Americans were going to bomb, and everyone had to leave including patients in the hospital. It was a lie and the leaders of Khmer Rouge cleared the capital and other cities so that they could start over. Around noon, everyone started leaving Cambodia, hundreds of thousands of people who were trenching along a few kilometers an hour, and it was truly a staggering sight, incredible. All citizens that lived in Cambodia and were from foreign countries were ferried to the borders by trucks. Khmer Rouge went ahead and created a new country after ensuring all foreigners were taken out of the country, and Cambodia was officially sealed. New country was created by killing civilians earnestly. Ideology of Khmer Rouge The book by Marshall Cavendish Corporation, (2007, pg. 765) states that Khmer Rouge viewed the Vietnamese as a sacrifice for Cambodia revolution for its own interests. Combined with a burning Cambodia to its ancient glory, Khmer Rouge believed that outside influences from China, Vietnam and the Western world were destroying the country’s noble heritage. They decided to cleanse Cambodia of all modern influence and creating a pure Cambodian society. In addition, through a series of steps, they took on extreme ideology that for them to have a communist society, they had to remove the impediments, which were the ruling class, the educated class, among others. Forsythe (2009, pg. 236) in his book says that there were no professionals or skilled workers. For that reason, Khmer Rouge group purged the citizens about factors such as bringing the rich, religious people, those who were educated in the society and people who were from different ethnic group. Many people became slaves and they had to work in rice fields, some dug ditches and others worked in various farming groups with supervision of an armed guard. They were given nothing to eat and hence some people survived from eating anything: tree bark, crab shells, snails among others. Few people outside Cambodia knew what was happening even though it went beyond imagination. US involvement with Khmer Rouge In general, it is uncommon to believe what was happening because those who believed could not sleep at night, or even eat when one knew what was happening. The US government was aware of what was happening; in a meeting in 1975 secretary of state Henry Kissinger acknowledged the brutality of the Khmer Rouge, he also knew they shared an enemy – Vietnam. Additionally from the speech made by Kissinger, it was clear that United States supported Cambodia. Even though, Khmer Rouge was murderous thugs, US would not let that stand in its way. According to Sharp (6/3/2012), the government that was created by Khmer Rouge based on delusions that were doctrinaire and their ideas blinded themselves and ensured those who dared to speak were silenced. By 1977, the Khmer Rouge had been in power for two years, all those who were opposed to the government were killed, and all those who did not work quite hard enough were killed. Majority of the people who were working encountered death as a result of the harsh working conditions or even starving to death. There were a certain population of those who were enslaved who died from sickness and a lack of healthcare. The World and Khmer Rouge Through the ravage-taking place in Cambodia, majority of the nations were not aware of the genocide while others became uninterested in what was taking place in Cambodia. In the year 1977, Franqois Ponchalio published his evidence in a book called Year Zero, which was one of the first to expose the atrocities like torture that happened in a high school where 15,000 people were beaten, tortured and even subjected to water burning and later sent off to the killing fields. 20,000 mass graves were present at Chionieks. Father Franqois Ponchalio took his accounts of Khmer Rouge brutality to the United Nations. He was telling the world that genocide was taking place in Cambodia and yet it continued. The governments did not react because countries do not defend human right because they are subservient to politics. Decline of Khmer Rouge The inauguration of President Jimmy Carter in January 1977 promised to change when he vowed to put human rights at the center of US foreign policy. After a period of 15 months, there was a condemnation of the activities carried out by Khmer Gouge, and they were viewed as the worst violators of the rights of humans. Jimmy Carter took no action to stop the slaughter in Cambodia, and he said the invasion was not an option. There was a strong notion about invasion to the United States being a compartment again in this remote part of Asia. Towards the end, of 1978 the Vietnamese because of frequent skirmishes that took place along its borders eventually invaded Cambodia. The Vietnamese managed to overthrow the government of Khmer Rouge making them flee to the jungle. Now the world could finally see that everything Franqois Ponchalio had said was true. Cambodians who died were over two million. The scope of the catastrophe became clear and in the collapse of 1979, President Carter took action. The United States donated 200 million dollars in special funds to alleviate the plight of the Cambodian refugees. As the civil war was ending in Cambodia, a diplomatic problem emerged and it was a big test to United States because it required her to make tough decisions and show its president’s commitment to fight against human rights. United States had to make a tough decision in regards to the person to occupy the Cambodia seat at the United Nations since it favored the Khmer Rouge who were overthrown. Despite the fact that Khmer Rouge held the Cambodia’s United Nation seat, the new government claimed the seat. The new leaders were supported by Vietnam and the Soviet Union who were America’s cold war enemies. Petit (2011, pg. 192) in his journal contends that, at the time Khmer Rouge continued being a military force even though it had been weakened by the defection of several of its people and the decrease in support internationally and by initiating a justice process further undermined the available support for Khmer Rouge. They decided to maintain the status quo because it was the primary desire of all the surrounding nations. United States and other nations voted against the current regime but failed to secure enough votes to retain Khmer Rouge, which was seen, as a group that discriminated based on human rights. Three decades in North Penh the surviving leaders of Khmer Rouge were brought to trial as the world was watching. McCargo (2011 pg. 615) in his article states that, the reason for holding the trials was to find out the truth that took place at the time of Khmer Rouge. This trial was important because it helped in bringing out the factual testimonies that were given by the common leaders of Khmer Rouge who survived. No one defends human rights because governments are cold beasts looking out for their own interests. Work Cited BBC. Cambodias brutal Khmer Rouge regime. Web. 19 Sep 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7002629.stm Forsythe P. David, Encyclopedia of Human Rights, Volume 1. New York: Oxford University Press. 2009. Marshall Cavendish Corporation. World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia, Volume 6. New York: Marshal Cavendish Corporation, 2007. Print. McCargo Duncan. Politics by other means? The virtual trials of the Khmer Rouge tribunal. International Affairs. 1st May, 2011: p613-627. Blackwell Publishers. Petit Robert. Lawfare and international tribunals: A question of definition? A reflection on the creation of the "khmer rouge tribunal". Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law. 1st January 2011: p189-199. Case Westem Reserve University School of Law. Sharp Bruce. The Unique Revolution. Mekong. Web. 6th March 2012. http://www.mekong.net/Cambodia/uniq_rev.htm White David. Frommers Cambodia & Laos. New Jersey: Wiley Publishing Inc. 2010. Print. Read More