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History of Cambodia Conflict: Khmer Rouge and Killing Field

History of Cambodia Conflict - Cambodia or also known as Kampuchea is a country in Southeast Asia which was originally a kingdom under the rule of the Khmer Dynasty on the Indo-China Peninsula between the 11th and 14th centuries. Cambodians are usually known as Cambodian or Khmer, which refers to the country's Khmer ethnicity. This ASEAN member country which is famous for its Angkor Wat pagoda is directly adjacent to Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. The vast majority of Cambodians are Theravada Buddhists, who have traditionally been followed by the Khmer ethnic group. However, some of its citizens are also Muslim from Cham Muslim descent.

Cambodia had shocked the world when the radical communist Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot came to power in 1975. At that time, Pol Pot proclaimed Cambodia as a new country. He referred to 1975 as "Year Zero". Everything wants to be built from scratch. April 17, 1975 was declared Liberation Day from the bad and corrupt Lon Nol regime. As it turned out, the release promised by Pol Pot was actually the beginning of a dark period for the Cambodian people.

Cambodia's Independence from France

On November 9, 1953, France ended its colonial rule in Cambodia which had lasted since 1863 and Cambodia became a sovereign state. A year later the former leader of the Indo-China region, King Norodom Sihanouk, returned from exile in Thailand. Sihanouk then formed a political party and held general elections (elections). After winning the election he managed to expel the communists and get all the seats of government.

In 1955, to escape all forms of prohibition placed on the king by Cambodian legislation, Norodom Sihanouk returned the throne to his father, Norodom Suramarit. He then entered the world of politics. During successive elections, in 1955, 1958, 1962 and 1966, the party formed by Norodom Sihanouk always won a majority seat in parliament.

In March 1969, American planes began bombing Cambodia to block the trail and infiltration of the Vietcong army. The bombing lasted until 1973.

In 1970, while Sihanouk was in Moscow on a state visit, Marshal Lon Nol staged a coup in Phnom Penh. Lon Nol then abolished the monarchy and declared Cambodia a republic. Sihanouk did not return to his country and chose to settle in Peking, China. He led a government on the run and the Khmer Rouge was part of that government.

About the Khmer Rouge

The Khmer Rouge was the military branch of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (the name of Cambodia at the time). In the 1960s and 1970s, the Khmer Rouge waged a guerrilla war against the Shihanouk regime and Marshal Lon Nol. On April 17, 1975, the Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot succeeded in overthrowing power and becoming the leader of Cambodia.

In just a few days, the new regime executed a large number of Cambodians who had joined the Lon Nol regime. The residents of Phnom Phen as well as residents of other provinces were forced out of the city and moved to shelter areas. Phnom Phen became a dead city. Entire economies across the country turned under the communist hard line, Money disappeared from circulation. The result of all that is the occurrence of famine and disease outbreaks in the area.

Over the next 44 months, millions of Cambodians became victims of terror from the Khmer Rouge. The refugees who managed to flee to Thailand told of the cruelty of this group which included punishing children to death just because they were not born into farming families. In addition, people of Vietnamese and Chinese descent were also terrorized and killed. Anyone suspected of being educated, or belonging to a merchant family must be killed by beating them to death, not by being shot under the pretext of saving ammunition.

Killing Field

The four years that Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge were in power in Cambodia were one that caused a stir around the world. The Khmer Rouge sought to transform Cambodia into a Maoist state with the concept of agrarianism. The Khmer regime also declared the year of their arrival as "Year Zero". Currency, abolished. Postal service, discontinued. Cambodia was cut off from foreign relations. Cambodian law was also abolished.

The Khmer Rouge regime during this period is estimated to have massacred about two million Cambodians. There are about 343 "killing fields" scattered throughout Cambodia. Choeung Ek is the most famous "killing field". Here, most of the executed victims were intellectuals from Phnom Penh, including: former Information Minister Hou Nim, professor of law Phorng Ton, and nine Westerners including David Lioy Scott from Australia. Before being killed, most of them were documented and interrogated at the Tuol Sleng torture camp.

Prison S-21 or Tuol Sleng is the most secret organ of the Khmer Rouge regime. In 1962, the S-21 prison was a high school building called Ponhea Yat. During Lon Nol's reign, the school's name was changed to Tuol Svay Prey High School.

Tuol Sleng is located in the sub-district of Tuol Svay Prey, south of Phnom Penh, covering an area of ​​600 x 400 meters. After Phnom Penh fell to the Khmer Rouge, the school was turned into a camp for the interrogation and torture of detainees accused of being political enemies. In this “killing field”, intellectuals were interrogated to name their relatives or fellow intellectuals. One person has to name 15 other educated people. If they don't answer, they will be tortured. Their fingernails will be removed, then soaked in alcohol. They were also tortured by being drowned in water baths or electrocuted. The pain was especially felt by women because they were often raped during interrogation.

After being interrogated for 2-4 months, they will be executed in Choeung Ek. A number of political prisoners who are considered important are detained for interrogation for about 6-7 months, then executed.

Haing S Ngor, who at that time worked as a doctor, was a handful of intellectuals who managed to escape from the Khmer Rouge regime. Haing was awarded the 1984 Oscar for his role in the film "The Killing Fields". In the film, he played the character of Dith Pran, a Cambodian journalist who survived the massacre. Unfortunately, Haing was killed at his home in Los Angeles, USA, while fighting a robbery by three drug addicts in 1996.

Vietnam's Intervention in the Cambodian Problem

On December 25, 1978, after several violations occurred on the border between Cambodia and Vietnam, the Vietnamese army invaded Cambodia. On January 7, 1979, Vietnamese troops occupied Phnom Penh and overthrew Pol Pot's government. A puppet government was then formed under the leadership of Heng Samrin, a former member of the Khmer Rouge who had defected to Vietnam. But this new government is not recognized by Western countries. Meanwhile Pol Pot and his followers fled to the forests and resumed guerrilla and terror tactics. Pol Pot whose real name is Saloth Sar finally died in the middle of the forest on April 15, 1998 of a heart attack.

Cambodia Conflict Resolution

In 1982, the three remaining groups (factions) in Cambodia were the Khmer Rouge, and the Cambodian National Independence, Neutrality, Peace and Cooperation Front (FUNCINPEC) led by Prince Sihanouk, and the Khmer people's national liberation Front led by the prime minister. the former, Son Sann, formed a coalition aimed at forcing out the Vietnamese army. In 1989, the Vietnamese army finally withdrew from Cambodia.

In 1992, the United Nations (UNTAC), took over temporarily the government of this country. The following year, the United Nations held democratic elections which were won by FUNCINPEC. This faction later formed a coalition government with Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP).

Now, Cambodia has developed rapidly thanks to the help of foreign countries. The country has even held a trial against a former Khmer Rouge leader on charges of crimes against humanity. People in towns and villages have also lived a quiet life even though they are haunted by the danger of landmines that are still scattered throughout the country.