What Happened During the Khmer Rouge?

The Khmer Rouge began as a small guerrilla force based in the mountains of the northeastern Cambodia. While their public talks were of peace, their underlying agenda was quickly preparing for a take over.

The goal of the Khmer Rouge was to convert the Cambodian country to a complete communistic government without going through the intermediate steps normally used to change a government.

Much of their support came from the Soviet communist party. The ultimate goal was to convert the country into an agrarian society. The movement to this form of life was to be rapid and complete... but what happened during the Khmer Rouge control instead?

Forced Evacuations

The Rouge took measures to expel everyone from their homes and jobs and disperse them into the countryside. The forced evacuation of the cities primarily affected the skilled labor and educated portions of the populace.

The Khmer Rouge believed that the educated portions of the people were infected by capitalism. They believed the only remedy for the evil views that the academics carried was to eliminate the individuals with the ideas. Thus, during 1975 through 1979, they arrested, executed and worked to death many of those that were well educated.

Evacuation of Urban Centers

Urban centers were cleared of people, who were relocated to farmlands. This resulted in the widespread closings of banks, schools, hospitals and all other capitalistic businesses.

As the urban dwellers were sent to the countryside to be resettled in agricultural centers, their lack of farming skills and knowledge led to widespread starvation.

Injustices during the Khmer Rouge

While the regime promised to allow the citizens to return to their homes soon, they were never to be allowed to return. Judgments were severe for those that broke even minor laws and rules. The penalty was most often execution.

While all the people experienced these harsh conditions, those suffering the most were the intellectuals. The goal was to eliminate the intellectuals through either execution or letting them died from exhaustion or illness in the fields.

Forced Labor

Because of this elimination of skilled labor, each province was required to change to a self-sufficient region. Forced labor was instituted and resulted in widespread hunger, exhaustion, illness and lack of medical care. The total lack of adequate food and rest took its toll on the population as 12-hour work days were implemented by the regime. Widespread terror and torture were commonplace.

What Was the Khmer Rouge?

The Khmer Rouge was a group dedicated to implementing the communist form of government in the country of Cambodia. Cambodia is in the southern region of the Far East. It lies south of Laos and Thailand and west of the southern portion of Vietnam.

The formation of the Khmer Rouge began in the early 1960s. While fighting a civil war, the Khmer Rouge arose from the chaos that existed in Cambodia. The purpose of the group was to implement the communistic ideals within the country. There was widespread responses to the Khmer Rouge's promises of peace during this time.

Khmer Rouge's End

The regime continually had border skirmishes with the Vietnamese until, finally, in 1979 the Vietnamese armed forces invaded Cambodia. For the next twenty years, the Khmer Rouge and their leaders led a guerrilla war from regions near the Thailand border. Finally, in 1999, the last of the leaders were captured and the Khmer Rouge ceased to exist. Now, with the leaders apprehended, the trials of these leaders have been going since 2009. The crimes they stand accused of are genocide and crimes against humanity. Finally, these trials may mean that people can get an answer to the question, what happened during the Khmer Rouge.