“TO SPARE YOU IS NO PROFIT. . .

TO DESTROY YOU IS NO LOSS.”

The Cambodian Genocide

Genocide

According to the Dictionary . . . The deliberate extermination of a racial, religious,

or ethnic group.

According to the United Nations . . . “Any of the following acts committed with intent to

destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life, calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; [and] forcibly transferring children of the group to another group."

Cambodia? What?

Located in South East Asia

Once the center of the ancient kingdom of the Khmer; their capital city was Angkor.

The present day capital is Phnom Penh

In 1953, Cambodia gained its independence after nearly 100 years of French rule

The population of Cambodia in the 1960’s was over seven million; almost all of whom were Buddhists.

What is a “Buddhist”?

Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices considered by most to be a religion and based on the teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as "The Buddha" (the Awakened One).

Buddhists recognize him as an awakened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings end their suffering by understanding the true nature of phenomena, thereby escaping the cycle of suffering and rebirth, that is, achieving Nirvana.

What is a “Buddhist”?

Among the methods various schools of Buddhism apply towards this goal are: ethical conduct and altruistic behavior, devotional practices, renunciation of worldly matters, meditation, physical exercises, study, and the cultivation of wisdom. Karma

Buddhist schools disagree on what the historical teachings of Gautama Buddha were, so much so that some scholars claim Buddhism does not have a clearly definable common core.

The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism1. Life as we know it ultimately is or leads to suffering

in one way or another. 2. Suffering is caused by craving or attachments to

worldly pleasures of all kinds. This is often expressed as a deluded clinging to a certain sense of existence, to selfhood, or to the things or phenomena that we consider the cause of happiness or unhappiness.

3. Suffering ends when craving ends, when one is freed from desire. This is achieved by eliminating all delusion, thereby reaching a liberated state of Enlightenment

4. Reaching this liberated state is achieved by following the path laid out by the Buddha.

The Military Coup

In 1970 Prince Sihanouk was deposed; the leader of the new right-wing government was lieutenant-general Lon Nol, he was made president of the ‘Khmer Republic’.

Prince Sihanouk and his followers joined forces with a communist guerrilla organization founded in 1960 known as the Khmer Rouge; they attacked Lon Nol’s army and civil war began.

The Role of the Vietnamese War

Cambodia is neighbored by Vietnam to the East

Cambodia had preserved neutrality during the war by giving a little to both sides: Vietnamese communists were

allowed to use a Cambodian port to ship supplies

The United States was allowed to bomb Viet Cong hideouts in Cambodia; when Lon Nol took over, U.S. troops felt free to move into Cambodia, essentially turning it into part of the Vietnamese battlefield Resulted in 750,000 deaths Drove more recruits to the Khmer

Rouge

Spread Too Thin

Lon Nol’s army was kept busy trying to suppress not only Vietnamese communists (Viet Cong) but also the rising Khmer Rouge . . .

In 1975, Lon Nol was defeated by the Khmer Rouge; more than 156,000 had died during the civil war . . . half of them were civilians.

A New Nation

Pol Pot, the leader of the guerilla movement, and the Khmer Rouge then embarked on a mission:

The Reconstruction of Cambodia Model: Mao’s

Communist China Population must be

made to work as laborers

Anyone in opposition must be eliminated

Mao Zedong

Pol Pot

The ‘Reconstruction’ Plan

Under threat of death, all inhabitants were forced to leave their towns and cities People who refused to leave were killed, as were those who didn’t leave fast

enough. All political and civil rights were abolished Children were to be taken from their parents and placed in forced labor

camps Factories, schools, and universities were shut down; so were hospitals Lawyers, doctors, teachers, engineers, scientists ,and professional people

in any field (including the army) were killed along with their families Religion was banned

Buddhist monks were killed Temples were all destroyed

Music/Radio sets were banned It was possible to be shot simply for knowing a foreign language, wearing glasses, laughing, or crying.

The Survivors

Became unpaid laborers Worked on minimum rations Worked impossibly long hours Were discouraged from having personal

relationships; expressing their affection Many people became weak from

overwork and starvation and often fell ill . . . The only treatment was death.

Other Targets

Racism in the Khmer Rouge Also targeted:

Minority groups Ethnic Chinese Vietnamese Thai Cambodians with ties to any of the above ancestry lines Christians Muslims

The Toll

Civilian deaths during this period from:

Executions Disease Exhaustion Starvation

. . . Are estimated to be at well over 2 million.

The Fall of the Khmer Rouge Links with China created hostility between the

Pol Pot government and Vietnam In 1978, the Vietnamese invaded and

overthrew the Khmer Rouge and set up a puppet government composed mainly of defectors from the Khmer Rouge, this government was: Socialist Comparatively benign, but had difficulty organizing

because of the “Reconstruction” which had . . .1. Ruined the economy2. Left all competent professionals, engineers,

technicians, and planners dead (Oops)

America to the Rescue (What the . . . ?!)

The Khmer Rouge, in retreat, had some help from American relief agencies (that’s cute . . .)

In addition, we also ensured that the Khmer Rouge (rather than the Vietnamese-backed communist government) held on to Cambodia’s seat in the United Nations

The West’s fueling of the Khmer Rouge help up Cambodia’s recovery for a decade (Thanks, guys)

Uhh . . . WHY?! The Cold War continued to dictate what allegiances

existed The United States hated the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union

was an ally of Vietnam, therefore, the United States hated Vietnam

The Return of Prince Sihanouk

Under international pressure, Vietnam finally withdrew its occupying army from Cambodia Approximately 65,000 people were killed over the course of the

twenty year conflict between the two countries; 14,000 of them were civilians.

A temporary coalition government formed: Once again, it was legal to own land The state religion, Buddhism, was restored The last troops left Cambodia in 1989, and its name was

officially restored In 1991, a peace agreement was signed between the opposing

groups, and in 1993, peacekeeping troops were arranged and the former monarch, Prince Sihanouk, was elected to lead the new government once again.

When Pol Pot’s trials began, many of the Khmer Rouge entered into deals to get immunity from prosecution; not surprisingly, they blamed everything on Pol Pot and claimed no knowledge of the mass murders.

In-Class Essay

Having learned both about the Jewish Holocaust and the Cambodian genocide, what similarities and

differences do you see in what happened in Cambodia and what happened in Europe twenty years earlier?

What recurring themes are visible?

(Hint: in terms of Western – particularly U.S. - involvement)

What responsibility do you believe we have to intervene in such affairs?