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Cambodia Genocide

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The Cambodian Genocide occurred from April 1975 until 1979 in Cambodia, a country in South East Asia, well-known for its ancient kingdoms and artefacts. The Cambodian Genocide refers to the attempt to revolutionise Cambodia’s peasant farming society in accordance to Chinese communism ideas and beliefs by Khmer Rouge part leader, Pol Pot. The Khmer is the predominant ethnic group of Cambodia, accounting for 90% of the entire population and is extremely relevant to the genocide, while the Khmer Rouge was The Communist Party of Kampuchea. During 1970, Prince Sihanouk of Cambodia was overthrown in a military coup, where lieutenant-general Lon Nol was elected as the new president of the ‘Khmer Republic. As vengeance, Sihanouk and his forces formed …show more content…

Cambodians grew suspicion towards Lon Nol’s government politics and opposed such a force. By 1975, Pol Pot’s force had grown to over 700,000 men. During 1975, Lon Nol’s government was officially defeated by the Khmer Rouge, causing the death of 156,000 Cambodian citizens. The reign of a brutal and murderous society had begun. Under Pol Pot’s leadership, an extreme programme was imposed to revolutionise Cambodia into a communist country, where all citizens were expected to work as labourers, farmers and peasants in one huge federation of farms in accordance to the Chinese agricultural model. All intellectual, educated or wealthy people who opposed the Khmer Rouge were eliminated. The disabled, old, ill and young who were in no condition to work were either driven out of their towns or killed on the spot. A slogan that described Pol Pot’s rule was 'To spare you is no profit, to destroy you is no loss.’ Cambodians at this time were treated harshly, surviving on minimum rations, living in public communes with constant food shortages and epidemic

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