Pol Pot's brutal regime claims two million lives in Cambodia
- The Khmer Rouge's rise to power resulted in the forced evacuation of Phnom Penh's population.
- Pol Pot's radical policies aimed at creating an agrarian utopia led to widespread poverty and starvation.
- The global community overlooked the atrocities until Vietnam intervened in 1978, marking the regime's downfall.
In Cambodia, the period from 1975 to 1979 was marked by the devastating rule of Pol Pot and the Communist Khmer Rouge party. This regime implemented radical communist policies that led to the deaths of approximately two million Cambodians, representing nearly a quarter of the population. Following his studies in France, where Pol Pot was influenced by communist ideology, he returned to Cambodia intent on leading a political revolution. On April 17, 1975, the Khmer Rouge seized control of Phnom Penh, forcing the entire population to evacuate the city and take only what they could carry. Under Pol Pot's leadership, the Khmer Rouge imposed an extreme agrarian society by abolishing money, markets, property, religion, music, and even the concept of family. The regime's philosophy was governed by the belief that the educated and economically successful parts of society posed a threat to the new order. Consequently, doctors, teachers, and various professionals were sent to rural areas to become peasant farmers. This violent upheaval incited forced labor, resulting in widespread starvation and suffering. The international community largely remained unaware of the atrocities taking place in Cambodia, as the regime cut the nation off from outside communication. Despite reports emerging about the brutality, it wasn't until 1978 that significant action was taken. Tensions escalated with Vietnam, leading to a border dispute that prompted the Vietnamese army to invade Cambodia in late 1978. The invasion marked the end of Pol Pot's repressive regime, but Cambodia faced a long period of conflict, with about 14 more years of sporadic fighting before re-establishing itself as an independent nation. Pol Pot ultimately died in 1998 without ever facing justice for his crimes. His story serves as a grim reminder of the capacity for human rights violations under oppressive regimes and the global community's responsibility to act against such atrocities before they spiral into worse horrors.