Pol Pot was the leader of the communist Khmer Rouge guerrilla movement in Cambodia. After overthrowing the Cambodian government in 1975 and declaring Kampuchea as the new name of the country, the Khmer Rouge started to implement its vision of a new communist society upon the nation.
The Ideology of the Khmer Rouge was to create a classless society of peasant rural agricultural farmers who would rule themselves and return the country to an “idealized” golden age of the past. The ideology was called Year Zero, meaning that the society would start again from scratch.
In order to achieve Year Zero, the populace had first to be cleansed of “Old Ideas”1 starting by removing them from the urban areas to the rural ones. This was done by armed force and propaganda. The now Kampuchea army forced everyone out of the cities including the old, sick and infirm. Anyone who refused to go, questioned the move or was tardy was murdered. This was the beginning of the genocide. At the same time it was announced that this emptying of the urban areas was because the Americans (who were at this time conducting their own genocide2 on the people of Vietnam) were about to start a bombing campaign of Cambodian towns and cities, which many people believed.
All the people removed from the urban areas were then put into communes and forced to work in slave labour farming of eighteen hours per day, nine days out of ten, the tenth day being a rest and “political re-education” day. The communes were headed by largely young, uneducated, but politically indoctrinated communist party members. In these communes anyone suspected of not being fully committed to the party ideology was imprisoned, tortured for confessions and incrimination of others, and then murdered.
The party policy to implement Year Zero required that all those who had been exposed to modern (Western) education be exterminated, therefore all the educated; lawyers, doctors, teachers, engineers and qualified professionals in all fields that were thought to be a threat to the new regime were murdered along with their extended families. All factories, hospitals, schools and universities were shut down.
Cultural cleansing was commenced and all forms of cultural artifacts were destroyed, books were burned, artworks destroyed and music was banned, any cultural activity not in conformity with the regimes doctrine was suppressed.3 To be in possession of a musical instrument, a radio, or any form of “modern” implement (including spectacles) would result in summary execution.
Khmer Rouge ideology stated that the only acceptable lifestyle was that of poor agricultural workers.4 Money was abolished and all aspects of life were subject to regulation. People were not allowed to choose their own marriage partners – mass politically correct marriages between unwilling partners were forced upon couples by the regime. People could not leave their given place of work or even select the clothes that they would wear.
Pol Pot encouraged xenophobia and racism which also became a hallmark of the regime and a program of ethnic cleansing was undertaken with Ethnic Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai people becoming targets of the racism and subsequently murdered.
Religion was banned and religious believers were sought out and half the Cham Muslim population was murdered alongside 8,000 Christians. Buddhist monasteries were targeted and by 1977 there were hardly any left functioning in the country.5
Indoctrination – Getting control of the country’s children.
Formal education ceased and from January 1977, all children from the age of eight were separated from their parents and placed in labour camps, which taught them that the State was their ‘true’ parents.
For the Khmer Rouge, children were central to the revolution as they believed they could be easily moulded, conditioned and indoctrinated. They could be taught to obey orders, become soldiers and kill enemies. Children were taught to believe that anyone not conforming to the Khmer laws were corrupt enemies.6
In the 4 years 1975-79, an estimated 2 million people died (some estimates go as high as 4 million), from torture, murder, starvation and exhaustion from overwork in the communal farms which became known as the Killing Fields.
The utter idiotic and criminal madness of the Khmer Rouge regime came to an end when the Vietnamese army invaded and overthrew it, restored some sort of normality, and started a ten year occupation of Cambodia before returning it to democratic government under UN supervision.
1Note the similarity with objectives of Mao Zedong’s Red Guard.
2See American genocide in Vietnam with the establishment of the International War Crimes Tribunal by Bertrand Russell and others http://bestthinkersandleaders.jimdo.com/rus/
3Note the similarities with the objectives of the Taliban, Mao Zedong’s Red Guard, and Islamic State (ISIS / ISIL).
4Note the similarity with the Taliban’s objective of robot like people, living a subsistence agrarian lifestyle of religious worship.
5 Note the similarity with the Taliban and IS (ISIS / ISIL) rejection and destruction of all but their own religion / ideology.
6 Note the similarity with Mao Zedong’s indoctrination of Chinese youth.
Charles
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