Today, this is a picture of the actually killing fields in Cambodia. Its hard to imagine that a little more than 30 years ago, millions were slaughtered right here.Thursday, June 14, 2007
The Killing Fields Today
Today, this is a picture of the actually killing fields in Cambodia. Its hard to imagine that a little more than 30 years ago, millions were slaughtered right here.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Personal Reflection- Matt Velasquez
This event tells us that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights issued by the United Nations is meaningless. If they cannot enforce the declaration then there is no use in having it in the first place. The U.N. cannot expect every leader of every nation to follow the declaration just because it is the right thing to do. I think that human rights should come before everything else and if the U.N. can't support that idea, someone else will have to. This event relates to the Holocaust in that hundreds of thousands of innocent people were killed that did nothing wrong. Also, this event was somewhat of a racial rejuvenation in the eyes of Pol Pot. Their goal was to create one ultimate race of people.
This event denies the principle of humanism and the idea that all individuals matter. People were killed based on their race, education level, economic status, and governmental status. According to the Khmer Rouge, only those who they thought were suitable for the new society could live. They clearly did not believe that the individual mattered of had any rights. I believe in humanism, but clearly some people on the world, as this event displays, do not.
This event makes me scared that people like Pol Pot can come to power and kill people in their countries. I think that if there was a way, people should have a better way of picking their leaders in all countries. The U.N. could regulate leaders in smaller, weaker nations so nothing like this could ever happen again. The problem with this is that this system would completely ruin the sovereignty of that nation. This event also makes me wonder how people who follwed Pol Pot could live with themselves killing innocent people. Especially since they used pick axes and shovels instead of guns to kill people. I do not understand those people. I really wished that more leaders were caught and prosecuted. The least the U.N. could do was prosecute the leaders of the Khmer Rouge, since they couldn't stop the killings when they were occurring. They should have at least tried the leaders earlier, not waiting until later this year to finally do it.
I have so much sorrow for all of the victims. I could not even begin to imagine what they went through and how scary it must have been for them. I pity them too because they didn't do anything wrong and they were still executed. The actions of the state in this situation were not at all justified. The Khmer Rouge had no right, according to the UDoHR, to kill anyone.
To me, peacekeeping efforts by the U.N. in sovereign countries are acceptable. If people are dying and or being tortured then the U.N. must do something. I think that if a leader tortures or kills innocent people in his or her country, then he or she forfeits their leadership and the sovereignty of their country. If the U.N. wanted to step into stop something horrible happening in the U.S.A., I would encourage it. These events would be taking place right in front of me, if not to me, so I think that I would want the U.N. to step in more than ever.
This event denies the principle of humanism and the idea that all individuals matter. People were killed based on their race, education level, economic status, and governmental status. According to the Khmer Rouge, only those who they thought were suitable for the new society could live. They clearly did not believe that the individual mattered of had any rights. I believe in humanism, but clearly some people on the world, as this event displays, do not.
This event makes me scared that people like Pol Pot can come to power and kill people in their countries. I think that if there was a way, people should have a better way of picking their leaders in all countries. The U.N. could regulate leaders in smaller, weaker nations so nothing like this could ever happen again. The problem with this is that this system would completely ruin the sovereignty of that nation. This event also makes me wonder how people who follwed Pol Pot could live with themselves killing innocent people. Especially since they used pick axes and shovels instead of guns to kill people. I do not understand those people. I really wished that more leaders were caught and prosecuted. The least the U.N. could do was prosecute the leaders of the Khmer Rouge, since they couldn't stop the killings when they were occurring. They should have at least tried the leaders earlier, not waiting until later this year to finally do it.
I have so much sorrow for all of the victims. I could not even begin to imagine what they went through and how scary it must have been for them. I pity them too because they didn't do anything wrong and they were still executed. The actions of the state in this situation were not at all justified. The Khmer Rouge had no right, according to the UDoHR, to kill anyone.
To me, peacekeeping efforts by the U.N. in sovereign countries are acceptable. If people are dying and or being tortured then the U.N. must do something. I think that if a leader tortures or kills innocent people in his or her country, then he or she forfeits their leadership and the sovereignty of their country. If the U.N. wanted to step into stop something horrible happening in the U.S.A., I would encourage it. These events would be taking place right in front of me, if not to me, so I think that I would want the U.N. to step in more than ever.
personal reflection
The event of pol pot and the killing fields of Cambodia relates to both human rights and the decleration of human rights. They relate to human rights because he went completly against it and didn't even give people fair trials. He was incharge of killing these people. He didn't care about the others. The only thing he realy cared about was to him killing his own kind because he thought they were traitors. He thought he would purify the country and wanted them all to be communists. He completly went against human rights and killed them all.
This event relates to the holocaust because there was mass killing and people were not treated fair they were killed because they were different. They didn't have the same beliefs so they were killed. It is very similar this time it wasn't because they were jew's it was about pol pots own kind but he still killed a lot of people because they were different. It also relates because they had concentration camps to mainly kill and torture prisoners. They were both sick and un-human. so in a nut shell they were very much alike in every way.
Pol pot and the killing fields of Cambodia denied the principal the principal that all individuals matter. This is true because he treated them like animals with no hygene and didn't care about them. He killed them whithout trial and only cared about how to kill more to purify the country.
He didn't care about antone and never had a thought in his mind that all individuals matter. In actuality all individuals matter and pol pot didn't care anything about them.
This event makes me think nothing about leadership because of how cruel and un human pol pot was.. Also including the leaders of the concentration camps. Everyone apart of the killings have no leadership what so ever. For example he ran away when cambodia was attacked in vietnam, and ran away like a cowered, there is no leadership involved he should of stood his ground and face the concequences. I feel that everyone who was apart of the killings should have been tortured to and put to death.
I feel so much sorrow for the victums of Cambodia. They were non deserving to death. They shouldn't have killed them because they had diffrent beliefs againstpol pot. I think people should have tryed harder to find pol pot because he wasn't put to justice. I gives me even more sorrow and I wish this event never happend.
This event relates to the holocaust because there was mass killing and people were not treated fair they were killed because they were different. They didn't have the same beliefs so they were killed. It is very similar this time it wasn't because they were jew's it was about pol pots own kind but he still killed a lot of people because they were different. It also relates because they had concentration camps to mainly kill and torture prisoners. They were both sick and un-human. so in a nut shell they were very much alike in every way.
Pol pot and the killing fields of Cambodia denied the principal the principal that all individuals matter. This is true because he treated them like animals with no hygene and didn't care about them. He killed them whithout trial and only cared about how to kill more to purify the country.
He didn't care about antone and never had a thought in his mind that all individuals matter. In actuality all individuals matter and pol pot didn't care anything about them.
This event makes me think nothing about leadership because of how cruel and un human pol pot was.. Also including the leaders of the concentration camps. Everyone apart of the killings have no leadership what so ever. For example he ran away when cambodia was attacked in vietnam, and ran away like a cowered, there is no leadership involved he should of stood his ground and face the concequences. I feel that everyone who was apart of the killings should have been tortured to and put to death.
I feel so much sorrow for the victums of Cambodia. They were non deserving to death. They shouldn't have killed them because they had diffrent beliefs againstpol pot. I think people should have tryed harder to find pol pot because he wasn't put to justice. I gives me even more sorrow and I wish this event never happend.
result of pol pot's actions
The result of pol pot in the killing fields of cambodia was terrible. He killed his own kind because he thought they were traitors. There was a grand total of two million deaths. Everyone was inocent and non deserving for death. Pol pot was never put to justice and got away "he fled to the woods during the attack in vietnam." He eventualy died in on April, 15, 1998. He died of a hard attack at 73.
Reflection on Pol Pot and the Killing Fields of Cambodia
Reflection- Brian Moran
After researching the events that happened from 1975-1979 in Cambodia, it is clear that the power of the United Nations is very limited when it comes to dealing with the sovereignty of other countries. When a leader such as Pol Pot gains enough power and supporters, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights cannot really protect the individual rights of the general public in that country. This is because the willingness of the United Nations to enforce the Declaration of Human Rights often stops short of overriding national sovereignty. During his time of power, Pol Pot banned all establishments like banks, hospitals, and schools, and 2 million people were killed because they did not fit the description of a perfect society the Communists were trying to achieve. Of course, the United Nations did not like or agree with the actions taking place in Cambodia, but they did not have enough international support to stop them.
After researching the events that happened from 1975-1979 in Cambodia, it is clear that the power of the United Nations is very limited when it comes to dealing with the sovereignty of other countries. When a leader such as Pol Pot gains enough power and supporters, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights cannot really protect the individual rights of the general public in that country. This is because the willingness of the United Nations to enforce the Declaration of Human Rights often stops short of overriding national sovereignty. During his time of power, Pol Pot banned all establishments like banks, hospitals, and schools, and 2 million people were killed because they did not fit the description of a perfect society the Communists were trying to achieve. Of course, the United Nations did not like or agree with the actions taking place in Cambodia, but they did not have enough international support to stop them.
In my opinion, the events of Cambodia and the Holocaust share a key similarity. The United Nations situation with Cambodia is comparable to that of the United States during World War II. The U.S.A. absolutely did not agree with anything the Germans were doing at the time, but the American public did not want to go overseas and become involved in another country. If U.S. government leaders had just disregarded the feelings of the entire country and gone over anyway, that would have been contradicting the very basis of democracy the government is built on. That is probably the way the United Nations felt too. They would have loved to stop what was happening in Cambodia, but without the support of the membership, diving in to that situation would be breaking the rules the U.N. set up in the first place.
To people like Pol Pot and Hitler, and to governments like those now in Sudan and North Korea, the principle of humanism does not even exist. Pol Pot killed millions of his own people for ridiculous reasons like they wore glasses, had an education, or were ethnically impure. To fully accept the idea that the individual matters, people need to realize the differences in each other, and embrace them. No two people are alike, and this just shows how crazy and impractical Pol Pot’s idea of racial cleansing and creating a population of “New People” was. There is no way to create a race of humans who are exactly the same, because everyone will always be different. Some many be similar, but never the identical. The Khmer Rouge rejected all principles of humanism and the UDoHR, and killed millions of innocent people because of it.
During my time working on this project, I was completely shocked and disgusted at the events that took place in Cambodia. I cannot really begin to understand what was going through the minds of Pol Pot and his followers at the time, and I feel nobody will. That kind of evil is rare, and it is easy to say the Khmer Rouge and the Nazi party go hand in hand as two of the worst and most destructive governments of all time. Both killed millions of their own people to try for racial cleansing, and nothing can justify their actions. I feel sorrow and remorse for those who were killed and tortured at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. They didn’t deserve to be treated in such barbaric ways, and the knowledge of their deaths will never be forgotten.
All in all, I can see now that the events of Cambodia were not only terrible, but also hard to stop. The United Nations was stuck without international support, and therefore was powerless to act quickly. As a result, I think many more people died than necessary, and maybe there is a flaw in the system. I feel that if such horrible events are taking place, on the scale of genocide, they need to be stopped whether the United Nations has international support or not. If something were to happen in the United States that was as horrible as the Holocaust and the Killing Fields of Cambodia, then the U.N. would have every right to step in and stop the atrocities occurring. Racial cleansing should never again be tolerated, and the United Nations should be the group to quickly enforce that around the world.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Pile of Bones
This picture shows a HUGE pile of skulls and bones. They use to be living people, who became victims of Pol Pots mass killings. It looks like a lot, but this is not even close to the amount of people killed in Cambodia from 1975-1979.
Sam Bukovsky's Personal Reaction
The actions that Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge took in
The idea of Humanism was rejected during the killing fields of
The event that took place made me feel that some people can be very easily manipulated to do what other people want. For example, during the Holocaust, Hitler got the SS to do whatever he wanted and they did it no questions asked. This was basically the same way with Pol Pot. He got a bunch of people to do whatever he wanted and he made them round up everybody and force them to stay in concentration camps. He got them to brutally murder millions of their own people, and they did it. If he told them to jump off of a bridge, they would probably do it. This shows that people are brainwashed to do what other people want. Although this probably wouldn’t happen in the United States because people would figure out what was going on before anything serious happened, But in a third world country where there isn’t the same kind of government, This could totally happen.
I do pity the victims of this event. 2 million people were murdered for no reason. Since this all happened pretty quickly, I’m sure that nobody was prepared for it and that’s why the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot were able to do what they did. Also, Pol Pot was not brought to justice over what he did. He died over a heart attack. If someone had actually captured him, he could have gotten what he deserves for what he did. If a victim’s family had gotten a hold of Pol Pot, I’m sure they would have tortured him and made him wish that he didn’t do what he did. But sadly, he had a heart attack and died.
Sam Bukovsky
Personal Reflection
When Pol Pot had brought this massacre to Cambodia I thought, what happened to Human rights why did these laws not work when created to make sure everyone has equal rights. When I read about Pol Pot I wounder, why make these laws if its just going to lead to fighting and violence. I don't think that The United Nations thought that their new improved laws would fail them like they did. In the future they will try and improve these laws.
This event relates to the Holocaust because like Hiter, Pol Pot thought that there were people inferior to him. He thought these people should all be killed, like Hitler and the jews. Pol Pot didn't just kill the people he tortured them first with cruel tactics. Hitler did these same things, gas, burning people, concentration camps. Pol Pot killed about one third of the country, about three million people. Hitler Killed twice that amount, six million jews.
My event totally denys Humanism. Pol Pot didn't care for anybody he thought wasnt perfect so he killed the ones he thought were imperfect. He was as insane as Hitler was during the Holocaust. He also had people go through horrible torturing. He made rules about being tortured. You couldn't cry if whipped or received electric shock. Couldnt show sympathy if they killed your family. These rules denied the thought of Humanism.
When I read about Pol Pot I felt that such leadership doesn't seem right. How people can let a crazy man like Pol Pot come into power just makes me sick. The people who followed him were as mad as him. How they tortured people is just inhumane, making rules so people can't cry or morn for the dead. whipping, electification, burning, and starvation. Pol Pot and his followers were as insane as Hitler or Stalin.
Yes, I do pity the victims of Pol Pot's onslaught. I didn't think the people of Cambodia expected for Pol Pot to take control of the country and kill millions because he thought they were impefect. The survivors of this horrible event will be scarred for life. After going through whippings, electrification, burning, and gas, I pity the souls that were lost in Cambodia.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
REACTION ON POL POT & THE KILLING FIELDS OF CAMBODIA
When we got this subject to do as a project, I remember that I never heard of it before so I thought that Pol Pot and the killing fields of Cambodia was a minor crisis. However when I did more reasearch I realized how horrible and inhuman Pol Pot and his goverment was. Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge killed 1/3 of the Cambodian population, that does not include the amount of people that were tortured. As I reasearch more facts, I began to ask questions such as " Why didn't countries neighboring Cambodia do anything to stop Pol Pot?" During my research I read that Pol Pot ran away when Vietman invaded Cambodia, he also died of natural causes, this man was regarded as another Hitler why would anyone let him live so long for him to die of natural causes?
I was also surprised when I read the S-21 a Cambodian interrogation camp used to be a high school. S-21 used to be a place for education and socializing, as Pol pot rose to power it became a place of torture and fear. In S- 21 the prison regulations were cruel, for example when getting whipped or electrification the prisoner was not allowed to cry; this is impossible and when the prisoner did cry they would get lashes with electrical wire. I can't believe that the goverment would treat their citizens like that, how could one man and his goverment hurt 1.5 million people?
The I couldn't believe most was that Pol Pot decided to destroy any institutions or organization, this included families, schools, religous groups, and other jobs and groups. Pol Pot also didnt show mercy to children, about 2000 children went to the interrogation camp S-21. This surprised me because even Hitler found a use for children by training them as soldiers, but the horrifying thing about Pol Pot is that he killed and tortured most of the children. I was disgusted by how Pol Pot used the idea of communism and twisted it to his own violent belief. In communism everything is equal, and because of this there is no individualism; it is like a idea of conformity. However in Cambodia when Pol Pot decided to "purify" the society, millions of citizens were killed for no reason, there was no equality; while citizens slept in prisons the Cambodian offficals slept in warm houses.
During this project thought " where is the U.N and why aren't they doing anything?" Pol Pot was stopped by vietman not the U.N. A crisis like this is why the U.N was created, if they did do their job, thousands of Cambodian people could have been saved. The Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot probably broke all of the regulations in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, for example rules such as "everyone has a right to life, liberty, and security of person." or " No one shall he subjected to torture or to cruel' inhuman, or degrading treatment, or punishment." These and more rules were broken by Pol Pot. I thought that the U.N was reliable and that they would react when some thing like the crisis in Cambodia happens.
While I worked on this project I learned alot about how inhumanly a person could treat another. I also realized that this crisis is not that old it could happen again in any country. There are alot more horrifying things going around in the world, even in our time; even if we dont hear about it we shouldnt regard it as a minor crisis because it could cost millions of lives. In conclusion I felt terrified that a person could kill and manipulate people to a point when 1.5 million people die. I also feel pity for those who lost their lives in this crisis.
I was also surprised when I read the S-21 a Cambodian interrogation camp used to be a high school. S-21 used to be a place for education and socializing, as Pol pot rose to power it became a place of torture and fear. In S- 21 the prison regulations were cruel, for example when getting whipped or electrification the prisoner was not allowed to cry; this is impossible and when the prisoner did cry they would get lashes with electrical wire. I can't believe that the goverment would treat their citizens like that, how could one man and his goverment hurt 1.5 million people?
The I couldn't believe most was that Pol Pot decided to destroy any institutions or organization, this included families, schools, religous groups, and other jobs and groups. Pol Pot also didnt show mercy to children, about 2000 children went to the interrogation camp S-21. This surprised me because even Hitler found a use for children by training them as soldiers, but the horrifying thing about Pol Pot is that he killed and tortured most of the children. I was disgusted by how Pol Pot used the idea of communism and twisted it to his own violent belief. In communism everything is equal, and because of this there is no individualism; it is like a idea of conformity. However in Cambodia when Pol Pot decided to "purify" the society, millions of citizens were killed for no reason, there was no equality; while citizens slept in prisons the Cambodian offficals slept in warm houses.
During this project thought " where is the U.N and why aren't they doing anything?" Pol Pot was stopped by vietman not the U.N. A crisis like this is why the U.N was created, if they did do their job, thousands of Cambodian people could have been saved. The Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot probably broke all of the regulations in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, for example rules such as "everyone has a right to life, liberty, and security of person." or " No one shall he subjected to torture or to cruel' inhuman, or degrading treatment, or punishment." These and more rules were broken by Pol Pot. I thought that the U.N was reliable and that they would react when some thing like the crisis in Cambodia happens.
While I worked on this project I learned alot about how inhumanly a person could treat another. I also realized that this crisis is not that old it could happen again in any country. There are alot more horrifying things going around in the world, even in our time; even if we dont hear about it we shouldnt regard it as a minor crisis because it could cost millions of lives. In conclusion I felt terrified that a person could kill and manipulate people to a point when 1.5 million people die. I also feel pity for those who lost their lives in this crisis.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Involvement of the Khmer Rouge
The events that took place in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979 were appauling at the very least. The Khmer Rouge took power in Cambodia during April of 1975 and thousands of people suddenly lost all of their rights. Pol Pot, the leader of the Khmer Rouge, ordered his soldiers to displace all Cambodians into agricultural forced labor camps. The purpose of this was to create a new group of citizens to make a new farming based "perfect" society.
The power of the Khmer Rouge was really unchallenged from the time they took control of Cambodia, until around the mid-1990s. Many of the main leaders of this radical goverment were well educated; they attended universities and tech schools in Paris, France. This combination of authority and intellegence made the lives of suffering civilians more difficult. They were told that they were only being moved 2 or 3 kilometers away, and they would be back in 2 or 3 days, because of U.S. bombing raids. Little did the innocent people know, they were being brought to their graves.
The Khmer Rouge's radical plan to create a new perfect communist society used the limitation and violation of their population’s rights. They isolated the country from all foreign influence, closed schools factories and even hospitals. The government also violated human rights by outlawing all religions and stopping all currency and all forms of banking. The Khmer's Rouge justification for the violation of human rights was to create the Cambodian people into a "New People" through agricultural forced labor and the limitations of these rights.
Once the Khmer Rouge came to power in April of 1975, the rights of many minorities in the country were drastically reduced and violated human rights. The Khmer Rouge gained power once they had taken the Cambodian capitol, Phnom Penh. The leader of this group was Pol Pot, and once in power he used his power to create a radical communist state that's main objective was to make the people "new". The government leadership was totally directing this event, the government was the Khmer Rouge and they implemented these conditions on their population.
The Khmer Rouge, the government, setup the conditions for the minorities such as intellectuals, ethnic Chinese, ethinic Vietnamese and many other minorites located in Cambodia. Pol Pot and his followers did not setup laws like the Nuremberg Laws set up in Germnay during the Holocaust. Nobody who was killed in the Killing Fields of Cambodia did anything against the laws set up at the time. In fact, Pol Pot killed thousands of innocent civilians because of his plan to create a classless, "perfect" communist society.
Pol Pot, a massive communist supporter, believed that by forcing the Cambodian people to work in agricultural camps it would create them into a "New People". Pol Pots goal was to create Cambodia into a perfect communist state. The Khmer Rouge attempted to create a classless society by seizing all private property and then forcing them into agricultural labor camps. These people were killed at the agricultural labor camps from various reasons ranging from work exhaustion, starvation and even execution.
Of course, the people who were tortured and killed did not commit any offense or break any law to deseve the punishment they were subjected to. Pol Pot created insane reasons why his own people did not fit his category of perfection. Some of these reasons included a person was educated; someone had a connection to the former establishment government, and even someone who was not sufficiently contributing to the economy. The Khmer Rouge, like the Nazi party, believed these people stood in the way of their path to a perfect race. As a result, millions of innocents died for no reason.
As time went on, and Vietnam won the Vietnam War against the United States, America started to give military support to the Cambodians. Pol Pot gave his Khmer Rouge leadership to Khieu Samphan in 1985, but continuted to be a driving force in the communist’s party. From then on, the killings and torture really started to cease. In 1991, other Cambodian politicans called for a disarment, but the Khmer Rouge would not stop fighting. In 1998, Pol Pot died of a heart attack, and that was pretty much it for the Khmer Rouge. Khieu Samphan surrendured, most of the leaders of the government were captured, and the Killing Fields of Cambodia became history.
Now, the history of the horrors that occurred in Cambodia are not taught to the childern living there. In 2005, 75% of the childern were too young to remember the years of the Khmer Rouge, and those who do know have only heard of it through parents and grandparents. Trials for the remaning Khmer Rouge leaders have yet to start, and they expect to take place sometime in mid-2007. The trials will be conducted by the Khmer Rouge Trial Task Force, a group established in 1997 to leagally oversee the fair trials givin to the fallen leaders.
These horrible events happened between April 1975 and January 1979. The Khmer Rouge took over Phnom Penh in 1975 and immidiately began killing those that they thought were unfit fot the new society. When the Vietnamese army invaded and captured Phnom Penh in January 1979, the killings stopped, but some members Khmer Rouge stayed in charge as leaders of a Cambodian puppet government. A long lasting civil war and numerous rebelions resulted in the Khmer Rouge's ruling in Cambodia. Millions of people died in and after the killings and many people will never be the same.
The power of the Khmer Rouge was really unchallenged from the time they took control of Cambodia, until around the mid-1990s. Many of the main leaders of this radical goverment were well educated; they attended universities and tech schools in Paris, France. This combination of authority and intellegence made the lives of suffering civilians more difficult. They were told that they were only being moved 2 or 3 kilometers away, and they would be back in 2 or 3 days, because of U.S. bombing raids. Little did the innocent people know, they were being brought to their graves.
The Khmer Rouge's radical plan to create a new perfect communist society used the limitation and violation of their population’s rights. They isolated the country from all foreign influence, closed schools factories and even hospitals. The government also violated human rights by outlawing all religions and stopping all currency and all forms of banking. The Khmer's Rouge justification for the violation of human rights was to create the Cambodian people into a "New People" through agricultural forced labor and the limitations of these rights.
Once the Khmer Rouge came to power in April of 1975, the rights of many minorities in the country were drastically reduced and violated human rights. The Khmer Rouge gained power once they had taken the Cambodian capitol, Phnom Penh. The leader of this group was Pol Pot, and once in power he used his power to create a radical communist state that's main objective was to make the people "new". The government leadership was totally directing this event, the government was the Khmer Rouge and they implemented these conditions on their population.
The Khmer Rouge, the government, setup the conditions for the minorities such as intellectuals, ethnic Chinese, ethinic Vietnamese and many other minorites located in Cambodia. Pol Pot and his followers did not setup laws like the Nuremberg Laws set up in Germnay during the Holocaust. Nobody who was killed in the Killing Fields of Cambodia did anything against the laws set up at the time. In fact, Pol Pot killed thousands of innocent civilians because of his plan to create a classless, "perfect" communist society.
Pol Pot, a massive communist supporter, believed that by forcing the Cambodian people to work in agricultural camps it would create them into a "New People". Pol Pots goal was to create Cambodia into a perfect communist state. The Khmer Rouge attempted to create a classless society by seizing all private property and then forcing them into agricultural labor camps. These people were killed at the agricultural labor camps from various reasons ranging from work exhaustion, starvation and even execution.
Of course, the people who were tortured and killed did not commit any offense or break any law to deseve the punishment they were subjected to. Pol Pot created insane reasons why his own people did not fit his category of perfection. Some of these reasons included a person was educated; someone had a connection to the former establishment government, and even someone who was not sufficiently contributing to the economy. The Khmer Rouge, like the Nazi party, believed these people stood in the way of their path to a perfect race. As a result, millions of innocents died for no reason.
As time went on, and Vietnam won the Vietnam War against the United States, America started to give military support to the Cambodians. Pol Pot gave his Khmer Rouge leadership to Khieu Samphan in 1985, but continuted to be a driving force in the communist’s party. From then on, the killings and torture really started to cease. In 1991, other Cambodian politicans called for a disarment, but the Khmer Rouge would not stop fighting. In 1998, Pol Pot died of a heart attack, and that was pretty much it for the Khmer Rouge. Khieu Samphan surrendured, most of the leaders of the government were captured, and the Killing Fields of Cambodia became history.
Now, the history of the horrors that occurred in Cambodia are not taught to the childern living there. In 2005, 75% of the childern were too young to remember the years of the Khmer Rouge, and those who do know have only heard of it through parents and grandparents. Trials for the remaning Khmer Rouge leaders have yet to start, and they expect to take place sometime in mid-2007. The trials will be conducted by the Khmer Rouge Trial Task Force, a group established in 1997 to leagally oversee the fair trials givin to the fallen leaders.
These horrible events happened between April 1975 and January 1979. The Khmer Rouge took over Phnom Penh in 1975 and immidiately began killing those that they thought were unfit fot the new society. When the Vietnamese army invaded and captured Phnom Penh in January 1979, the killings stopped, but some members Khmer Rouge stayed in charge as leaders of a Cambodian puppet government. A long lasting civil war and numerous rebelions resulted in the Khmer Rouge's ruling in Cambodia. Millions of people died in and after the killings and many people will never be the same.
pol pot cartoon
This picture shows how people starved and they would eat anything. Also the world is unaware that a modern massacre was going on.
PARAGRAPH B
The people involved in the Cambodian killing fields are the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot, and the Cambodian ciltizens. Khmer Rouge stands for "Red Republic", and it was the ruling goverment of the Cambodian nation. Most people remember the Khmer Rouge as a goverment that killed 1.5 million people. They forced people to join their army, and killed millons by starvation, and torture. The leader of this goverment was Pol Pot, who is regarded as one of the worst mass- murders he is considered to be the Cambodian Hitler. The victims of the mass murder was the Cambodian society. The estimate is that 1/3 of the Cambodian citizens were killed, and the reason for this is that their prime minister thought that they were all traitors. Pol Pot wanted to break up familes, schools, and other daily functions. Pol Pot also enacted a policy of relocating people to the countryside to "purify" the Cambodian society. This required 1-2 millon people to be put in mass gaves, because Pol Pot saw then as "enemies". As you see millons of poeple died in this event, because of one leader and his goverment.
Why these people were tortured and killed
The people in Cambodia were tortured and killed by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. Pol Pot forced all city dwellers into labor camps in the countryside. In total, about 2 million people were killed. The Khmer Rouge banned all institutions including stores, banks, schools, hospitals, religions, and family. Everyone was forced to work between 12-14 hours a day. They made children worked in mobile groups or as soldiers. People were fed once a day. This meal consisted of one bowl of watery soup and a few grains of rice. The Khmer Rouge tortured and killed people because they didnt like them, they didnt work hard enough, they werent educatued, or they showed sympathy when their families were killed. This tactic of dictation was based mainly on fear and intimidation.
Connor, Sam, Dave, Austin
Connor, Sam, Dave, Austin
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Pol pot- when it occured
It all started on April 17th, 1975 when Khmer Rouge, a communist guerrilla group led by Pol Pot, took power in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. They forced everybody into the countryside and to labor camps. A large amount of the Cambodian population died about 30% either by starvation or torture. These mass killing lasted for three years until 1979. In 1979, Pol Pot hid to the woods after an invasion by nearby Vietnam which led to the collapse of the Khmer Rouge government. Pol Pot was never brought to justice and died to natural causes while hiding, in 1998.
This picture shows the violent actions to the people from cambodia. You can tell that he has been starved because you can see his bones clearly and looks like he has no energy, in addition you can also tell he has been tortured because of his scars.
This picture shows the concentration camp S-21. Originally it was a high school,but Pol Pot remade it in to a interrogation camp. In here thousnda were tortured, and killed. S-21 stands for "security office 21", the prison rules were: 1. The prisoners must answer accordingly to interrogators questions. Do not turn them away.
2.Do not try to hide the facts . The prisoners are strictly prohibited to contest the inerrogators and guards.
3.They must immediately answer the interrogators questions without wasting time to reflect.
4.Do not tell the interrogator either about immoralities or the revolution.
5. While getting lashes or electrification the prisoners must not cry at all.
6.Do nothing. Sit still and wait for the interrogators orders. If there is no order, keep quiet. When the interrogator ask the prisoners to do something, they must do it right away without protesting.
7. If the prisoners do not follow all of the above rules, they would get many lashes of electric wire.
8. If the prisoners disobey any point of my regulations, they shall get either ten lashes or five shocks of electric discharge.
2.Do not try to hide the facts . The prisoners are strictly prohibited to contest the inerrogators and guards.
3.They must immediately answer the interrogators questions without wasting time to reflect.
4.Do not tell the interrogator either about immoralities or the revolution.
5. While getting lashes or electrification the prisoners must not cry at all.
6.Do nothing. Sit still and wait for the interrogators orders. If there is no order, keep quiet. When the interrogator ask the prisoners to do something, they must do it right away without protesting.
7. If the prisoners do not follow all of the above rules, they would get many lashes of electric wire.
8. If the prisoners disobey any point of my regulations, they shall get either ten lashes or five shocks of electric discharge.
In the country of Cambodia, a new leader came to power. His name was Saloth Sar until he changed it to Pol Pot. Once in power, Pol Pot instantly took away human rights from the origonal Camboian government, and the citizens who followed the government. He gained this power by first becoming the Prime Minister of Cambodia. Later he then became the leader of the Khmer Rouge(Red Republic), the new government. He used the Khmer government to help him kill the ones he wanted gone. He killed the ones he thought were different and also prisoned them till death. While in power he killed one million to three million. He killed one third of the population, Imprisoned thousands.
By: Connor Grimes
By: Connor Grimes
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
The Leader of the Killings : Pol Pot
This is a picture of the man who was responsible for the deaths of millions of innocent people, Pol Pot. His dream was to create a race of "New People", and as a result millions of unworthy humans were slaughtered in the Killing Fields of Cambodia. He is considered to be one of the worst mass-murders ever, along with people like Hitler and Mao Zedong.
Khmer Rouge
This is a picture of the official flag of the Khmer Rouge. Pol Pot was the leader of this government during the horrible genocide that occured in Cambodia. Many of the remaining leaders left from the Cambodia wait to go on trail. Those trials should take place sometime in mid-2007.
mass grave picture
This is a picture of a mass grave. Pol pot ordered people to dig huge pits for dead bodies. Pol Pot would then order people to put the dead bodies into the pits. These pits were so massive that they could it hundrerds or thousands of bodies.
Sam, Connor, Austin, Dave
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