Cambodian Genocide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cambodian Genocide - Essay Example This genocide had a devastating effect to the people of Cambodia. An estimated 25% of the total population was killed. In addition, property worth billions was destroyed. Moreover, this genocide brought unprecedented suffering to the people of Cambodia. This caused psychological trauma to those who survived it. Mass graves were discovered later and the unearthed bones are preserved in memory of those who died in the genocide. In this paper, I will focus on Pol Pot’s ideology leading him to reconstruct Cambodia as well as the extermination of all those who were a formal threat to his success in achieving his mission. History of Cambodia before Genocide Cambodia, an Asian country, gained independence in the year 1953 after being ruled by the French for more than 100 years (Moses 224). It is famous due to its temples back in the 12th century. After independence, in the 1960s, Cambodia had a population of around 7 million people. 95% of the total population belonged to Buddhism re ligion. At this time, the country was under the rule of Prince Sihanouk. He continued to rule the country until 1970 when he was ousted from power through a military coup. Lon Nol, who was a lieutenant general came to power and was made the president. In retaliation, Prince Sihanouk joined his army with that of Khmer Rouge and started attacking Lon Nol’s army. ... Cambodia then became a battlefield. On the other hand, Pol Pot led Khmer Rouge, the guerrilla organization. Pol Pot was born in 1925 in central Cambodia. By that time, Cambodia was part of France (Bergin 9). When still young in his early 20s, Pol went to Paris, France where he pursued his education. He never cleared his studies as he joined Marxism and lost his scholarship. Pol Pot envied the Chinese communism. In 1962, Pol pot was leading the Cambodian Communist Party. Prince Sihanouk was not happy with Pol Pot affiliation. Pol Pot had to flee from Prince Sihanouk; he went to the jungle. In the jungle, Khmer Rouge, an armed movement headed by Pol Pot, was created. He defeated Prince Sihanouk in 1976 and he became the premier. Pol Pot believed that farmers were the best people in the world. He particularly admired the Chinese communism, and he believed in it. He tried to introduce this to his country, and he treated those who opposed him with brutality (Munyas 427). In fact, he belie ved that the more he killed the better since he was helping to purify the country. Khmer Rouge was the tool that Pol Pot used to rule Cambodia by an iron fist. The army was used to enforce his policies. Cambodia During he Genocide After successfully overthrowing the government, the Khmer group developed a mission for the country (Maguire 44). It wanted to incorporate the Mao, a Chinese communism model. Its approach was extreme and according to the group, it was the ideal way for the country to move on. Pol Pot and his group did not give a chance to the Cambodians to choose what they wanted. Instead, the population was forced to work on large farms. The group was ruthless with anyone who tried to go against it. All un-communists were