Pol Pot
On April 17, 1976, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, a group of Cambodian Marxists, stormed the Cambodian capital of Phonm Penh, forcing Cambodia into four years of horrifying terror. They declared this time Zero Hour, the day Cambodia would enter a new utopian era and say goodbye to the "flawed" ways of a capitalistic society. Yet in reality, Pol Pot, leader of the Khmer Rouge, achieved nothing for Cambodia. The Cambodian people only suffered under Pol Pot, with an estimated death toll of 3,000,000. Pol Pot, a conniving man, who's rule over Cambodia was marked by mass murder, negligence, and despotic rule, attempted and failed to create an egalitarian communist society, exploiting the manual power of the masses. In 1970, Prince Sihanouk was hoisted out of power in a coup de tat. General Lon Nol, backed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States (US), successfully seized power in Cambodia. Nol, as opposed to Sihanouk, was pro US, something the US valued in their war against Cambodia's bordering nation of Vietnam. Nol took little consideration of the people and their needs, and his corrupt administration stirred support for the Khmer Rouge (Seekins, 4). At that time, the Kh
It was not until the Cambodian people were nestled right in the Khmer Rouge's trap did they realize the horrendous enormity of their situation. Numerous intra-party factions existed within the Khmer Rouge. Hundreds of thousands of New People died due to their extreme living environment. Under "Trade," for instance, "imports" consist of "screws and nuts, spare parts, agricultural and industrial machinery, necessary goods for the livelihood of the people, and goods for national defense. Thinking that time was of the essence, Pol Pot had to create a Socialist nation as quickly as possible. The Four Year plan once again proved to his people (and later the world) that Pol Pot was not a leader. Here, small groups of farmers worked together to achieve higher efficiency. Meanwhile, Vietnam began training low level Khmer Rouges for the eventual takeover. The Tuol Sleng center, a Khmer interrogation center recorded 2,044 torturous executions in the year of 1976. The interrogated were generally tortured, forced to confess to absurd accusations, and then were executed. But in reality, it was only Khmer Communist Party (KCP) officials that adequately received food. In addition to Buddhism, Christians and Muslims were persecuted as well. Soon he became the leader of the Khmer Rouge - a group of guerillas who mixed Marxism with ancient Cambodian mysticism. The Khmer Rouge, at the time, was led by Pol Pot, formerly known as Saloth Sar. In doing so, Pol Pot was believed that Cambodian society would flourish.
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