The Khmer Rouge

J3 HistoryChris CarrollThe Khmer RougeHow did the Rest of the world respond to the Khmer Rouge?This short essay question will be asking you to provide examples and proof of your knowledge regarding foreign involvement. This lesson will provide a lot of information of foreign involvement from 1980 - present. Your homework will be to research information on foreign involvement DURING the KR regime (75-79)

Aftermath

The Coalition Government of Democratic KampucheaThe UN General Assembly voted for the KR to retain their seat at the UN. The seat was occupied byThiounn Prasith, an old cadre of Pol Pot and Ieng Sary from their student days in Paris and one of the 21 attendees at the 1960 KPRP Second Congress. The seat was retained under the name 'Democratic Kampuchea' until 1982 and then 'Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea' until 1993.

According to journalistElizabeth Becker, former U.S. National Security AdvisorZbigniew Brzezinskisaid that in 1979, "I encouraged the Chinese to support Pol Pot. Pol Pot was an abomination. We could never support him, but China could."Brzezinski has denied this, writing that the Chinese were aiding Pol Pot "without any help or encouragement from the United States."

Khmer People's National Liberation Front/ National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia.China, the U.S., and other Western countries opposed an expansion of Vietnamese and Soviet influence in Indochina, and refused to recognise thePeople's Republic of Kampucheaas the legitimate government of Cambodia, claiming that it was a puppet state propped up by Vietnamese forces. China funneled military aid to the Khmer Rouge, which in the 1980s proved to be the most capable insurgent force, while the U.S. publicly supported a non-Communist alternative to the PRK; in 1985, theReagan administrationapproved $5million in aid to the republicanKPNLF, led by former prime ministerSon Sann, and theANS, the armed wing of the pro-SihanoukFUNCINPECparty.The KPNLF, while lacking in military strength compared to the Khmer Rouge, commanded a sizable civilian following (up to 250,000) amongst refugees near the Thai-Cambodian border that had fled the KR regime. Funcinpec had the benefit of traditional peasant Khmer loyalty to the crown and Sihanouk's widespread popularity in the countryside.

In practice, the military strength of the non-KR groups within Cambodia was minimal, though their funding and civilian support was often greater than the KR. TheThatcherandReagan administrationsboth supported the non-KR insurgents covertly, with weapons, and military advisors in the form ofGreen BeretsandSpecial Air Serviceunits, who taught sabotage techniques in camps just inside Thailand.

The end of the CGDK and Khmer Rouge

A UN-ledpeacekeepingmission that took place from 199195 sought to end violence in the country and establish a democratic system of government through new elections. The 1990s saw a marked decline in insurgent activity, though the Khmer Rouge later renewed their attacks against the government. AsVietnamdisengaged from direct involvement inCambodia, the government was able to begin to split the KR movement by making peace offers to lower level officials. The Khmer Rouge was the only member of the CGDK to continue fighting following the reconciliation process. The other two political organizations that made up the CGDK alliance ended armed resistance and became a part of the political process that began with elections in 1993.In 1997, Pol Pot ordered the execution of his right-hand man Son Sen for attempting peace negotiations with the Cambodian government. In 1998, Pol Pot himself died, and other key KR leadersKhieu SamphanandIeng Sarysurrendered to the government ofHun Senin exchange for immunity from prosecution, leavingTa Mokas the sole commander of the Khmer Rouge forces; he was detained in 1999 for "crimes against humanity." The organisation essentially ceased to exist.

Recovery and trials

Since 1990 Cambodia has gradually recovered, demographically and economically, from the Khmer Rouge regime, although the psychological scars affect many Cambodian families and migr communities. The current government teaches little about Khmer Rouge atrocities in schools. Cambodia has a very young population and by 2005 three-quarters of Cambodians were too young to remember the Khmer Rouge years. The younger generations would only know the Khmer Rouge through word-of-mouth from parents and elders.1997, Cambodia established a Khmer Rouge Trial Task Force to create a legal and judicial structure to try the remaining leaders for war crimes and other crimes against humanity, but progress was slow, mainly because the Cambodian government of ex-Khmer Rouge CadreHun Sen, despite its origins in the Vietnamese-backed regime of the 1980s, was reluctant to bring the Khmer Rouge leaders to trial.

Funding shortfalls plagued the operation, and the government said that due to the poor economy and other financial commitments, it could only afford limited funding for the tribunal. Several countries, including India and Japan, came forward with extra funds, but by January 2006, the full balance of funding was not yet in place.

Nonetheless, the task force began its work and took possession of two buildings on the grounds of theRoyal Cambodian Armed Forces(RCAF) High Command headquarters inKandalprovince just on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. The tribunal task force expects to spend the rest of 2006 training the judges and other tribunal members before the actual trial is to take place. In March 2006 theSecretary General of the United Nations,Kofi Annan, nominated seven judges for a trial of the Khmer Rouge leaders.In May 2006, Justice Minister Ang Vong Vathana announced that Cambodia's highest judicial body approved 30 Cambodian and U.N. judges to preside over the genocide tribunal for some surviving Khmer Rouge leaders. The chief Khmer Rouge torturerKang Kek Iew known as Duch and ex-commandant of the notorious S-21 prison went on trial for crimes against humanity on February 17, 2009. It is the first case involving a senior Pol Pot cadre three decades after the end of a regime blamed for 1.7million deaths in Cambodia.Recap on Blackboard