Khmer Rouge, What Exactly Isit?

[70secs]

I recently became interested in the history of the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, led by Pol Pot, which was responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1.5–2 million people.

I’m curious to learn more about what the Khmer Rouge regime was, how it rose to power, how it governed Cambodia, and what ultimately led to its downfall.

There don’t seem to be many video documentaries covering this dark chapter of history. Does anyone know about this, care to share and discuss?

They were just trying to serve the people



The history of the Khmer Rouge regime (1975–1979) is heavily defined by the stark double standards and hypocrisy of its core leadership. Under Pol Pot ("Brother Number One"), the regime enforced a radical agrarian communism aimed at resetting Cambodia to "Year Zero," completely erasing modern influences, money, education, and foreign materials.

However, the leaders routinely violated their own rigid doctrines, enjoying immense privileges while systematically destroying the lives of nearly two million Cambodians.



1. Education and Intellect

• The Rule for the Public: The Khmer Rouge strictly targeted, imprisoned, and executed intellectuals, teachers, doctors, and lawyers, viewing education as a tool of capitalist corruption. They shut down universities and destroyed libraries.
  
  
• The Leaders' Exception: Virtually all of the top leadership—including Pol Pot (Saloth Sar), Ieng Sary, and Khieu Samphan—were highly educated, elite middle-class intellectuals. Many had received elite government scholarships to study at universities in Paris, France during the 1950s.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 2. Abolition of Family and Romance
  
  The Rule for the Public: The regime systematically tore families apart. Children were taken from parents to be indoctrinated into labor camps. Citizens were subjected to mass forced marriages orchestrated by the state (often pairing people at random), and premarital romance or unauthorized sex was punishable by death.
  
  The Leaders' Exception: The leadership circle was highly nepotistic, deeply protecting their own romantic and familial bonds. Pol Pot, Ieng Sary, and their wives (who were sisters, Khieu Ponnary and Khieu Thirith) formed an elite family dynasty that held absolute rule over the country, entirely immune to the forced separations they inflicted on others.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  • 3. Absolute Anti-Capitalism vs. Personal Luxury
    
    The Rule for the Public: The population was forced into uniform black pajamas, fed meager portions of watery rice porridge, and denied access to modern medicine, private property, and currency.
    
    The Leaders' Exception: While the public starved in the "Killing Fields," the leadership lived in comfortable, well-guarded compounds with access to imported Chinese goods, French wines, proper medicine, and high-quality food.
    
    
    
    
    
    4. Ideological Purges vs. Foreign Assistance
    
    The Rule for the Public: Pol Pot demanded absolute national self-sufficiency (ksang kluan aeng). Relying on or longing for anything foreign (especially Western or Vietnamese) was labeled treason and met with execution.
    
    The Leaders' Exception: The regime secretly relied heavily on external support. They accepted massive amounts of military aid, weapons, and technical advisors from China. Decades later, when the regime was crumbling, leaders like Ieng Sary used their hidden wealth to buy amnesty and live in luxury villas in Phnom Penh before finally being brought to trial.