The genocide that occurred by the political party group named Khmer Rouge, that was led by Pol Pot to nationalize and centralize the peasant farming society of Cambodia in a short time. The genocide occurred after the seizure of power from the government of Lon Nol in 1975. The Khmer Rouge’s believed that many Cambodians had been exposed to outside ideas, particularly by the capitalist west. The Khmer Rouge’s captured the educated — such as doctors, lawyers, and other religious groups such as Christian, Buddhist and Muslim citizens in an effort to create a society without competition, in which people worked for the common good.”Re-education” programs were enforced to encourage the commune lifestyle. People were divided into categories that represented the trust that the Khmer Rouge had for them. People who refused “re-education” were killed by the order of Khmer Rouge. Khmer Rouge killed more than 1.7 million people through work, starvation, and torture over four years.
The Khmer Rouge was removed out of power in 1979, when Communist Vietnam had invaded the country.Survivors fled to refugee camps in Thailand, and many went on to immigrate to the United States. More than 20 years after the genocide occurred, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) is trying so hard to bring the leaders of the Khmer Rouge group to trial them for their crimes against humanity. In 2010, the ECCC has succeeded to trial one of Khmer Rouge leaders Kaing Guek Eav and sentenced him to 35 years in prison for his crimes against humanity.
Sources:
http://worldwithoutgenocide.org/genocides-and-conflicts/cambodian-genocide
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