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The Communist Party of Kampuchea (called Khmer Rouge in France and the USA) was the communist organisation which ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979.

The Communist Party of Cambodia was founded in the 1950s. In the 1970s the Party adopted the name "Party of Democratic Kampuchea," ("Kampuchea" being an alternative spelling of Cambodia), but became commonly known as the Communist Party of Kampuchea. The Communist Party of Kampuchea came to power under the leadership of Pol Pot in 1975. Its ruling organisation was known as the Angka.

The Standing Committee of the Communist Party of Kampuchea's Central Committee ("Party Center") during its period of power comprised Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ta Mok, Khieu Samphan, Ke Pauk, Ieng Sary, Son Sen, Yun Yat, and Ieng Thirith. The leadership of the Communist Party of Kampuchea was largely unchanged since the 1960s until the mid-1990s. Most of the leadership had studied advanced degrees in France.

Until 1970, Cambodia was a constitutional monarchy. Prince Norodom Sihanouk was deposed on March 18, 1970 by a coup which brought to power the pro-American General Lon Nol. The Communist Party of Kampuchea army (the National Army of Democratic Kampuchea), aided by North Vietnam and supported by Sihanouk, launched a military campaign against Lon Nol's government, quickly gaining control over most of the country. In April 1975 they overthrew Lon Nol to establish Democratic Kampuchea.

Ideology

The ideology of the Communist Party of Kampuchea potently combined Stalinism, Maoism, and French anti-colonialism. From Maoism, the regime derived the a radical view that the entire society must be restructured to create agricultural communes. From French anticolonialism, the Communist Party of Kampuchea felt Cambodia must be isolated from the rest of the world.

The CPK claimed that U.S. bombing raids of the countryside killed hundreds of thousands of peasants and caused massive overcrowding of the cities and lack of food. For example, the population of Phnom Penh increased by over 1 million during this time. With the cities overcrowded with hungry people, foreign humanitarian aid cut off as soon as they came into power, and the countryside farms lying idle due to their abandonment, the CPK claimed some of it's measures such as having the city populations move to farms was done in emergency conditions to prevent widespread starvation.

When the Communist Party of Kampuchea came to power they attempted to create a classless society. They carried out a radical program of emptying the urban areas, closing schools and factories, abolishing banking and currency, outlawing all religions, ending all private property, and moving the population into collective farms. The Communist Party of Kampuchea justified such actions by claiming that the country was on the verge of mass starvation, partly as a result of American bombing campaigs, and that this required evacuating the cities to the countryside so that people could grow their own food.

During that time, large segments of the population were targeted for elimination, including intellectuals, anyone connected with the previous regime, ethnic Vietnamese or those suspected of having sympathies with them. The exact numbers of deaths during the Communist Party of Kampuchea regime is difficult to pinpoint. Depending on the source a reported 15% to 40% of the population died between 1975 and 1979 (50,000 to 3,000,000 people). A figure of about 1 million is widely accepted.

In 1978, after several years of border conflict and a flood of refugees into Vietnam, Vietnamese troops invaded in December, deposing the Communist Party of Kampuchea government within two weeks, by January 7, 1979. The Vietnamese were helped by widespread defections of Communist Party of Kampuchea in eastern Cambodia, who faced with the certainty of being executed on the imagined grounds of helping the Vietnamese should the regime remain. The Communist Party of Kampuchea, however, continued to control an area in western Cambodia near the Thai border for many years. In 1985 Khieu Samphan officially succeeded Pol Pot as head of the Communist Party of Kampuchea.

All Cambodian political factions signed a treaty in 1991 calling for elections and disarmament. But in 1992 the Communist Party of Kampuchea resumed fighting and the following year they rejected the results of the elections. There was a mass defection in 1996 when around half the remaining soldiers (about 4,000) left. Factional fighting in 1997 led to Pol Pot's trial and imprisonment by the Communist Party of Kampuchea itself. Pol Pot died in April 1998, and Khieu Samphan surrendered in December 1998. On December 29, 1998 the remaining leaders of the Communist Party of Kampuchea apologised for the genocide of over 1 million of their countrymen in the 1970s. By 1999 most members had surrendered, or been captured.

Although it is believed by many human rights advocates that the leaders of the Communist Party of Kampuchea were involved in crimes against humanity, trials of the leaders remain stalled and it is highly unlikely that any of them will be brought to justice. Young Cambodians remain largely ignorant of the atrocities committed less than a quarter of a century ago. Many observers believe that the slow progress of Communist Party of Kampuchea trials is in large part due to the fact that many members of the current government were former officials of the Communist Party of Kampuchea and may be implicated in crimes.

See also: Democratic Kampuchea, part of the History of Cambodia series

External link

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/cambodia/index.html

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[de:Rote Khmer]][[nl:Rode Khmer]]
-The '''Khmer Rouge''' or '''Khmers Rouges''' ("Red [[Khmer|Khmers]]") was the [[French language|French]] name, also widely used in the [[English language|English]]-speaking world, for the [[communist]] organisation which ruled [[Cambodia]] from [[1975]] to [[1979]]. The Khmer Rouge is generally held to have been responsible for the deaths of between 900,000 and 2 million people during its rule.
+The '''Communist Party of Kampuchea''' (called '''Khmer Rouge''' in France and the USA) was the [[communist]] organisation which ruled [[Cambodia]] from [[1975]] to [[1979]].
-The Communist Party of Cambodia was founded in the [[1950s]]. In the [[1970s]] the Party adopted the name "Party of Democratic Kampuchea," ("Kampuchea" being an alternative spelling of Cambodia), but became commonly known as the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge came to power under the leadership of [[Pol Pot]] in [[1975]]. Its ruling organisation was known as the [[Angka]].
+The Communist Party of Cambodia was founded in the [[1950s]]. In the [[1970s]] the Party adopted the name "Party of Democratic Kampuchea," ("Kampuchea" being an alternative spelling of Cambodia), but became commonly known as the Communist Party of Kampuchea. The Communist Party of Kampuchea came to power under the leadership of [[Pol Pot]] in [[1975]]. Its ruling organisation was known as the [[Angka]].
-The Standing Committee of the Khmer Rouge's Central Committee ("Party Center") during its period of power comprised Pol Pot, [[Nuon Chea]], [[Ta Mok]], [[Khieu Samphan]], [[Ke Pauk]], [[Ieng Sary]], [[Son Sen]], [[Yun Yat]], and [[Ieng Thirith]].  The leadership of the Khmer Rouge was largely unchanged since the [[1960s]] until the mid-[[1990s]]. Most of the leadership had studied advanced degrees in France.
+The Standing Committee of the Communist Party of Kampuchea's Central Committee ("Party Center") during its period of power comprised Pol Pot, [[Nuon Chea]], [[Ta Mok]], [[Khieu Samphan]], [[Ke Pauk]], [[Ieng Sary]], [[Son Sen]], [[Yun Yat]], and [[Ieng Thirith]].  The leadership of the Communist Party of Kampuchea was largely unchanged since the [[1960s]] until the mid-[[1990s]]. Most of the leadership had studied advanced degrees in France.
-Until [[1970]], Cambodia was a constitutional monarchy. Prince [[Norodom Sihanouk]] was deposed on [[March 18]], [[1970]] by a coup which brought to power the pro-American General [[Lon Nol]]. The Khmer Rouge army (the National Army of Democratic Kampuchea), aided by [[North Vietnam]] and supported by [[Norodom Sihanouk|Sihanouk]], launched a military campaign against Lon Nol's government, quickly gaining control over most of the country. In [[April]] [[1975]] they overthrew Lon Nol to establish ''Democratic Kampuchea''.
+Until [[1970]], Cambodia was a constitutional monarchy. Prince [[Norodom Sihanouk]] was deposed on [[March 18]], [[1970]] by a coup which brought to power the pro-American General [[Lon Nol]]. The Communist Party of Kampuchea army (the National Army of Democratic Kampuchea), aided by [[North Vietnam]] and supported by [[Norodom Sihanouk|Sihanouk]], launched a military campaign against Lon Nol's government, quickly gaining control over most of the country. In [[April]] [[1975]] they overthrew Lon Nol to establish ''Democratic Kampuchea''.
 == Ideology ==
-The ideology of the Khmer Rouge potently combined [[Stalinism]], [[Maoism]], and French anti-colonialism. From Maoism, the regime derived the a radical view that the entire society must be restructured to create agricultural communes.  From French anticolonialism, the Khmer Rouge felt Cambodia must be isolated from the rest of the world.
+The ideology of the Communist Party of Kampuchea potently combined [[Stalinism]], [[Maoism]], and French anti-colonialism. From Maoism, the regime derived the a radical view that the entire society must be restructured to create agricultural communes.  From French anticolonialism, the Communist Party of Kampuchea felt Cambodia must be isolated from the rest of the world.
+The CPK claimed that U.S. bombing raids of the countryside killed hundreds of thousands of peasants and caused massive overcrowding of the cities and lack of food. For example, the population of [[Phnom Penh]] increased by over 1 million during this time.  With the cities overcrowded with hungry people, foreign humanitarian aid cut off as soon as they came into power, and the countryside farms lying idle due to their abandonment, the CPK claimed some of it's measures such as having the city populations move to farms was done in emergency conditions to prevent widespread starvation.
-When the Khmer Rouge came to power they attempted to create a classless [[utopia]]n society. They carried out a radical program of emptying the urban areas, closing schools and factories, abolishing banking and currency, outlawing all religions, ending all private property, and moving the population into collective farms. The Khmer Rouge justified such actions by claiming that the country was on the verge of mass [[starvation]], partly as a result of American bombing campaigs, and that this required evacuating the cities to the countryside so that people could grow their own food.
+When the Communist Party of Kampuchea came to power they attempted to create a classless society. They carried out a radical program of emptying the urban areas, closing schools and factories, abolishing banking and currency, outlawing all religions, ending all private property, and moving the population into collective farms. The Communist Party of Kampuchea justified such actions by claiming that the country was on the verge of mass [[starvation]], partly as a result of American bombing campaigs, and that this required evacuating the cities to the countryside so that people could grow their own food.
-During that time, large segments of the population were targeted for elimination, including intellectuals, anyone connected with the previous regime, ethnic Vietnamese or those suspected of having sympathies with them. The exact numbers of deaths during the Khmer Rouge regime is difficult to pinpoint. Depending on the source a reported 15% to 40% of the population died between [[1975]] and [[1979]] (50,000 to 3,000,000 people). A figure of about 1 million is widely accepted.
+During that time, large segments of the population were targeted for elimination, including intellectuals, anyone connected with the previous regime, ethnic Vietnamese or those suspected of having sympathies with them. The exact numbers of deaths during the Communist Party of Kampuchea regime is difficult to pinpoint. Depending on the source a reported 15% to 40% of the population died between [[1975]] and [[1979]] (50,000 to 3,000,000 people). A figure of about 1 million is widely accepted.
-In [[1978]], after several years of border conflict and a flood of refugees into Vietnam, Vietnamese troops invaded in December, deposing the Khmer Rouge government within two weeks, by [[January 7]], [[1979]]. The Vietnamese were helped by widespread defections of Khmer Rouge in eastern Cambodia, who faced with the certainty of being executed on the imagined grounds of helping the Vietnamese should the regime remain. The Khmer Rouge, however, continued to control an area in western Cambodia near the Thai border for many years. In [[1985]] [[Khieu Samphan]] officially succeeded Pol Pot as head of the Khmer Rouge.
+In [[1978]], after several years of border conflict and a flood of refugees into Vietnam, Vietnamese troops invaded in December, deposing the Communist Party of Kampuchea government within two weeks, by [[January 7]], [[1979]]. The Vietnamese were helped by widespread defections of Communist Party of Kampuchea in eastern Cambodia, who faced with the certainty of being executed on the imagined grounds of helping the Vietnamese should the regime remain. The Communist Party of Kampuchea, however, continued to control an area in western Cambodia near the Thai border for many years. In [[1985]] [[Khieu Samphan]] officially succeeded Pol Pot as head of the Communist Party of Kampuchea.
-All Cambodian political factions signed a treaty in [[1991]] calling for elections and disarmament. But in [[1992]] the Khmer Rouge resumed fighting and the following year they rejected the results of the elections. There was a mass defection in [[1996]] when around half the remaining soldiers (about 4,000) left. Factional fighting in [[1997]] led to Pol Pot's trial and imprisonment by the Khmer Rouge itself. Pol Pot died in [[April]] [[1998]], and Khieu Samphan surrendered in [[December]] [[1998]]. On [[December 29]], 1998 the remaining leaders of the Khmer Rouge apologised for the genocide of over 1 million of their countrymen in the 1970s. By [[1999]] most members had surrendered, or been captured.
+All Cambodian political factions signed a treaty in [[1991]] calling for elections and disarmament. But in [[1992]] the Communist Party of Kampuchea resumed fighting and the following year they rejected the results of the elections. There was a mass defection in [[1996]] when around half the remaining soldiers (about 4,000) left. Factional fighting in [[1997]] led to Pol Pot's trial and imprisonment by the Communist Party of Kampuchea itself. Pol Pot died in [[April]] [[1998]], and Khieu Samphan surrendered in [[December]] [[1998]]. On [[December 29]], 1998 the remaining leaders of the Communist Party of Kampuchea apologised for the genocide of over 1 million of their countrymen in the 1970s. By [[1999]] most members had surrendered, or been captured.
-Although it is believed by many human rights advocates that the leaders of the Khmer Rouge were involved in [[crimes against humanity]], trials of the leaders remain stalled and it is highly unlikely that any of them will be brought to justice. Young Cambodians remain largely ignorant of the atrocities committed less than a quarter of a century ago. Many observers believe that the slow progress of Khmer Rouge trials is in large part due to the fact that many members of the current government were former officials of the Khmer Rouge and may be implicated in crimes.
+Although it is believed by many human rights advocates that the leaders of the Communist Party of Kampuchea were involved in [[crimes against humanity]], trials of the leaders remain stalled and it is highly unlikely that any of them will be brought to justice. Young Cambodians remain largely ignorant of the atrocities committed less than a quarter of a century ago. Many observers believe that the slow progress of Communist Party of Kampuchea trials is in large part due to the fact that many members of the current government were former officials of the Communist Party of Kampuchea and may be implicated in crimes.
 See also: [[Democratic Kampuchea]], part of the [[History of Cambodia]] series