Pol Pot 1/3

Saloth Sar (May 19, 1928 - April 15, 1998), better known as Pol Pot, was the leader of the Cambodian communist movement known as the Khmer Rouge and was Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea from 1976 - 1979.

Pol Pot became leader of Cambodia in mid-1975. During his time in power, Pol Pot imposed a version of agrarian collectivization, forcing city dwellers to relocate to the countryside to work in collective farms and forced labor projects, toward a goal of "restarting civilization" in a "Year Zero". The combined effects of slave labor, malnutrition, poor medical care, and executions resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1.7 to 2.5 million people, approximately 21% of the Cambodian population.

In 1979, after the invasion of Cambodia by neighbouring Vietnam in the CambodianVietnamese War, Pol Pot fled into the jungles of southwest Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge government collapsed. From 1979 to 1997 he and a remnant of the old Khmer Rouge operated from the border region of Cambodia and Thailand, where they clung to power and United Nations recognition as the rightful government of Cambodia.

On the night of April 15, 1998, the Voice of America, of which Pol Pot was a devoted listener, announced that the Khmer Rouge had agreed to turn him over to an international tribunal. According to his wife, he died in his bed later in the night while waiting to be moved to another location. Ta Mok claimed that his death was due to heart failure. Despite government requests to inspect the body, it was cremated a few days later at Anlong Veng in the Khmer Rouge zone, raising strong suspicions that he committed suicide or was poisoned.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Saloth
• Sar
• Pol
• Pot
• Cambodia
• Khmer
• Rouge
• Prime
• Minister
• starvation
• mass
• murder
• execution

[manofsan]

@ggalexhutchings,

A millions deaths is a policy.

[ggalexhutchings]

@manofsan a single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic.

[Jewboyeae]

@21boxhead,are fucking kidding? Pig Pot killed 2million people!!!! Do your research,before you make suck incorrect comments!!! Moron!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Normpercy]

thank god i live in Cadana

[21boxhead]

AMERICA KILLED MORE THEN POL POT IN CAMBODIA

[spiritfired]

@manofsan Grrr Why can't people just relax for a damn while?!?!? I wrote it down in my NOTEBOOK, OKAY?! Fuck Pol Pot!!

[manofsan]

@spiritfired,

If mass murder is something you can only "note" then you need your head examined. The Khmer Rouge of course only want to be let off with a "note" and to see their horrible crimes against humanity go unpunished. Are you a Khmer Rouge sympathizer by any chance?

[spiritfired]

@manofsan Right. Noted. Thankyou.

[manofsan]

@spiritfired,

It's called reality - learn about it.

The current leaders of the Cambodian govt are former Khmer Rouge leaders. Therefore they only want to protect their criminal brothers, and avoid prosecution for the mass murders. The Chinese govt has been a longtime supporter of the Khmer Rouge, and continues to tilt in their direction. If the current govt were to fall due to warcrimes prosecutions, then China could back the Khmer Rouge to wage guerrilla war against the people once again.

[spiritfired]

@manofsan OMG That's a very big piece of accusation!