From 1975 to 1979,
the Communist Party of Kampuchea
ruled Cambodia with an iron fist,
perpetrating genocide that killed
one fourth of the country’s population.
Roughly 1 million Cambodians
were executed
as suspected political enemies
or due to their ethnicities.
The regime targeted Muslim Cham,
Vietnamese, Chinese,
Thai, and Laotian individuals.
Outside these executions,
one million more Cambodians
died of starvation, disease,
or exhaustion from overwork.
This genocidal regime rose to power
amidst decades of political turmoil.
Following World War II, Cambodia’s
monarch, Prince Norodom Sihanouk,
successfully negotiated the country’s
independence after roughly 90 years
of French colonial rule.
But Sihanouk’s strict policies
provoked friction with many citizens.
Especially militant communist rebels,
who had long opposed the French
and now turned their attention
to overthrowing the prince.
This unstable situation
was further complicated
by a war raging
outside Cambodia’s borders.
In Vietnam, millions of American troops
were supporting
the non-communist south
against the communist north.
While the US petitioned
for Cambodia’s support,
Prince Sihanouk tried to stay neutral.
But in 1970, he was overthrown
by his prime minister
who allowed American troops to bomb
regions of Cambodia
in their efforts to target
North Vietnamese fighters.
These attacks killed thousands
of Cambodian civilians.
To regain power after being overthrown,
the prince allied
with his political enemies.
The Communist Party of Kampuchea,
also known as the Khmer Rouge,
was led by Cambodians who dreamed
of making their nation
a classless society of rice farmers.
They opposed capitalist Western
imperialism
and sought to lead the country
to self-sufficiency.
But to the public,
they mostly represented a force
fighting the pro-American government.
Angered by destructive American bombing
and encouraged by the prince’s
call to arms,
many Cambodians joined the Khmer Rouge.
Eventually,
a full blown civil war erupted.
Over five years of fighting,
more than half a million Cambodians
died in this brutal conflict.
But the violence didn’t end
when the rebels conquered
Phnom Penh in April 1975.
Upon taking the capital,
the Khmer Rouge executed anyone
associated with the previous government.
Prince Sihanouk remained stripped of power
and was put under house arrest,
and the Khmer Rouge began evacuating
city residents to the countryside.
Those who couldn't make the trip
by foot were abandoned,
separating countless families.
In this new regime, every citizen was
stripped of their belongings
and given the same clothes
and haircut.
Private property, money,
and religion were outlawed.
The new agricultural workforce was
expected to produce
impossible amounts of rice,
and local leaders would be killed
if they couldn’t fulfill quotas.
Many prioritized their orders
to the capital above feeding workers.
Underfed, overworked, and suffering
from malaria and malnutrition,
thousands perished.
The Khmer Rouge members enforcing
the system were no safer.
When their plan failed to produce rice
at the expected rates,
Khmer Rouge leadership became paranoid.
They believed that internal enemies were
trying to sabotage the revolution,
and they began arresting and executing
anyone perceived as a threat.
This brutality continued
for almost four years.
Finally, in 1979, Vietnamese troops
working alongside defected Khmer Rouge
members took control of the country.
This political upheaval triggered
yet another civil war
that wouldn’t end until the 1990s.
In the years that followed,
there was no easy path to justice
for victims and their families.
A hybrid UN-Cambodian tribunal
was established in 2003,
but it only tried Khmer Rouge
in the topmost leadership positions.
Lower level Khmer Rouge members
appeared in court as well,
but they weren't placed on trial.
Instead, they gave testimony
and offered insight
into the cruel system that had enabled
their superiors’ crimes.
Some of these perpetrators were even
legally acknowledged as victims,
because they constantly feared
for their lives
and committed violence
as a means of self-preservation.
This perception of low level
Khmer Rouge members
as victims rather than perpetrators
extended beyond the courtroom.
Like other Cambodians, most Khmer Rouge
members lost family,
suffered hunger, were stripped
of their homes and belongings,
and were overworked to exhaustion.
And the paranoia amongst Khmer Rouge
leadership
had led to a higher rate of execution
for Khmer Rouge members
than the ethnic majority population.
As a result, many Cambodians today
don't just see the genocide
as one committed
against ethnic minority groups,
but also as a broad campaign of violence
impacting the entire population.
As of 2021, only three people have
received prison sentences.
Many victims would like the tribunal
to pursue further trials
of Khmer Rouge leaders.
However, a 2018 national survey revealed
that most victims feel
the tribunal has contributed to justice.
In the wake of such tragedy,
it’s tempting to paint conflicts
in simplistic terms—
casting one group as oppressor
and the other as oppressed.
But many Cambodians live
with a more complex reality.
Everyone suffered, even those who
contributed to the suffering of others.
This perception doesn’t excuse
any acts of violence.
But how a society remembers
traumatic events
plays a part in who is seen as victim,
who is seen as perpetrator,
and how a shattered society can
build a path into the future.