Leaders of Khmer Rouge to Answer for Atrocities in Cambodia

Will justice finally prevail? According to The Cambodia Tribunal Monitor, The horrors and atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia in the 1970's will be brought up again with the arrest of Khieu Samphan, former Prime Minister of Cambodia, on Monday November 19^th.

Throughout the 1960's and into the 1970's the U.S. government feared the idea of the "Domino Theory", or the spread of communism throughout the world. The only dominos to fall during this time were in Asia. One of these countries was Cambodia. The leader of the Communists in Cambodia, Pol Pot, founded the Khmer People's Revolutionary Party in 1951. Cambodia gained it's independence from France in 1953 and what followed was a time of civil war and constant strife between the Democratic government supported by the U.S. and South Vietnam and the Communist, who were supported by North Vietnam and China. In 1975 the Communist Party, which came to be known as the Khmer Rouge, finally gained control of the country.

Throughout the time that Khmer Rouge was in power the people suffered. It is estimated that between one and two million people died under the treatment of the Khmer Rouge. Pol Pot tried to create a classless society within Cambodia. They forced many citizens out of the cities and into the countryside. They used forced labor to control the population. Many died from being overworked and starved. Others, who were seen to be against the Khmer Rouge, were executed. Anyone with ties to the former government were put to death, as were any professionals and intellectuals, and ethnic Vietnamese and Chinese.

The Khmer Rouge was finally overthrown in January of 1979 with the invasion by Vietnam. Tensions between the two countries rose during the latter part of the 1970's due to refugees fleeing from Cambodia into Vietnam. This did not lead to the end of the Khmer Rouge though. They took to guerrilla warfare once again. They were able to maintain control over the western part of Cambodia. They were supplied by the Chinese government.

The official downfall of the Khmer Rouge would be in the late 1990's. Former leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998 due to possible heart failure. No one is sure if it was heart failure because the body was cremated a couple days later. By late 1999 the majority of the Khmer Rouge leadership was arrested or surrendered.

The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), has been set up to bring the surviving members of the Khmer Rouge to trial, and make them answer for their crimes. According to AP News, Former Tuol Sleng prison chief, Kaing Guek Eav, 66, was brought before the tribunal recently to answer for the death of almost 16,000 people who allegedly been tortured under his orders. A ruling has not been made but his release has been denied. Also according to AP News, Nuon Chea, 82, former chief political ideologist of the Khmer Rouge, was arrested in September and is set to begin trial in early 2008. Ieng Sary, former Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister was arrested, along with his wife, in November. They also will stand trial for crimes against humanity.

United Press International is reporting the arrest of Khieu Samphan, former Head of State, was made on November 19^th. He was in a hospital in Phnom Penh, receiving treatment for a stroke, at the time of his arrrest. Samphan claims that he had nothing to do with the atrocities against the people of Cambodia.

The ECCC will hear these cases and pass judgment on the men and women who are accused of committing crimes against humanity about thirty years ago. The people of the world are calling for justice for the deaths of one to two million people.