Khmer Rouge

[Pogue]

I don't get it...they thought a war, a guerilla war, and said they were communists. They were in a communist party. How could they become so fucked up and try mass murder and all the evil and crazy shit they tried?

[LOLseph Stalin]

The Khmer Rouge was interesting. They were far from Communist although they claimed to be. They were just fucked up rebels who went fanatic on a killing spree.

[OneNamedNameLess]

They are not the only so called communists who strayed away from their ideas. The case of the Khmer Rouge is a rather interesting one.

I find Pol Pot's story even more interesting. Apparently he was well educated in France and led a pretty normal life. To think he subsequently became one of the world's most infamous killers.

[rednordman]

You know, I have read a little bit on this, and have tried to work it out for myself, but its come to nothing. The only thing i will say is that the answer lies individually with Pol Pot, and mabey the treatment cambodia had under french imperialism. Its really messed up because there was initially alot of good revolutionaries within cambodia before the revolution, but still Pol Pot managed to reach the summit and practically ruin the country. The really shocking thing is how after the Vietmanese liberated them, then the west pretty much supported Pol Pots KR and Branded the Vietmanese as monsterous invaders.

[ibn Bruce]

The left used to support them before all that stuff happened. I've even got one of my Dad's old badges in solidarity with them.

[rednordman]

The left used to support them before all that stuff happened. I've even got one of my Dad's old badges in solidarity with them.was that pre or just after the revolution? before they were indeed a legit movement worthy of support. But when Pol Pot got to be in charge...dammit. It beggers belief.

[Vahanian]

You know, I have read a little bit on this, and have tried to work it out for myself, but its come to nothing. The only thing i will say is that the answer lies individually with Pol Pot, and mabey the treatment cambodia had under french imperialism. Its really messed up because there was initially alot of good revolutionaries within cambodia before the revolution, but still Pol Pot managed to reach the summit and practically ruin the country. The really shocking thing is how after the Vietmanese liberated them, then the west pretty much supported Pol Pots KR and Branded the Vietmanese as monsterous invaders.

this is why the american supported pol pot


After the Khmer Rouge were driven from power by the Vietnamese in 1979, the United States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States) and other Western powers[specify (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)] refused to allow the Vietnamese-backed Cambodian government to take the seat of Cambodia at the United Nations. The seat, by default, remained in the hands of the Khmer Rouge. These countries considered that however negative allowing the Khmer Rouge to hold on to the seat was, recognizing Vietnam's occupation of Cambodia was worse

pol pot basically tried to achieve primitivism communism and it lead to the deaths of millions of people. His government was basically bringing there nation back back to the dark ages and it failed thankfully

[Hiero]

I hate these threads, it is just a barrage of the most simplistic analysis of the Khmer Rouge that rarely differs from other offical discourse.

In my view I think the USSR's policy of peacefull coexistance is the first part of the filure of the khmer rouge. The USSR never support the national liberation of Cambodia lead by the Communist Party of Kampuchea. Instead they support some social democractic party instead, while telling the CPK to engage in the neo-colonial structure.

This lead to isolation of the CPK and later Democractic Kampuchea. This left the Khmer Rouge with no good leadership. After consolidating power they only had China as allies, and I am not sure how far this extended. Democratic Kampuchea emerged in a hostile world, which lead them to look only internally for socialism and not externally. I would not doubt that Vietnam did have agents inside Cambodia in the east.

What they found was a massive peasant society. The next step that Democractic Kampuchea did was implement crude Marxism. It viewed the class war inside peasant society as the class war that would transform society. The allowed, encouraged and offical sanctioned political violence of lower peasants against higher peasants. This was given too much attention. I don't think they had any primitive ideas, they actually encourage industrialisation and often in reports they were positive about increases in technology (no idea if this occured or not). Rather it seems they assumed that because the peasants were the large percent of the massess, they assumed that the contradictions in the peasant mass would be the motivating point of turning Cambodia from feudal, neo-colonial capitalist society into a developed socialist society. Basically a crude version of Marxism-Leninism that any clas war will do.

I base this on readings of CPK documents that reveal alot about Khmer Rouge ideaology. Against the more essentialist analysis that puts all blame on Pol Pot's "evilness" or the stupidity of the CPK cadre.

[Jack]

Pol Pot is just proof of the wonders of Leninism.

[Pogue]

I hate these threads, it is just a barrage of the most simplistic analysis of the Khmer Rouge that rarely differs from other offical discourse.

In my view I think the USSR's policy of peacefull coexistance is the first part of the filure of the khmer rouge. The USSR never support the national liberation of Cambodia lead by the Communist Party of Kampuchea. Instead they support some social democractic party instead, while telling the CPK to engage in the neo-colonial structure.

This lead to isolation of the CPK and later Democractic Kampuchea. This left the Khmer Rouge with no good leadership. After consolidating power they only had China as allies, and I am not sure how far this extended. Democratic Kampuchea emerged in a hostile world, which lead them to look only internally for socialism and not externally. I would not doubt that Vietnam did have agents inside Cambodia in the east.

What they found was a massive peasant society. The next step that Democractic Kampuchea did was implement crude Marxism. It viewed the class war inside peasant society as the class war that would transform society. The allowed, encouraged and offical sanctioned political violence of lower peasants against higher peasants. This was given too much attention. I don't think they had any primitive ideas, they actually encourage industrialisation and often in reports they were positive about increases in technology (no idea if this occured or not). Rather it seems they assumed that because the peasants were the large percent of the massess, they assumed that the contradictions in the peasant mass would be the motivating point of turning Cambodia from feudal, neo-colonial capitalist society into a developed socialist society. Basically a crude version of Marxism-Leninism that any clas war will do.

I base this on readings of CPK documents that reveal alot about Khmer Rouge ideaology. Against the more essentialist analysis that puts all blame on Pol Pot's "evilness" or the stupidity of the CPK cadre.

Oh my god you just apologised for the Khmer Rouge.

[Chapter 24]

Oh my god you just apologised for the Khmer Rouge.

No he's not, he was trying to make a material argument for the conditions under which the Khmer Rouge lived, the Cambodian reality. I'm no fan of Pol Pot either but it's better to look at these things materialistically than "OMG MOST VICIOUS KILLER EVER!"

[Hiero]

Oh my god you just apologised for the Khmer Rouge.


If anything I attack Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, but seriously you'e probally to stupid to even realise .Now you can go back to learning history from Rambo films.

edit: Don't start threads with questions if you don't want to hear an answer. If you don't want to be challanged then piss off to another forum.