1863
French gained control and Cambodia became a protectorate of France. Evaluating the French colonial system Vantage
November 9th 1953
Cambodia became an independent state after almost 90 years of French protectorate. Cambodian independence benefitted heavily from the First Indochina War in 1954, or the victory of Vietnamese Viet Minh troop in Điện Biên Phủ. After the French were defeated, they had to sign the Geneva Accords, which was agreement that forced France to give up all their colonies in the Indochina region. King Sihanouk became the leader of Cambodia. 1960
In 1960, the Communist Part of Kampuchea was formed. Initially, King Sihanouk did not take the CPK seriously, and named them the Khmer Rouge. King Sihanouk did attempt to eliminate the CPK, but they fled from Phnom Penh and started to establish their armed rebellious force. They remain to be an undercover and secretive organization until 1977, no one knew who the true leaders because they called themselves Angkar Padevat. 1975
The CPK finally obtained their power after years of underground work. They seized and took control Phnom Penh, immediately enforcing their laws and orders upon the citizens. Within several days, the CPK managed to evacuate everyone to the countryside to do agricultural work. Their end goal was to create a communist utopia. Thousands of people died during the evacuation. As the CPK stepped into power, they banned family relationship and tried to brainwash all the young generations to worship the state. They murdered all the intellectuals, religious figures, and ethnic minorities and persuaded the children to report their parents if they are disguising as uneducated peasants. One of the high schools in Phnom Penh got converted into S-21, or commonly known as the Toul Sleng Prison. This prison executed and tortured over 17 thousand people just within two years. |
1976
CPK officially declared their own state as Democratic Kampuchea even though they were strictly dictatorship. The state of Democratic Kampuchea was in power for over 4 years, from 1975 to 1979. They also launched their first “Four-year Plan”. They seized private property, reinforced agricultural work and really pushed the workers to maximize their production. Cambodians were exhausted and exploited for their labour, working over 12 hours a day in very harsh living conditions, hundreds of thousands of Cambodians starved to death. 1977
Pol Pot, one of the leaders of CPK, initiated the second round of purging the communists’ dissidents. The killing intensified when Khmer Rouge became more violent and targeted troops even outside of Cambodia. Khmer Rouge’s troops attacked the borders of Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. Vietnam was heavily influenced as over 30,000 Vietnamese citizens were murdered when the Khmer Rouge ruled. September 1977
Ever since the Khmer Rouge came into power, no one knew who the actual leader is. The Khmer Rouge leaders call themselves as the Angkar Padevat. The organization revealed their identity in September 1977, Pol Pot officially introduces him on a radio broadcast. April 1978
Declared and exposed Khmer Rouge’s inhumanity. President Jimmy Carter of the United States made a declaration and reported the Khmer Rouge of being the “worst violator of human rights in the world.” 25th December 1978
Vietnamese gained power in the border region. Troops of Vietnam including over 100,000 people attacked the Cambodian border to secure a buffer zone to separate Vietnam to Khmer Rouge forces. Though, the military attacked so well, they realized that they could remove Khmer Rouge. |
7th January 1979
Fall of Khmer Rouge and its regime
Vietnamese force successfully gained control in Phnom Penh just after a few weeks from its first attack. The Khmer Rouge leaders and followers had to flee out of Cambodia. Then, the Vietnamese established a new governing state called People’s Republic of Kampuchea (PRK). The first ever prime minister was Hun Sen. January 7th became Cambodian’s Victory Day afterwards.
Fall of Khmer Rouge and its regime
Vietnamese force successfully gained control in Phnom Penh just after a few weeks from its first attack. The Khmer Rouge leaders and followers had to flee out of Cambodia. Then, the Vietnamese established a new governing state called People’s Republic of Kampuchea (PRK). The first ever prime minister was Hun Sen. January 7th became Cambodian’s Victory Day afterwards.