Khmer Rouge
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Khmer Rouge (Khmae(r) Kraham) in romanized Khmer, French language for Red Khmer, were a Stalinist, Maoist-extremist group which took over the capital of Kampuchea, Phnom Penh, on April 17, 1975. It was led by Pol Pot, who was called Saloth Sar before the take over. They named the country Democratic Kampuchea. They immediately forced everyone out of the cities, effectively turning the whole country into a giant labor camp. They were defeated by the Vietnamese in January of 1979. During the Khmer Rouge Years, between 1.7 million and 3 million people were killed (20% - 35% of the population) in a genocide comparable to the Holocaust. The international community continued to recognize the Khmer Rouge as the government of Kampuchea for a decade after they were defeated. Therefore the Khmer Rouge held a seat in the UN until 1984.
