Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge regime is known for the most extreme case of genocide in modern history.  The ultra-communist regime killed teachers, intellectuals, foreigners, business owners, and almost anyone who did not adhere to the Pol Pot ideology.  Nearly two thirds of Cambodia’s population was slaughtered from 1975 to 1979.

In 1994 the Khmer Rouge party was outlawed.  In 1997, Pol Pot was arrested by one of his own colleagues, Ta Mok.  A year later, Ta Mok was arrested by Cambodian officials for his crimes during the Khmer Rouge years.  Mok, “the Butcher,” was notorious for his cruelty as one of the top regime members. Kaing Guek Eav, known by his nickname Duch, was arrested in 1999.  Duch was a prison chief at S-21 prison, where 17,000 Cambodians died.

The UN recommended an international tribunal and truth commission try the Khmer Rouge leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity.  The trials began in the early 2000s and are ongoing.  Pol Pot died the night the Khmer Rouge agreed to turn him over to an international tribune.  Whether his death was a suicide or due to natural causes remains debated.

Few major regime members were arrested, and many, including Ta Mok, died before reaching trial.  The most recent trial is of “big brother number two” and former president Khieu Samphan.  Both men are aging and ill, leading many to doubt these criminals will ever face justice.  While the judicial system is ‘fair,’ their trials raise questions over whether the punishment fits the crime.

The leaders of the Cambodian genocide have gone largely unpunished.  A combination of international bureaucracy, corrupt Cambodian government, and residual fears of the regime have prevented justice.  Cambodia remains an unstable country, and some fear that continuing the war crimes trials will only stir up political unrest.

– Stephanie Lamm

Sources: Peoples of the World, Reuters, PBS
Photo: World Without Genocide