The Cambodian genocide is one of the most horrible and saddest genocide to date spanning form 1975-1978. As Cambodia gained there independence from France in 1953 the country was controlled by prince Sihnaouk. In February of 1969 America started to bomb Cambodia in secret. After a year of bombing a small time communist party the Khmer Rouge, started demonstrations in the large cities such as phon-phen. At that time the prince of Shanouk was visiting Paris, a pro-American general by the name of Lon Nol overthrew Sihanouk and joined the communist party of the Khmer rouge. War had struck Cambodia at this point. In April 1970 Vietnamese and American troops invaded southeast Cambodia in the look for the Vietcong guerilla fighter in the rainforests of Cambodia. Lon Nol was proven to be not a well skilled military and political leader. Corruption worsened and Cambodians started believing that the country would be better of with the Khmer rouge and past prince sihnaouk. During that time the Khmer rouge was gaining power and falling away form their Vietnamese allies. Soon the Khmer rouge overthrew the over Lon Nol as he fled form the city April 1, 1975. On April 17 the first Khmer troops entered the capital with their leader Pol Pot. They were welcomed with cheers and white flags. This was the start of the Cambodian genocide.
As Pol Pot realized his power now he immediately started his Khmer society. He started his society on an eight point program in his program he began the process of taking away all liberties of the people. He started to evacuate all people from all towns, abolish all markets, abolish currency, make monks grow rice, execute leaders of the Lon Nol regime, establish cooperatives throughout the country, dispose of the Vietnamese minority, and dispatch troops to the border mainly near Vietnam. as the Cambodian people were taken from their towns each person was told to write their last occupation so the Khmer could execute enemies and any intelligence that threatened them.
