Insert Intro here!
Thesis: The turbulent history in Cambodia and its neighbor, Vietnam, led to the rise of Pol Pot as head of Khmer Rouge, and this continued climate of political unrest led to mass genocide and insurgence that continues to contribute to the instability of Cambodia today.
The Cambodian struggle against the ninety years of French colonization played a big role in the uprising of communism in Cambodia. In 1863, the French declared Cambodia would be a protectorate of France. In 1941 during World War II, Japan took control of most of Asia, including Cambodia. During that same year (1941), Norodom Sihanouk became King of Cambodia. The Japanese let France continue to control Cambodia, until the fall of Paris in 1944. Briefly, Japan took over the reigns. This occupation of the Japanese and also the French became the start of Communism rising in Cambodia. After the end of World War II in 1945, the Japanese removed themselves from Cambodia after four years of occupation. Shortly after in 1946 the French come back to Cambodia and declared them as at protectorate once more. Upon France’s return, a new constitution was formed that permitted Cambodians to form political parties. This is when many communist parties started to really form. After eight years of the France’s new protectorate and ninety years after their first, the Cambodians were finally able to win to gain their independence. Once independence was gained, Cambodia changed their name officially to “The Kingdom of Cambodia.”
Between 1953 when the French left Cambodia, and 1975 when the Khmer Rouge invaded, King Sihanouk took control over the newly named Kingdom of Cambodia. Soon after the Kingdom of Cambodia though, Sihanouk abdicates (to renounce one's throne)...
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...nto farms in order to clear out the capital, Phnom Phen. “The first word from the Khmer Rouge was a lie wrapped around a deep anger and hatred of the kind of society they felt Cambodia was becoming.” The Khmer Rouge started their takeover right away by telling the people of Phnom Penh that the United States were planning another attack on Cambodia, aimed right at the capitol. They forced millions of residents of Phnom Penh and other cities out of their homes. All the people were evacuated to farms where they would spend their time sustenance farming. While the people farmed, the Khmer Rouge ruthlessly ransacked the whole city of Phnom Penh, tearing down every locked door and stripping the houses of anything valuable. Even though thousands of Khmer Rouge followers helped to destroy the city of Phnom Penh, the select few that led the khmer Rouge are the ones to blame.
In 1949, Mao Zedong led the Peoples Revolution, which established a Communist State in China. Communism has now been introduced to Asia. In this period, after World War II, Communism was a popular ideology being introduced throughout the world. Vietnam was one of the many countries under the threat of Communism. At this time, Vietnam was a French Colony. As time went on tension started to come between the French and the Vietnamese people. As tension increased so did the fighting between the French and The Vietnamese. Finally in 1954, The French decided that they could no longer withstand the revolts of the Vietnamese. The Vietnamese were now free of French rule. However, many problems still remained in Vietnam. After the war there was a conference to discuss the troubles in Vietnam and all of the other troubles in Asia. That conference was called the Geneva Conference. Vietnam sent two delegations to the conference. One of the delegations represented Viet Minh (which was Communist in their leanings) and the other represented Bao Dia's government, which was backed by the United States. Both claimed to represent all of Vietnam. At the conference there was a discussion about dividing Vietnam at the 17th parallel to solve the troubles between the two delegations. Now there were two Vietnams. One, in the north, was under Communist rule and the other, in the south, was not. While the Geneva Conference was being held, the United States was already concerned about Communism being spread. The United States then decided that the only way to solve the problems would be to contain Communism including in Vietnam.
This genocide took place all throughout Europe. It started in Germany and spread all the way to Great Britain. (“Some of the things that are not). The Cambodian Genocide was an attempt by the Khmer Rouge to take over and centralize all Cambodian farmers (“Cambodian”). This genocide lasted from 1975 to 1978 when the Khmer Rouge was finally overthrown by the Vietnamese (“Cambodian”).
Most people in the world have not heard of the genocide going on in Laos today. Most people have not taken notice, read about it or bother to spend more than thirty seconds of their lives learning about it. The world has managed to almost entirely ignore the genocide of the Hmong people in Laos for over 30 years and still allows this crime against humanity to continue. Since the 1970s, the ethnic Hmong people in the Southeast Asian country of Laos have been persecuted by the Laotian government (Malakunas, 2000). This harassment is a direct result of the Hmong’s link to the Central Intelligence Agency in the United States in what has become to be known as the Secret War (Malakunas, 2000). The Laotian government officials directing this massacre have not been detained due to lack of evidence (Sommer P.4).
The Vietnam War was the longest war in America's history of involvement. Twenty years of hell, land mines, cross-fire, and death. Vietnam was divided by the Geneva Accord. The north being communist run by Ho Chi Minh. The south being anti-Communist run by Ngo Dinh Diem. Before Vietnam was separated, it was run by France. France had ruled most of Indochina since the late 1800s. The Vietnamese were unhappy with the way the French were controlling, therefore, many of them took refuge in China. When in China, they began to follow the lead of Ho Chi Minh, who wanted to model the Vietnamese Declaration of Independence as that of the U.S. version. In the 1940s, Japan had taken over Vietnam which upset Ho Chi Minh and his revolutionaries when they had returned a year later.
It has been known that the Vietnam War affected many American soldiers who were involved in the war physically and psychologically. The Vietnam War was one of the most memorable wars in history. Many Americans’ lives lost for no objective at all. Chapter 10 informed us about how the Vietnam War started and what really happened during that time. It also gave us background information about Vietnam Veterans and nurses who were involved in the war and what they went through during the war. I had the opportunity to interview a Vietnam Veteran also.
Expressions of Cambodia: The Politics of Tradition, Identity, and Change. By Leakthina Chan-Pech Ollier and Tim Winter. London: Routledge, 2006. 86-100. Print.
Vietnamese invaded Cambodia in December of 1978, resulting in nearly 130,000 more Cambodians to migrate into California, catching the atten...
In the article, “Columbus’s Legacy: Genocide in the America’s,” by David E. Stannard, the theme can be identified as contrary to popular belief that the millions of native peoples of the Americas that perished in the sixteenth century died not only from disease brought over by the Europeans, but also as a result of mass murder, as well as death due to working them to death.
At the end of World War II, Japanese forces in Indochina turned over power to Vietnamese Nationalists. Japan had created an independent Vietnamese government. Japan allowed this government to be displaced by the Viet Minh under Ho Chi Minh. (The History Place, Beginner’s Guide)
With the high demand for cotton, Southern plantation owners needed more cheap labor, hence the need for slaves.... ... middle of paper ... ... United States forces joined in the fighting and some believe helped the Khmer Rouge to come out victorious and form the Democratic Kampuchea.
Africa has been an interesting location of conflicts. From the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea to the revolutionary conflict in Libya and Egypt, one of the greatest conflicts is the Rwandan Genocide. The Rwandan Genocide included two tribes in Rwanda: Tutsis and Hutus. Upon revenge, the Hutus massacred many Tutsis and other Hutus that supported the Tutsis. This gruesome war lasted for a 100 days. Up to this date, there have been many devastating effects on Rwanda and the global community. In addition, many people have not had many acknowledgements for the genocide but from this genocide many lessons have been learned around the world.
Cambodia would become a battle ground for American troops fighting in Vietnam for four years; the war would kill up to 750,000 Cambodians through U.S. efforts to destroy suspected North Vietnamese supply lines. This devastation would take its toll on the Cambodian peoples’ morale and would later help to contribute to the conflicts that caused the Cambodian genocide. In the 1970’s the Khmer Rouge guerrilla movement would form. The leader of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot, was educated in France and believed in Maoist Communism. These communist ideas would become important foundations for the ideas of the genocide, and which groups would be persecuted.
The Ung’s moved from one place to another just to keep their family together. Because their father was a former government worker, the Khmer Rouge would have killed him if they found out because they think anyone with an education is a threat to their dictatorship. For months they were on the road. Walking in the hot sun, starving and it was very hard for them to stay together. It was the hardest on Loung because she desperately wanted to be somewhere she can call “home” somewhere like Phnom Penh. But that was difficult considering they had to move to anot...
There are many ethnicities and nationalities that have developed a keen sense of cultural obligations that are inherited from the history of their own countries. From a time period of over a few thousand years ago, our foreign predecessors have developed characteristics that are hereby passed down for future generations to enjoy. Particularly speaking, Vietnam has affected a majority of the world in ways that are both positive and negative. Based on this knowledge, a person can infer that Vietnam has influenced the modern world greatly due to its prominent culture, religion, government, and scientific discoveries.
War in Vietnam had no real beginning and was just escalation of fighting that was going on for centuries. In 1954 Vietnam became independent from the control of French Regime. The two parts of V...