{"id":17279,"date":"2025-05-13T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-13T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/destary.com\/?p=17279"},"modified":"2025-05-11T09:33:48","modified_gmt":"2025-05-11T07:33:48","slug":"choeung-ek-the-killing-fields-in-phnom-penh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/destary.com\/en\/sights\/choeung-ek-the-killing-fields-in-phnom-penh\/","title":{"rendered":"Choeung Ek: The Killing Fields in Phnom Penh"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

About 15 kilometres south-west of the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh lies Choeung Ek, one of the country’s most famous ‘killing fields’. Today, the site is a memorial to the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime. But Choeung Ek is just one of over 300 Killing Fields in Cambodia \u2013 silent witnesses to one of the cruellest chapters in world history. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

The rise of the Khmer Rouge<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The story that reached its grisly climax here began many years earlier. The Khmer Rouge, originally a small communist group, formed in the mountains of Cambodia. Initially an underground movement, it grew rapidly as a result of the political and social crises of the 1960s and early 1970s. Civil war, massive poverty and dissatisfaction with the existing government drove many people, especially the rural poor, into the arms of the Khmer Rouge. They promised an end to inequality and corruption \u2013 a new, equitable society. <\/p>

On 17 April 1975, the Khmer Rouge took Phnom Penh. The civil war was over, but the nightmare was just beginning. Within days, the new rulers closed schools, government offices, hospitals and shops. The city’s entire population – some two million people – was forcibly evacuated within three days. The aim was to build a new society without the influence of the city: Pol Pot’s vision of ‘Year Zero’. <\/p>

Pol Pot, the leader of the Khmer Rouge, had a radical communist utopia. He wanted to create an agrarian ideal. City dwellers, educated people, doctors, teachers, engineers, even people who wore glasses or spoke a foreign language were considered enemies of the revolution. Anyone suspected of threatening the plans was mercilessly murdered. The slightest sign of education or dissent was enough to be sentenced to death. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Offenders and victims: A cruel truth<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

One of the bitterest lessons of the Killing Fields is that it was not an occupying power oppressing the country \u2013 it was Cambodians killing Cambodians. Many Khmer Rouge soldiers were simple farmers, illiterates or young people lured by the promise of prosperity and a better future. The ‘new people’ – intellectuals and urbanites – were scapegoated for the nation’s woes. <\/p>

Distrust and fear also permeated the ranks of the Khmer Rouge. Pol Pot became increasingly paranoid, executing even loyal followers on the slightest suspicion. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t