The history of the Khmer Rouge: The beginning (Part 1)
Forty years ago, on January 7, 1979, Vietnamese troops led by several former Khmer Rouge dissidents entered Phnom Penh to end a dictatorship of extreme violence that resulted in the death of 1.7 million people, according to estimates: that of Democratic Kampuchea. Commonly known as the Khmer Rouge, this political regime ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, but the history of this movement is much broader and should be analyzed throughout the second half of the 20th century. Here is a non-exhaustive list of significant historical events related to the Khmer Rouge ideology.
1951: Creation of the Khmer People's Revolutionary Party
During the First Indochina War (1949-1954), and still under the French Protectorate in Cambodia (1863-1953), the communist Việt Minh had to reorganize its Cambodian and Laotian allies to meet the needs during the numerous local guerrilla movements. The Indochinese Communist Party, founded in 1930, was then split into three separate parties. In 1951, under the tutelage of the Việt Minh, Cambodia inherited the Khmer People's Revolutionary Party, a clandestine communist party. The Vietnamese paramilitary organization placed Son Ngoc Minh, a Khmer-Vietnamese mestizo who had served them at the beginning of the Indochina War, at its head. Alongside him, leading the moderate faction of the party, was Tou Samouth, the mentor of Saloth Sar, better known as Pol Pot. After the war, the "Khmer Việt Minh" either surrendered or went into exile in North Vietnam, including Son Ngoc Minh. Tou Samouth then became the principal leader of the Khmer People's Revolutionary Party.
It was in the early 1950s that King Norodom Sihanouk first used the term "Khmer Rouge." He coined it in opposition to other existing political labels such as the "Pink Khmers" for the Democratic Party, the "Blue Khmers" for the Republican Party, and the "White Khmers" for the Royalists.
The Marxist Circle
During this time and throughout most of the decade, many future Khmer Rouge leaders studied in France. They were all part of the Association of Khmer Students in France (AEK), which took care of and assisted any Cambodian citizen who came to study there. Starting in 1950, and at a frequency of one to three times a month, the first discussions were organized, bringing together members of the AEK around the Indochina War and its stakes. Ieng Sary, future Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Democratic Kampuchea, took the lead of these roundtables and named the group "The Marxist Circle." He notably invited Saloth Sar (who would later adopt the name Pol Pot from May 20, 1975), Son Sen, and Khieu Samphân (the last surviving senior Khmer Rouge official today). All of them at this time adhered to the French Communist Party (PCF) and, during these meetings, read works by Marx, Lenin, and Stalin.
Upon his return to Cambodia in 1953, Saloth Sar engaged alongside the Việt Minh and the Khmer People's Revolutionary Party in the guerrilla movements near Kampong Speu, then in the eastern part of the country. He was appreciated by the local leaders for his advanced education. His persuasive power over the masses caught the attention of Tou Samouth, who made him his personal assistant and later promoted him to number three in the party.
1962: Saloth Sar takes over the party
In 1960, the Khmer People's Revolutionary Party was renamed the Workers' Party of Kampuchea. At its head was Tou Samouth, who advocated cooperation with the head of state Norodom Sihanouk. He was followed in the party hierarchy by Nuon Chea, Saloth Sar, and Ieng Sary. This was the first time since its creation in 1951 that the party, outside of Vietnamese control, chose its own leadership structure. Meanwhile, eager for a neutral position within his government, Norodom Sihanouk appointed left-wing men to ministerial positions, such as Khieu Samphân and Hou Yuon, the former president of the AEK, unaware that they were secretly allies of the Workers' Party of Kampuchea.
On July 20, 1962, Tou Samouth disappeared under disputed circumstances. Two versions clash. The first is that he was arrested and killed at the home of future Prime Minister and President of the Khmer Republic Lon Nol, before being buried on the outskirts of the capital. The second, according to Australian historian Ben Kiernan, claims he was eliminated by close associates of Saloth Sar. A secret 1978 report on "internal enemies" in the party allegedly accused the Secretary of Kandal province, Som Chea, of committing the crime. Executed later, he had been close to the future Pol Pot in 1962. Regardless, Saloth Sar was then elected Secretary-General of the party to replace Tou Samouth. Except for Nuon Chea, who had studied law in Bangkok, the group of former Paris students, calling themselves the Centre, found themselves at the head of the Khmer Communist Party. Some of them were still moderate at the time and sought an alliance with Sihanouk for the good of Cambodia. But Saloth Sar categorically disagreed. He wanted a revolution.