Pol Pot

Description: (Prime Minister of Cambodia from 1976 to 1979)

Pol Pot was a Cambodian revolutionary leader, who came to kown for his brutal regime that led to the killing of a sizeable population of Combodia. He served as the general secretary of the ‘Communist Party’ of Kampuchea. His regime is regarded as one of the bloodiest in the annals of the 20th century. The sheer scale of the horror that he unleashed can never be justified. It was also senseless with regard to its aim and method. If all he wanted was the establishment of an agrarian utopia, he could have taken a less brutal route. But, his regime was responsible for a genocide that systematically wiped out a quarter of the population in Cambodia. His policies were beyond comprehension. He targeted educated men and women, who in any other country would have been considered assets. He used the poor, uneducated, and impressionable to execute his commands; he won them over with claims that he was fighting American imperialism and then kept them on his side with tall promises. Fear, anger, torture, poverty, hunger, and the feeling of helplessness left a horrible scar on a generation of Cambodians. People who survived his regime are still trying to come to terms with their past, a chilling reminder of a man’s madness.

Overview

Birthday May 19, 1925 (Taurus)
Born In Cambodia
Alternative names Saloth Sâr
Height 175 cm
Died on April 15, 1998
Spouse/Ex- Khieu Ponnary (m. 1956–1979), Mea Son (m. 1985–1998)
Parents Pen Saloth
Sok Nem
Children Sar Patchata
Relatives Saloth Chhay, Saloth Nhep, Saloth Roueng

Did you know

How did the Khmer Rouge fall from power? The Khmer Rouge fell from power in 1979, after a Vietnamese invasion that ousted the regime from Cambodia.
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