Pol Pot. The Khmer Route. Part of 3. "Rice communism"

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After the capture of Phnom Penh, the Khmer Rouge began a radical transformation of the Cambodian state and society. 23 April 1975 was fired from the supporters of Lon Nol and the citizens of Phnom Penh by the leader of the Khmer Rouge, Salot Sar, who organized his headquarters in the city. Already 25-27 on April 1975 was held in Phnom Penh by the Extraordinary National Congress, which decided to build the “national community of harmony” based on equality, democracy, lack of exploitation, exploiters and exploited, rich and poor, universal constructive work in Cambodia. At the same time, Cambodia formally continued to be a kingdom. At the head of the state remained Norodom Sihanouk, and the Prime Minister was appointed Samdat Penn Nut (1906-1985) - Cambodian politician, one of the closest supporters of Norodom Sihanouk, who occupied in the 1950-s. posts of minister of foreign affairs and prime minister of cambodia. But neither Sihanouk nor Penn Nuth had any real power.

Proclamation of Democratic Kampuchea

In fact, the government was in the hands of Angka Loew, the “Supreme Organization,” as the Communist Party of Kampuchea was known to the people. A gradual revolutionary transformation of the Cambodian state began. The Khmer Rouge posed three major tasks, the solution of which, as it seemed to them, brought the communist reorganization of Cambodian society closer. Firstly, the Khmer Rouge set a course for ending the ruin of the Cambodian peasantry, which was the overwhelming majority of the country's inhabitants and was exploited by landlords and usurers. Secondly, it was necessary to completely eliminate the dependence of Cambodia on foreign countries, switching to the country's self-sufficiency. Self-reliance became the most important principle of the Cambodian state of the Khmer Rouge, which made it related to North Korea. The third key principle was to ensure the revolutionary order in the country, which demanded the establishment of strict political power. To begin with, the population of Cambodia was divided into three main categories - according to social and political principles. The first category, the “main people,” was the peasantry of remote provinces, the most loyal to the Khmer Rouge and perceived by the latter as a potential pillar of the coming revolutionary changes. It was in this environment that the Khmer Rouge recruited supporters and soldiers. The second category, “April 17 people,” or “new people,” was the townspeople and peasants who had lived for a long time in territories under the rule of Lon Nol or under the control of American and South Vietnamese troops. "People of 17 April" were subject to mandatory labor and ideological re-education. Finally, the third category included former officials, officers and sergeants of the Lonnolovo army and police, representatives of the intelligentsia and the bourgeoisie, clergy. This category of Cambodians was subject to total cleansing, including the physical destruction of many of its representatives and the sending of the rest to labor camps.

However, real revolutionary changes in the country began only in 1976. 5 January 1976, the new constitution of the country came into force, in accordance with which the monarchy was abolished, and the country, instead of the Kingdom of Cambodia, was renamed Kampuchea Democratic. In March, 1976, elections were held for the Assembly of People’s Representatives, at which 2 on April 1976, by Norod Sihanouk, issued a statement resigning as head of state. At the same time, the formal government of Cambodia, headed by Penn Nuth, resigned. A new government of Democratic Kampuchea was formed, which 4 of April of 1976 was headed by the well-known revolutionary and one of the closest associates of Salot, Sarah Khieu Samphan. Khieu, however, spent only ten days as prime minister. 14 April 1976, as a result of an internal party agreement, became the head of the government of Democratic Kampuchea Salot Sar, who from that time began to act under the official pseudonym of Pol Pot. The Legislative Assembly of Democratic Kampuchea was led by veteran of the partisan and communist movement Nuon Chea. The head of state formally became Khieu Samphan, 11 on April 1976, who took over as chairman of the State Council of Democratic Kampuchea. A longtime associate and close friend of Pol Pot Ieng Sari was appointed Deputy Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Democratic Kampuchea.
The revolutionary regime in the country significantly tightened. However, within the Communist Party of Kampuchea itself, the intrafactional struggle continued, which was complicated by the influence of the events taking place at that time in China. 9 September 1976 dies. Mao Zedong, always the main foreign patron and sponsor of the Khmer Rouge. In this regard, China’s support for the revolutionary regime of Kampuchea has weakened. This inevitably affected the situation in Kampuchea, above all in its leadership. So much so that 27 September 1976, less than three weeks after the death of Mao, Pol Pot left the post of prime minister of the country. The official reason for the departure of the leader of the Khmer Rouge from office was “health problems”, but in reality there was an intra-factional struggle in the party caused by the events in China. The new head of the government of Democratic Kampuchea was Nuon Chea. Brother number two was one of the most important positions in the Khmer Rouge hierarchy and was one of Pol Pot's closest associates. In the Kampuchean Communist Party, he was considered a supporter of the development of friendly relations with Vietnam. It was Nouon Chea who succeeded in 1970 in obtaining support for the Khmer Rouge from North Vietnam, after which the North Vietnamese troops took the side of the Cambodian Communists against the troops of General Lon Nol. Replacing Pol Pot as the country's prime minister, Nuon Chea tried to make the policy of Democratic Kampuchea more liberal. In particular, negotiations began with US pharmaceutical companies on the procurement of medicines. In addition, the delegations of Kampuchea went to Yugoslavia, Albania and the DPRK - to establish economic cooperation. However, October 6 1976 in China, there was another apical coup. The top military authorities of the PRC, led by Marshal Hua Guofeng, removed the group that came after the death of Mao Zedong to power in the country, later called the "gang of four". Twenty days later, a reaction to this event followed in Kampuchea.

Pol Pot. The Khmer Route. Part of 3. "Rice communism"
- Ieng Sary, Pol Pot and Defense Minister Son Sen during a visit to the DPRK

October 25 1976 Mr. Pol Pot returned to the post of Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea. After that, the country's policy finally acquired the features that are now worldwide associated with the Khmer Rouge. Pol Pot headed for the final international isolation of Kampuchea, adhering to the strategy of self-reliance and complete independence from international capital. The only countries with which Kampuchea maintained political and economic relations were China and North Korea. Pol Pot even received the title of Hero of the DPRK. However, in their radicalism the transformations carried out in Kampuchea by the Khmer Rouge surpassed both the DPRK and the PRC. At the beginning of 1977, Mr. Pol Pot, in order to finally consolidate his power and liquidate the inner-party opposition, launched tough “purges” in the leadership of the Communist Party of Kampuchea. One of the most notable victims of the purges was Hu Nim (1932-1977), a former member of the Central Committee of the Kampuchea Communist Party and a veteran of the Cambodian revolutionary and communist movement. Unlike many other communist leaders, Hu Nimes had a completely successful career in the civil service of Cambodia during the rule of Prince Norodom Sihanouk. Hu Nim led the country's treasury, then the customs service. He was elected to parliament on the lists of the Sangkum bloc created by Norodom Sihanouk. Only in 1967, Mr. Hu Nim joined the fighting Khmer Rouge, and in 1970, after the coup of General Lon Nol, he assumed the post of Minister of Information and Propaganda in the émigré Royal Government of National Unity of Kampuchea in Beijing. This post remained with Hu Nim after the overthrow of the Lon Nol regime and the coming of the Khmer Rouge to power in the country. Hu Nim often expressed ideas incompatible with the views of Pol Pot and his closest associates on the reorganization of Kampuchea, therefore he had a reputation in the party as one of the most independent opinions of party politicians. In 1977, Mr. Hu Nim was arrested and thrown into the notorious concentration camp “Tuolsleng”, where under torture he had confessions in counter-revolutionary activities, which ended in the words “I am not a person, I am an animal”.

Concentration camp on the "Hill of poisonous trees"

In 1977, an extremely tough regime was established in Democratic Kampuchea, which resorted to severe repressive methods not only against obvious political opponents, but also against any Kampucheans who, according to the leaders of the Khmer Rouge, were reeducated. Concentration camp "Tuolsleng" (translated from Khmer - "Hill of poisonous trees") received worldwide fame. Officially, it was called “Security Prison-21” and was set up in a former school that was converted in 1975, immediately after the arrival of the Khmer Rouge in power, to a prison. In this prison, under terrible conditions, there were about 20 000 people, among whom were political opponents of the regime, former employees of the Lonnolovskaya authorities, and representatives of the well-to-do sections of the population, and accidentally peasants who got there, and several foreigners who fell into the hands of the Khmer Rouge on the territory of Kampuchea.

The thirty-three “Khmer Red Khan” Kan Keek Yeo (born) was appointed head of the Prison Security-21. 1942), better known by the pseudonym "Brother Blow." Like many other Khmer Rouge, Kan Kek Yieu was born into a mixed Chinese-Khmer family in Kompong Thom province. The “chief executioner” of the Polpotov regime was in fact an intelligent and educated man. He graduated from school with good marks and entered the Lyceum of Suryavarman II in Siem Reap, then continued his studies in Phnom Penh - in the prestigious Lyceum Sisowat, where he received a bachelor's degree in mathematics. In 1964 was Keck entered the Pedagogical Institute, where in 1966 He received a diploma of a teacher and was assigned to a lyceum in the small town of Scone in Kampong Cham province. The disciples subsequently spoke of “Brother Blow” as a good and educated teacher. It was during his years at the lycée Kan Kek Iue who joined the Kampuchea Communist Party. When three students of Kan Kek Yeou were arrested for political reasons, he fled to the jungle, where he joined the Khmer Rouge. However, Kan Keck Yewu soon fell into the hands of the Sianuki police and was tortured in Prison Prison. Despite the lack of a court decision, Kan Keck Yieu was in prison for two years - until 1970, when he was released after an amnesty on the occasion of the coming to power of General Lon Nol. Kan Kek Yeu again fled to the jungle and joined the Khmer Rouge squad based in the Cardamon Mountains on the border with Thailand. Even during the partisan war in the jungle, Kan Kek Yeu entered the structure responsible for security and counter-intelligence issues of the Khmer Rouge. There, in the jungle, he headed his first prison, M-13. Two years later, he headed the prison "M-19", located in the jungle in the district of Aoral. After the Khmer Rouge came to power, Kan Kek Yieu headed Tuolsleng, which became the main prison of the Polpotov regime. In Tuolsleng, terrible conditions were created for the prisoners held there. The prisoners slept on the bare floor without beds, were chained. They were forbidden to talk to each other. On 04.30 in the morning, a rise began in prison. The prisoners were fed twice a day — four spoons of rice and leaf soup were given out. Drinking water without notice of protection is prohibited. Naturally, in such conditions in prison constantly erupted epidemics. Moreover, sometimes as torture, prisoners were forced to eat each other’s feces and drink urine. Virtually all of the Tuolsleng prisoners died in the end. In 1978 was another high-ranking “Red Khmer” who fell into disgrace with Paul Pot - Vorn Vet (1934-1978) was imprisoned in Tuolsleng concentration camp and subsequently killed there. A native of Siem Reap Province, Vorn Veta at birth was called Sok Touk. He was the son of a farmer and from 1953 participated in the national liberation and partisan movement. In 1963 was Vorn Wet became a member of the Central Committee of the Kampuchea Communist Party, and after the Khmer Rouge came to power, he occupied the posts of deputy prime minister and minister of industry, transport and fisheries. However, November 2 1978 Vorn Veta was arrested on charges of pro-Vietnamese sympathies and betrayal.



National and Cultural Policy of the Khmer Rouge

The Khmer Rouge ideology provided for a complete transformation of Cambodian society. One of the most important tasks in this context was to protect the Khmer culture from alien influence, primarily from the Western mass culture. Pol Pot himself later claimed that the books of progressive American and European authors were not prohibited in Kampuchea, but reactionary culture was banned. In this "Khmer Rouge" just could understand. American cultural influence destroyed the traditional societies of South and Southeast Asia. What they represent today, we see on the example of Thailand or the Philippines, and even post-Polpotov Cambodia. The fame of the world center of sex tourism was entrenched specifically for these countries, in which millions of young girls and young men find no other activity for themselves except selling their bodies to lustful foreigners. At the same time, they are not held back by any moral restrictions - the American cultural influence, manifested in the cultivation of money and consumerism, was able to push aside the traditional ideas of morality. The thirst for consumption turned out to be more important than self-esteem - and this is also one of the main manifestations of the notorious “Westernization” of Asian societies.

However, in addition to fencing the Khmer against Western influence, the Kampuchean Communists also embarked on a policy of suppressing national minorities. At the same time, no one touched the Khmer mountains - representatives of the Mon-Khmer peoples who lived in remote areas of the country. Moreover, it was the Khmer mountains that were considered the traditional pillar of the Polpotov regime, as they inhabited the least developed regions of the country economically and were subjected to social discrimination under the royal and Lonnol regimes. Ratanakiri province, populated with mountain Khmers, as we remember, at the beginning of the deployment of the partisan communist movement in the country turned into a “cradle” of the Khmer Rouge, where their main bases and training camps were located. The mountain tribes were not touched either - the people of the Austronesian language family, who lived in the mountainous areas of Cambodia and also engaged in backward farming, hunting and forest gathering. It is known that the personal bodyguard of Pol Pot Phi Fouon, by nationality, was a representative of the Zyaray people (jaray) belonging to the mountain Tyam. The soldiers of the military units that ensured the security of the party leadership were also recruited from the Khmer Rouge and the Tyam mountain range. The Khmer Rouge government hoped to completely assimilate the backward mountain peoples who did not have their own written culture and turn them into a component of a single Khmer nation.

A completely different policy was carried out by the Khmer Rouge against national minorities with their own developed culture and, in the long term, capable of becoming agents of foreign influence in the country. It is primarily about the Vietnamese, Chinese and Tyamskogo population. The Cambodian authorities persecuted Vietnamese people for obvious reasons - almost immediately after coming to power, the Khmer Rouge finally ruined relations with neighboring Vietnam. Since Vietnam claimed regional leadership, Pol Pot saw in Hanoi’s policy an immediate danger to his own power and political independence of Kampuchea and the Kampuchean Communist Party. Naturally, the Vietnamese, a large number of whom lived in the country, were considered as potential agents of influence of Hanoi. 1975 to 1978 about 270 thousand Vietnamese moved to Kampuchea from Vietnam. A significant part of the Kampuchean Vietnamese, however, went missing, which gives grounds for many researchers to consider them victims of the Polpotov regime. Another national group subjected to severe repression was the Thais. The 20 thousands living on the border of Kampuchea and Thailand were seen by Thais as the potential allies of Thailand, which adhered to the pro-American line and acted as one of the most important pillars of the anti-communist bloc in Southeast Asia. The blow fell on the Lao living in the north of the country. Lao were considered as allies of Laos, following in the wake of Vietnamese foreign policy and in pro-Soviet positions. Despite the fact that Kampuchea had friendly relations with China, the Kampuchean Chinese huaqiao were also seriously attacked by the Khmer Rouge. It was explained simply - in the countries of Southeast Asia, Chinese diasporas often succeed, as their representatives are actively engaged in business, including trade and usury. Like any traders, the Chinese in Southeast Asia cause envy and even hatred among the local indigenous people. Therefore, “Chinese pogroms” are not uncommon, the largest of which occurred in Indonesia. Naturally, for the Khmer peasants, the Chinese were associated with the bourgeoisie and acted as a completely understandable object of splashing negative emotions.

- Muslim tyamy in Cambodia

But the most extensive coverage both in the Soviet and in the Western press was the pursuit of tyamov (Cham). In contrast to the mountain tyam, the plain tyam, or simply tyam, was a developed people from ancient history and culture. At the beginning of our era, tyamies created in the territory of modern Cambodia a powerful state of Champa, which led the war against the Khmer Empire, and later with Vietnam and the Mongols, who tried to subdue Indochina to their influence. There was a time when Tamy professed Hinduism, which is still a Vietnamese Tyam religion. Then the Cambodian tyamies underwent Islamization. Currently, Cambodian customs are Sunni Islam. The Islamization of the Tyams was promoted by their linguistic proximity to the neighboring Malays - the Taymas speak the Malay-Polynesian languages ​​of the Austronesian language family. As the Tamy supported the regime of General Lon Nol, after the Khmer Rouge came to power, they were severely persecuted. Tyamov was resettled to remote areas of the country, renamed all the Tyam names of villages and natural objects, banned the use of the Tyam language not only at the official, but also at the household level. Naturally, Islam was also under a complete ban. So, the Khmer Rouge destroyed all 114 mosques in Cambodia. However, in some of them pigsty were equipped - especially for mockery of the religious feelings of the Muslims of Tyam. By the way, the Tyams themselves, resettled to other parts of the country, were forced to engage in breeding pigs - according to the Khmer Rouge, this was how the Tyams were re-educated and they abandoned the rules of the Islamic religion and traditional way of life. As for the religious leaders of Cambodian Muslims, they were all killed, including Imam Hari Roslos, Haji Suleiman and Haji Mat Suleiman. Many ordinary tyamy, who did not want to deviate from the traditional way of life and their religion, were destroyed, which gave grounds to accuse the Polpot regime later in organizing the genocide of the Tyamian population of Cambodia in 1975-1979.

Agricultural cooperatives as the basis of society

Unlike Soviet socialism, the Kampuchean model was oriented toward the rural way of life and proclaimed life in the rural community as the most perfect and possessing a “cleansing force”. In Kampuchea, a course was set up to create agricultural cooperatives in which people had to join communist life and assimilate work communist morality. According to Pol Pot, it was agricultural cooperatives — communes that were to become the basis for building a classless society of the future, in which the division of labor and the exploitation of man by man are leveled. In agricultural communes, work began at sunrise and stopped only at sunset. Every evening there were meetings of the commune, at which the past day and the behavior of its members understood. Naturally, those members of the commune who expressed dissatisfaction with the conditions of life or labor were proclaimed "dubious elements" with all the logical consequences - up to physical elimination. In the communes, not only private but also personal property was liquidated, right down to the dishes. There were no weekends and holidays. Agricultural communes have become the main form of organization of the Kampuchean society, performing not only economic, but also military-political functions.

In Polpot Kampuchea it was officially announced that the division of labor was abolished and, accordingly, the elimination of the differences between physical and mental labor. The intelligentsia as a social stratum was subject to liquidation, and its representatives - to re-education in agricultural cooperatives. Pol Pot's heightened attention to agriculture was due to the need for the development of the Cambodian economy. Conduct industrialization in Kampuchea on the type of the Soviet Union was not possible. Therefore, the basis of the Kampuchean economy was to be developed agriculture, the main product of which remained rice. In order to meet the country's needs for food, it was necessary to mobilize the energy of the masses to participate in agricultural production. For this purpose, a peasant mobilization society was built in Kampuchea. Pol Pot had no other way out. Especially when you consider that the country's economy was undermined by a long civil war and the consequences of American bombardment of Cambodian territory, as a result of which entire villages were wiped off the face of the earth along with their population.

Kampuchea, devastated by the civil war, experienced great food problems. The government of Kampuchea tried to solve these problems, primarily by developing the country's irrigation system. However, the tasks that were set before Kampuchea were difficult to implement - in reality, Kampuchea did not have adequate economic resources for such a rapid breakthrough in the construction of irrigation systems. The country's leadership planned to cover 1977-50% of agricultural land with 60 irrigation systems, 1978-60% with 70, and 1979-70% land with 80. It was also assumed on 80-90% to solve the problem of providing agricultural land with water, which would give the Kampuchean agrarian sector independence from nature, namely from the rains. Another component of the country's self-sustainment system was to limit domestic consumption of rice reserves in the country to the maximum. Minimum rates of rice consumption were introduced, which did not depend on the real harvest, success or failure of the country in agriculture. In Kampuchea, four categories of population were identified. The first category included members of the "avant-garde brigades" - the percussionists of agricultural production. Their daily ration of food was to be 500-600 grams of boiled rice per day, that is, three bowls. The second category, which included the bulk of the country's population, received 400-500 grams of rice per day. The third and fourth categories, which included old people, children, and disabled men and women, received 2 and 1,5 bowls of rice per day, respectively, that is, 350-400 and 300 grams of rice. However, in reality, even these figures were often overestimated, since in many cooperatives it was not possible to isolate such an amount of rice. But Kampuchea sought to constantly increase the volume of rice exports abroad. After all, rice remained the main export culture of the country, for which Kampuchea could receive foreign currency. In order to increase exports, Pol Pot and his associates ordered to reduce the area on which the country's traditional light rice was grown and reorient agriculture to grow heavy rice, which was in demand on the world market for agricultural products.



Rice mobilization and administrative zones

Irrigation work and rice cultivation have also become tools of the social mobilization policy of the Polpotov regime. Proclaiming the introduction of the four-year plan to increase the intensity of agricultural production, the Khmer Rouge, through mobilizing the population to participate in agricultural work, sought to maintain constant tension and consolidate the country's citizens in order to achieve the objectives. The leadership of the country constantly demanded from the leadership of the administrative zones into which Democratic Kampuchea was divided to supply a certain amount of rice to the center. At the same time, such figures were set that were not really achievable. However, the central leadership did not take into account the real possibilities of local governments to organize the cultivation and harvest of such quantities of rice and in case of violation of the set plans threatened repression. In turn, local management demanded satisfaction of plans for the supply of rice from agricultural cooperatives, in which individual consumption of rice was limited and harsh penalties were imposed for slow and unproductive work. Since local management could not send less rice to the center than was assigned under the four-year plan, all rice was actually taken from the work teams. Agricultural workers were forced to eat very poorly, the amount of rice in food decreased, the stews cooked on leaves and roots. Naturally, this did not contribute to the general health of agricultural workers and, accordingly, to an increase in labor productivity. Many people simply died, not maintaining such intense rhythms of work with extremely poor nutrition. If in the coastal areas, people had the opportunity to survive, being engaged in fishing, besides rice cultivation, in areas distant from rivers and reservoirs, the situation was particularly pitiable. Destruction of irrigation facilities as a result of floods and rains in autumn 1976 was a real disaster for Kampuchea. Built by the enormous efforts of agricultural workers, the canals and dams were destroyed. One of the reasons for such a slight destruction of irrigation facilities was the primitiveness of their construction, due to the lack of qualified specialists. Engineering and technical workers who received higher technical education under the colonial and royal regimes were under "reeducation", therefore they were not involved in the organization of construction work. Despite the fact that a number of Pol Pot’s associates suggested that the head of the government should involve specialists trained under the old regime, the Khmer Rouge leader refused, saying that these specialists are not the bearers of communist ideology. The refusal of the services of old specialists was also one of the reasons for the deterioration of the economic and social situation in Democratic Kampuchea. In contrast to the Soviet leadership, who applied to 1920-s.

By the way, the monetary system was abolished in Democratic Kampuchea. Back in 1973, the Khmer Rouge canceled money in the territories they controlled, and after taking Phnom Penh they blew up the national bank of the country, and turned the ministry of finance building into a fertilizer storehouse. The mass executions of things that occurred in Phnom Penh after the capture of the Cambodian capital by the communists were intended to demonstrate the hatred of the Khmer Rouge “to the consumer society”. Automobiles, home appliances, antiques and luxury items were dumped on the streets and squares of the Cambodian capital and smashed into sledgehammers. Adolescents mobilized into the army of the Khmer Rouge from the mountainous backward provinces of the country, who saw such things for the first time, gladly dealt with them, as they personified an exploitation society in their eyes in which the peasants of the Cambodian province got only the bottom of the social hierarchy - life poverty and eternal deprivation. The brutality of the peasant youth, who formed the main part of the Khmer Rouge armed groups, was explained by the fact that the Kampuchean revolution was primarily a revolt of the people against postcolonial power, corrupted and rotten, committed no less war crimes against the civilian population of the country, about which The Western press preferred not to report anything. It is clear that the rebellion of the peasants took monstrous forms, and the policy of the Polopotists was characterized by numerous excesses, which subsequently allowed them to overthrow the Khmer Rouge regime. Moreover, the excesses, as we considered above, were combined with the low efficiency of the social and economic policy of the communist state, which caused the plight of the population of Democratic Kampuchea.

The economic policy of the Polpotov government was one of the reasons for the emergence of a hidden opposition within the party-state leadership. Democratic Kampuchea was divided into three administrative zones, from which supplies of rice were required. However, the Eastern Administrative Zone, bordering Vietnam, was under the leadership of So Phim. A veteran of the revolutionary movement, So Phim, along with Pol Pot, Ieng Sari, Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea, was part of the ruling secret five of the Central Committee of the Kampuchea Communist Party. He had a strong position in the party and maintained contacts with neighboring Vietnam, which ensured him actual autonomy from the central government of Kampuchea. Moreover, the armed forces loyal to him were at the disposal of So Phima and Pol Pot simply was afraid to carry out a “purge” in the Eastern Administrative Zone. The consequence of this autonomy of the East was the complete cessation of the supply of rice to the central government already by 1977, the South-Western zone, on the border with Thailand, was headed by Ta Mok. Unlike So Phima, Ta Mok (1926-2006) was considered the closest ally and favorite of Pol Pot. A former Buddhist monk of Chinese-Khmer origin, he was in the 1960-ies. I joined the partisan movement, in 1970 I lost my shin and foot on one leg.

Ta Mok (pictured in youth and old age) was the initiator and direct organizer of a number of "cleansing", for which even in party circles he received the nickname "Butcher". He appealed to Pol Pot and, therefore, the latter tried not to burden the head of the South-Western administrative zone with impossible plans. Moreover, Pol Pot was counting on the support of Ta Mok and the armed formations under his control in the event of a confrontation with So Phim and other party opponents. The third administrative zone was the Northwest zone, which was the least fortunate. There was no strong leader able to talk on equal terms with the center, therefore it was the North-Western zone that the Polpotov government put the main burden of implementing plans for growing and supplying rice. After Muol Sambat announced that he could not fulfill the plan of the rice supply center, as he does not have agricultural equipment, his fate was predetermined. In the North-Western zone conducted a large-scale cleaning. Muol Sambat and his closest associates were executed. Then they executed all other senior officials of the North-Western zone, replacing them with specially arrived "Takhokivtsi" from the South-Western zone. However, the economic situation in the region has not improved, and the exploitation of people in the fields has only increased. As a result of a similar economic policy in 1977-1978. Kampuchea’s territory was embraced by real hunger, with rice consumption rates being reduced even in the South-West zone, which was led by a favorite of Pol Pot Ta Mok. Naturally, such a tense situation required resolution and soon it came.

To be continued ...
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  1. +4
    26 November 2015 07: 33
    I read with interest .. Thank you very much ... We look forward to continuing ..
  2. -7
    26 November 2015 08: 38
    The most typical communism.
    1. +5
      26 November 2015 09: 57
      it was precisely from this that Lenin warned. What will happen if an untrained cook is allowed to the administration ....
      1. +7
        26 November 2015 10: 32
        So Pol Pot and all his entourage were very educated people - behind the Sorbonne and other Parisian universities, the best high schools of Cambodia. Chief jailer Kan Keck Yieu was the country's best mathematician, teacher. Khieu Samphan - Doctor of Economics.
        1. +1
          26 November 2015 16: 28
          Half-pot is the most typical * tiligent *, educated, even clever and of course the following * theory *, spit that people are dying and life is becoming dangerous, the main thing is to unconditionally follow the prescribed programs. The programs were written by the French, and the French also gave the name to the Polpot regime. There was an opportunity to change owners, changed, and the fact that the positions of the old and new owners are so similar is logical, the ideas carried out by the Chinese were drawn up by the Jesuits, the very ones that created * ancient * China, and wrote the history of * ancient * China.
          In France, the experience with Polpot was not the only one, there the production of different * leaders * for the colonies was put on stream. And today such * guides * of French values ​​are being prepared in the colonies and where officially it seems to be independence already.
          1. 0
            23 November 2018 21: 04
            By the way, I also have a suspicion that Pol Pot and the company were recruited (in Paris?) And not by China. It’s too deliberately idiotic they did everything after coming to power. Again, they didn’t execute anyone from the Polpot elite (was it because in Paris, or, more likely, in Washington, they were afraid that they would speak before the execution and put pressure on Sihanouk and Hun Sen - who have enough of their skeletons in the closet?)
    2. -3
      26 November 2015 23: 42
      Quote: rustyle_nvrsk
      The most typical communism.


      Rather Typical !!! request
    3. 0
      23 November 2018 17: 12
      Typical anarchism in one bottle with nationalism, peppered with Maoism. Actually, in the story about the study of Pol Pot and company in Paris, it is clearly shown that their circle borrowed more from anarchism than from Marxism and Leninism (not to mention Stalinism). In our civil society, the anarchists put forward the idea of ​​destroying cities (and the calculations of theorists were enthusiastically received by the neophytes from the dense Selyuki). True, there were disagreements among the anarchists too. The more advanced part (especially the sailors) objected: "Darkness! Borscht and porridge until the end of the century? Have you seen the cinematograph in your imagination?"
      Unfortunately, Cambodia, unlike Russia, did not have a serious fleet, and there were no sailors among the "Khmer Rouge")))
  3. +2
    26 November 2015 09: 27
    No social experiments have been put on people.
  4. +6
    26 November 2015 10: 48
    The article is a huge plus. I wait further.

    The history of Southeast Asia of the 20th century is very interesting to study if you do not get tired of the pathos of names and long abbreviations.

    And about typical communism, I was in Thailand (Pattaya) and Vietnam (Haiphong and Ho Chi Minh City). At first glance, the difference is zero - thousands of fussy people, hundreds of scooters, bright lights.
    But having talked with both Vieta (in Russian) and Thais (in English), you immediately feel the difference. Where people are preoccupied with money and where work and family

    Respectfully..
    1. +2
      26 November 2015 11: 59
      I was in Cambodia in 2014, I talked with the population of the country, ordinary people, open, sociable, not spoiled by tourism as in neighboring Thailand, they are not very happy about their neighbors, the Vietnamese and Thais they remember the war!
      1. 0
        23 November 2018 17: 23
        Well it is clear. Cambodia once owned most of Thailand and the south of Vietnam. The neighbors not only made money at their expense, but the rest of Cambodia was often spread rot up to the Franks (and Thais even later - already in the 1940s). It is interesting that the Khmers have no such negativity with Lao, although Laos is also located on the former lands of the Khmer Empire (probably because the history of Laos has been almost as unenviable as Cambodia for the last three hundred years).
    2. +3
      26 November 2015 13: 18
      My friend traveled all over Asia. As he said about the Vietnamese, they strive to deceive, to cheat. Unlike Thais. Apparently, everyone has their own experience.
      1. 0
        27 November 2015 12: 03
        people all over the world are different both educated and not so in every nation! I was in Vietnam in 2011. Russian tourists generally feel good about leaving the home the cafe owner from Fantiet gave a good memory as a coffee filter for making coffee, a trifle, of course, but I remember it!
    3. 0
      23 November 2018 17: 16
      And Viet and Lao have more dignity than Thais (and the current Khmers, alas).
  5. +2
    26 November 2015 19: 58
    Thanks so much for such a large, detailed article. Such a study.

    Quote: Nikolay71
    No social experiments have been put on people.

    Here's what I don’t understand: experiments that are often similar to each other. But what’s the meaning of them? To pump money? Or to free the territory? Well, is that all, or many experiments are not completed?
    But experiments too --- USA, Australia, Saudi Arabia, ISIS?
    1. 0
      23 November 2018 17: 45
      Oh, the USA is a Masonic experiment from which the whole planet is bad! Almost all nations do not wait until someone closes this experiment (for example, the volcano in Fir-tree Ston).
      Australia is not an experiment, but simply a sedimentation tank for prisoners from England who did not earn a gallows, and there was nowhere to drive them after the separation of the overseas colonies in North America. Therefore, after 5 years they found a new place.
      But Saudi Arabia is an analogue of "CeEurope" (and in some ways even Cambodia under Pol Pot). There, in the 18th century, semi-savage Bedouins (an analogue of the Selyuk) fell in love with the teachings of the Wahhabis (in fact, the Muslim version of the Pharisees), put forward in opposition to the Shiites (the adaptation of Islam to local traditions) and Sufis (intellectuals of the Islamic world). Well, ISIS is the fighting dog of the Arabian oil kings, on which the Yankees and NATOids are betting (not wanting to think that tomorrow this dog may start tearing them up - as has already happened).
  6. 0
    27 November 2015 01: 48
    The sun sets in Cambodia at 6 p.m. Evening hours are their favorite time of day. The heat of the day is falling. The country calms down no earlier than 12 hours. It is now. But then they were unlikely to rest at that time. Most likely they held some political events. Although with the light they had a shit. There was no electricity.
    1. 0
      23 November 2018 17: 31
      With lamps on wood alcohol, you can hold meetings without electricity. And to drive alcohol from local trees - how nefig do. Cut down a palm tree, top off the top with leaves, too, grease both ends with clay and burn it so that it seizes. Drive pegs into the barrel and throw in the sunshine itself. After a few days, the juices will ferment, take out the pegs, substitute the dishes and moonshine whips into it. And then only overtake it in the simplest apparatus and a completely flammable liquid for the lamps is ready (even picky engines can be fed - but not for very long).
  7. +1
    27 November 2015 15: 21
    Thank you, Ilya. A wonderful series of articles. Discovered many previously unknown details.
    Moreover, while reading, I caught myself thinking that the communism performed by Pol Pot turned out to be some kind of ... strange, fake. Those. there is clearly some local little nationalism - all these repressions directed against other nationalities; Moreover, Pol Pot was negative about the Vietnamese long before the CPV became a real force in Indochina.

    Another thing that struck me very much was the desire to drag the country into the Stone Age (cities down, education down) and the efforts that were made in this direction. With that, as you rightly noted, Pol Pot himself had a very excellent education. It seems that he was striving to realize the scenario "submissive, uneducated rural masses - an enlightened ruler."
    1. 0
      23 November 2018 18: 11
      Apparently the reason for the hostility of some of the Khmer "revolutionaries" to the Vietnamese is that, within the framework of French Indochina, it was Vietnam that was the center and Cambodia turned out to be a province, and the Vietnamese, more than Khmers, succeeded in obtaining a European education and a career in administration and business. In addition, it is characteristic that Pol Pot's entourage is mostly half-breeds (there were also rumors about Pol Pot himself that his family was of Chinese origin) and they tend to be holier than the Pope (this can be compared with the Third Reich, where Hitler and almost all of his entourage were with varying degrees of "chosenness").
      As for the "communism" in the Pol Pot version, it really looks fake. Suffice it to recall how quickly after the overthrow, the Pol Potans changed their shoes and began to raise "democratic socialism" on the shield, having entered into an alliance with the anti-communist regimes of South-VA and the Yankes, as well as with the "worst enemies" - the anti-communist Lonnolites.
      Well, about everything else - Arkanar Strugatsky in its purest form - first with gray, then with black. To lower the whole country to raise his own outstanding personality. At the same time, the consciousness of Pol Pot and the company remained dormantly small-town, thoroughly provincial. They did not even understand that without educated personnel it was impossible at the end of the 20th century to have a serious army and military-industrial complex and, accordingly, win the war. It seems that they decided that after the defeat of the weak regime of Lon Nol, who did not have support in the country and the departure of the Yankees (knocked out by the Vietnamese), he himself was not a brother. Or maybe they hoped that China would fight for them. But in any case they got burned.

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