The Path to Power

Although no one could have thought at the time of its formation that Khmer Rouge would be able to take control of the entire territory in Cambodia, but fortune swung favorably in their way when King Sihanouk was ousted in a coup by the Premier General Lon Nol in 1970. King Nordom Sinahouk, who is considered to be a central figure in the national history of Cambodia, was forced to an exile in China.

This turned the country from the Kingdom of Cambodia to the pro-American Khmer Republic on October 9, 1970. Historians often deem the coup as a political intervention from the United States due to the anti-American stance of the King and his tolerance for the activity of the North Vietnamese communist forces within the Cambodian borders. Pol Pot had returned from Paris along with his fellow students such as Ieng Sary with communist ideas inspired from the French Communist Party and overtook the leadership of the KPRP.

Although initially Khmer Rouge were anti-imperialist and anti-colonial in their approach, and used to struggle against the King’s regime, but this turn of events made them consider a new opportunity to gain their control over the country. While in exile, King Sihanouk developed an alliance with the Khmer Rouge under the title of GRUNK, who were now struggling against Lon Nol, who himself had assumed the title of the Head of the State.

Even at that time, many Cambodians, especially those living in the rural areas, believed that King Sinahouk was the rightful Head of the State. This fact really helped the Khmer Rouge or the Communist Party of Kampuchea in their insurgencies, since the rural population believed that they were struggling for the restoration of the King to the throne. However, they had no clue about what kind of ideas this political group was planning to impose on them.

But the newly formed Khmer Republic had a lot of enemies to deal with and it only had a distant ally in United States. Despite the US military aid, they had to face the threat of the North Vietnamese Viet Cong, which was supporting both the Khmer Rouge and the supporters of King Sihanouk. This armed conflict grew into a civil war, which continued to weaken the foundation of the unpopular regime of Lon Nol.

The fighting came to a brief halt as a result of the Paris Peace Accord of 1973, which was even supported by the North Vietnamese forces, but the Khmer Rouge was determined to continue its armed struggle against the regime of Lon Nol, who had become the President of the Republic by this time. However, the communist forces were fiercely resisted by American carpet bombings. But the US aid to the Khmer Republic did not last for long.

In 1974, the Royal Capital of Oudong fell to the Khmer Rouge, who brutally murdered government officials and set fire to the buildings in the city, which was a sign of things to come for Phnom Penh. Although by the time the communist forces were surrounding the capital of the Republic, they were literally in shambles, but a timely supply from China injected fresh blood in the veins of the battered communist forces and Phnom Penh fell to them on April 17, 1975. Earlier on April 1, foreseeing the inevitable defeat, Lon Nol resigned and fled the country.

This laid the foundation of Cambodia under the rule of the Khmer Rouge, and the new title of the Country became the “Democratic Kampuchea”. King Norodom Sinahouk was declared the Head of State as the Prince, only later to be kicked out of office by them. The first Prime Minister was Samdech Penn Nouth. The Khmer Rouge sought to form an egalitarian and agrarian state, and resorted to drastic measures in order to do so. The party leader Pol Pot was the main figure behind the new regime, and became the Prime Minister from April 17, 1976 to the fall of the regime in January 1979.