how it started:
The antecedents for the Cambodian Genocide are two-fold:
During the 1960's, Cambodia's form of government was a monarchy, under the rule of Prince Sihanouk. In 1970, Prince Sihanouk was overthrown in a military coup by a conservative right-wing party. The new leader of the "Khmer Republic" was Lieutenant-General Lon Nol. However, while this transition of power took place, the recently overthrown Prince Sihanouk and his followers joined forces with their previous enemy - a communist, guerilla organization known as the Khmer Rouge. Once the Khmer Rouge gained strength, they attacked Lon Nol's government and civil war began.
Secondly, Cambodia was entangled in Vietnam's (Cambodia's neighbor to the East) conflicts. Civil war was occurring in Vietnam between Communist North Vietnam and pro-Western South Vietnam. While Prince Sihanouk attempted to keep neutrality during these conflicts, North Vietnam was allowed to use one of Cambodia's northern ports to re-fuel armies and stock up on supplies. Therefore, the United States began to bomb portions of Cambodia to filter out these Vietnamese enemy groups. Indeed, the Khmer Rouge disliked US involvement in their country and sought to take power to eliminate this interference.
During the 1960's, Cambodia's form of government was a monarchy, under the rule of Prince Sihanouk. In 1970, Prince Sihanouk was overthrown in a military coup by a conservative right-wing party. The new leader of the "Khmer Republic" was Lieutenant-General Lon Nol. However, while this transition of power took place, the recently overthrown Prince Sihanouk and his followers joined forces with their previous enemy - a communist, guerilla organization known as the Khmer Rouge. Once the Khmer Rouge gained strength, they attacked Lon Nol's government and civil war began.
Secondly, Cambodia was entangled in Vietnam's (Cambodia's neighbor to the East) conflicts. Civil war was occurring in Vietnam between Communist North Vietnam and pro-Western South Vietnam. While Prince Sihanouk attempted to keep neutrality during these conflicts, North Vietnam was allowed to use one of Cambodia's northern ports to re-fuel armies and stock up on supplies. Therefore, the United States began to bomb portions of Cambodia to filter out these Vietnamese enemy groups. Indeed, the Khmer Rouge disliked US involvement in their country and sought to take power to eliminate this interference.