Sharon Wu
Student at NYU
The Huffington Post Blog
Posted: 05/09/2012
Between 1975 and 1979, 1.67 million Cambodians died as a result of
Communist reform and American bombing. However, this genocide is
considered to be one of the most under reported global crises of the
twentieth century. The lack of reporting contributed greatly to the lack
of action against the perpetrators. This paper examines press coverage
of Cambodia's genocide in order to determine how the press response
reflected American foreign policy.
I examined articles from 1970 (when civil war in Cambodia first broke
out) to 1985 (when the Communist Party's General Secretary technically
resigned). I used articles from The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times,
which were the three largest American newspapers that maintained
correspondents in Southeast Asia during those years. I also examined
editorial pieces from TIME, The Nation and The New York Review of Books, where many of the intellectual debates about Cambodia were published years later.
Background
From 1965 to 1969, both Johnson and Nixon ordered the bombing of
eastern Cambodia in hopes of destroying Communist Vietnamese
strongholds. Both bombing campaigns killed thousands of Cambodian
non-combatants and devastated infrastructure and vital resources.
Cambodian head of state Prince Norodom Sihanouk fought tirelessly to
maintain Cambodia's neutrality throughout the Vietnam War. However, once
the bombing began and Cambodians were dying in the thousands, he
struggled to find a solution.
In 1970, Sihanouk was overthrown by Marshall Lon Nol. However, Lon
Nol was incapable of running the state. His ineffective government
quickly gave in to corruption, terror, and oppression. Additionally, he
authorized a devastating third wave of U.S. bombing to kill off
Cambodian Communist insurgents seeking to overthrow his government.
It was under these unsteady conditions that the Communist Khmer Rouge
began gaining support. They viciously fought Lon Nol's soldiers for
control of Cambodia. Lon Nol's fragmented army stood little chance
against the fierce and aggressive Khmer Rouge soldiers.
In 1975, Khmer Rouge soldiers finally conquered the capital city of
Phnom Penh. Led by the mysterious Pol Pot, the Marxist-inspired Khmer
Rouge guaranteed recovery, but their actions completely contradicted
their promises. The Khmer Rouge completely sealed off the country from
foreign influence. Borders were guarded, phone lines cut and mail
services discontinued. All foreigners were forced to leave Cambodia.
This became a critical obstacle for foreign reporters seeking to write
about the country.
After their takeover, the Khmer Rouge ordered the mass evacuation of
all city inhabitants to the countryside. Approximately 10,600 people
died during this forced exodus. The Khmer Rouge also enforced
agricultural collectivization policies that required every person to
labor in grueling conditions in the countryside. Thousands died from
starvation, disease and overwork.
Thousands more were systematically murdered. Unjustified torture and
executions were commonplace. Anyone considered an enemy to the state was
eliminated. Ethnic minorities and the educated elite were massacred.
Mass graves were scattered throughout Cambodia.
The Khmer Rouge's reign finally ended in January 1979 when Vietnamese
forces invaded Cambodia and drove leaders out of Phnom Penh. They
continued fighting for control of Cambodia for many years afterwards,
but without success.
The most accurate statistic, by Yale historian Ben Kiernan, says that
1.67 million of a total of 7.89 million Cambodians died during these
years. Approximately 21 percent of the population perished under
Communist rule.
Findings
American politicians and the public lacked the necessary information
to devise a viable solution. There was definitely enough press about
mass deaths to alarm the public, but journalists simply couldn't provide
enough information to persuade anyone to take action.
Reporting on Cambodia's genocide was incredibly difficult. Because
the Khmer Rouge closed the country, it was almost impossible for foreign
correspondents to report directly. Instead, they depended mostly on
refugee testimonies. Thousands of civilians managed to escape to refugee
camps in Thailand. These refugees became a primary source of
information.
However, journalists were criticized for using only refugee
testimonies because their accounts were usually unverifiable.
Journalists had no way of knowing if their stories were true, but there
was no one else to confirm with. As a result, American media consumers
were very skeptical of the already sparse information they received.
Those that did follow Cambodia's genocide understood that the only
real solution was a military intervention. But after years of fighting
in Vietnam, no one wanted to send more American soldiers to Indochina.
American politicians never would have been able to garner enough public
and political support to send troops to Cambodia.
This tied closely to the subject of culpability, which was discussed
widely in the press. After Cambodia was opened up again and Americans
had a better understanding of what exactly transpired, newspapers
immediately began discussing who was to blame.
Naturally, the Khmer Rouge was solely responsible for systematic
murder. However, many scholars, including Noam Chomsky, very publicly
criticized the U.S. for contributing to the genocide as well. These
scholars published long editorials regarding the issue of
responsibility.
Firstly, they believed the U.S. played a large role in creating the
political atmosphere from which the Khmer Rouge grew. Due to U.S.
bombing and Lon Nol's inefficacy, Cambodians suffered immensely in a
dysfunctional society. Their growing frustration drove them to support
the Khmer Rouge, who promised to help the nation recuperate.
Secondly, the U.S. was strongly criticized for the extensive bombing,
which destroyed vital resources. Critics of American foreign policy
blamed the U.S. for the deaths related to disease and starvation. Even
if the Khmer Rouge had not taken over, these deaths still would have
occurred due to destruction.
In defense of all the people who stood by without taking action, one
could ask, "What could we have realistically accomplished?" After
Vietnam, no one in the U.S. wanted to see troops in Cambodia. It was an
enormously complicated situation that couldn't easily be resolved simply
with money or soldiers. Stopping the Khmer Rouge was one thing;
rescuing the Cambodian population was another. Cambodia was burdened
with a decade of fighting, corruption, famine, and murder. Saving
Cambodia would mean a complete reformation of Cambodia's society,
government and economy. There were no simple solutions.
3 comments:
There were no American bombing in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. The killing of Cambodians in this period were predominantly the works of Khmer Rouge and Sihanouk the National traitor of the Khmer people
10 May 2012 11:52 AM
Between 1975 and 1979, 1.67 million Cambodians died as a result of Communist reform and American bombing.
I’m not sure if you fully understand this phrase, read it again.
American bombing + Khmer rouge + revenge + war escalation + hatred of Lon nol regime and + the killing fields, as a result between 1975 and 1979.
10 May 2012 11:52 AM. You need to open your fish brain and do some research. Have you got any source or facts to back up your claims? Many former Khmer Rouge still claims they never killed any Khmer during the Pol Pot Regime, now you cant possibly be a former Khmer Rouge with a stupid fish brain.
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