SUMMARY
The popular use of the name ‘Khmer Rouge’ started in the mid-1960s when then-head of state Prince Sihanouk referred to leftist opposition as “Red Khmer” as separate from the “Blue Khmer” rightist opposition. According to official party history, the party was founded in 1960 as the WPK (Workers Party of Kampuchea, Pak Polakor Kampuchea), but it was merely a renaming of the KPRP (Khmer People’s Revolutionary Party). This party, in turn, was established in 1951 following the dissolution of the Vietnamese-dominated ICP (Indo-China Communist Party, Dang Cong San Dong Duong.)
The 1960 Congress was the conclusion of an internal power struggle as the leadership of the party became dominated by young radicals who had studied in France rather than veterans from the Cambodian independence war. Among them were Pol Pot, Ieng Sary, Son Sen, and some years later, Khieu Samphan. In September 1966, the name was changed to the CPK (Communist Party of Kampuchea) which eventually became the PDK (Party of Democratic Kampuchea) in 1981.
The Khmer Rouge was the government of Cambodia between 17 April 1975 and 7 January 1979, when it referred to itself as Angkar (the organization). Khmer Rouge participated in the opposition alliances FUNK (National United Front of Kampuchea, Front uni national du Kampuchéa) 1970-75, and FUNCINPEC (United National Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia, Front uni national pour un Cambodge independent, neuter, pacifique et coopératif) 1981-91.
Despite being ousted from government in 1979, the inner circle of the Khmer Rouge leadership remained in place as the organization established military camps in the eastern regions of the country. Even though Khieu Samphan in August 1985 was officially established as the leader of the Khmer Rouge, it is believed that Pol Pot remained the de facto leader. Of the top leaders, Ieng Sary defected to the government in 1996 and Son Sen was murdered, allegedly by Pol Pot, in 1997 for intending to open negotiations. Pol Pot was arrested, tried, and sentenced to life imprisonment by a ‘people’s tribunal’ in 1997 after which Ta Mok declared himself the supreme military commander. The remaining two political leaders, Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea, surrendered to the government in December 1998, and Ta Mok was arrested in Thailand three months later.
Khmer Rouge has been involved in the intrastate and one-sided categories of UCDP organised violence. During Khmer Rouge as government, Cambodia was involved in interstate conflicts against Thailand and Vietnam.
