The Khmer Rouge, nationalists and communists, seized power in Cambodia on April 17, 1975. They immediately evacuated the city of Phnom Penh.
The party, led by Pol Pot, wanted to establish an independent communist regime which would not depend on communist parties from neighboring countries such as China, Vietnam and the Soviet Union (USSR). The Khmer Rouge used terror to enforce their power.
The type of government that the Khmer Rouge intended to form could only be supported by a uniform society. Pol Pot and his party conducted ethnic and social cleansing: all ethnic groups and religions, along with any individuals they deemed unsuitable were eliminated. Cities were quickly evacuated as urban centres were seen as the symbol of the old regime. They were seen as symbols of a partnership with American imperialism. Anyone viewed as a supporter of this imperialism was assassinated, including executives, officials and soldiers.
The Khmer Rouge believed that Cambodian purity was only possible among the peasantry. The elite, officials, members of institutions, intellectuals and anyone who was literate, were systematically massacred. Anyone who attempted to flee Cambodia was also assassinated and many people were tortured. Pol Pot officially became prime minister in 1976, which gave him more power.
Imperialism is a policy of expansion and domination by one country over another. The country practising this policy tries to create an empire that imposes its cultural, economic, military and other decisions.
The massacres continued until January 7, 1979, when Vietnamese soldiers took control. Pol Pot died in 1998 without having been tried. Cambodian society was left without any intellectuals. Executioners and victims also had to learn how to live side by side.