POL POT

by Sopheak HOR

POL POT - photo from www.racketboy.com

Pol Pot was one of the most savage dictators in the world, a communist leader of Khmer Rouge that ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979, and caused the death of more than one million people. Pol Pot was born on 19 May 1925 in Prek Sbav, Kompong Thong province in central Cambodia. His real name is Saloth Sar. He got scholarship to study in Paris, after he came back to Cambodia in 1953, he become a communist leader movement.  Pol Pot made guerrilla bases to fight the government of King Sihanouk.

           

Originality, he was believed to have a good morality of Buddhist monk rather than a dictator. Historian David Chandler gathered analysis of Pol Pot’s characteristic from various researches, interviews and from people who know Pol Pot. Chandler said that “Victims of Pol Pol’s regime, they were unwilling to alter or deny their relatively pleasant recollections of the man [Saloth Sar]”. Pol Pot’s siblings described him as “sweet-tempered, equable child”. His schoolmates remembered him as “mediocre student but a pleasant company” and very polite. One said, he “thought a lot, but said very little”. No one thought that he become a sinister man like this. And there is no one who knew clearly how can was able to get scholarship at Paris in 1949 because he was only an average student. He lost his scholarship in 1953 because he never took examination. When he was at Paris he volunteered work with Cambodian student and joined the work with communist party at there. After he came back home in 1953 without degree, he joined Kampuchea People’s Revolutionary Party that was communist party. He was known by everyone as Brother Number One or Pol Pot. He overpowered the government of Cambodia led by Lon Nol in 1975. April 17, 1975 his regime evacuated people out of Phnom Penh and no culture, education, religion, entertainment and commerce. He was behind everything and no one know why and how could he do all of these. Pol Pot’s regime overthrew in 1979. He was arrested and sentenced to life under house arrest. On April 15, 1998, he heard the news on a Voice of America radio program that he was going to be sentenced to an international tribunal. He died that night by heart attack.

Pol Pot was intelligent enough to brainwash the majority of the people, but he was ignorant to aim for something he will never get. Even though he overpowered the entire country for more than three years, he was weak. He could not control his own ego. He let his greediness and ego controlled himself. Consequently, when he died of heart attack, much later after his regime, no one shed a single tear. He was repaid back with no respect, love, or empathy. His name will forever remain a symbol of hatred.

Sources:
 http://asianhistory.about.com/od/cambodia/p/Pol-Pot-Biography.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/pot_pol.shtml