An Incomplete History of Cambodia

By Adamsecs2

  • Independence from France

    Cambodia becomes independent from France and becomes the Kingdom of Cambodia.

  • Pol Pot leads the CPK

    Pol Pot became the leader of the CPK.

  • The US secretly bomb North Vietnamese in Cambodia

    The US begins a secret bombing campaign against North Vietnamese forces in Cambodia.

  • Prince Norodom Sihanouk is overthrown

    Prince Norodom Sihanouk was overthrown. Prime Minister Lon Nol took his place.

  • Year Zero begins

    People who live in cities are forcibly moved to the countryside to become agricultural workers. Money becomes worthless, basic freedoms become scarce, and religion is banned. The Khmer Rouge use the phrase "Year Zero".

  • Torture and starvation ensue

    Hundreds of thousands of educated middle-class citizens are tortured and executed in special centers. Other people starve or die from disease or exhaustion. The total number of deaths over the next three years is estimated to be at least 1.7 million.

  • Cambodia is renamed

    The country is re-named Democratic Kampuchea.

  • Pol Pot becomes prime minister

    Pol Pot becomes prime minister.

  • Vietnamese forces invade

    Vietnamese forces invade in a lightning assault.

  • Phnom Penh is taken

    Phnom Penh is taken by the Vietnamese. Khmer Rouge forces and Pol Pot flee to the Thailand border.

  • The People's Republic of Kampuchea is established.

    The People's Republic of Kampuchea is established.

  • A Pol Pot and leng Sary are found guilty of genocide.

    A Pol Pot and Ieng Sary are found guilty of genocide.

  • Lon Nol dies

    Lon Nol dies.

  • The Vietnamese withdraw

    Vietnamese troops withdraw.

  • The Paris Agreement

    A peace agreement is signed in Paris.

  • Pol Pot is put on trial

    Pol Pot is put on trial by the Khmer Rouge and sentenced to life imprisonment.

  • The death of Pol Pot

    Pol Pot dies.

  • Khmer Rouge movement collapses

    The Khmer Rouge movement fully collapsed. All leaders had defected to the Royal Government of Cambodia, been arrested, or died.

  • Case 002

    The tribunal began Case 002, trying three out of the four surviving top leaders of the Khmer Rouge.

  • Ieng Sary dies

    Ieng Sary dies.

  • Sources

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-13006828
    https://www.cambodiatribunal.org/history/cambodian-history/chronology-of-the-khmer-rouge-movement/
    http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/07/25/cambodia.khmer.rouge.timeline/index.html
    https://www.cambodiatribunal.org/history/cambodian-history/khmer-rouge-history/
    https://www.britannica.com/biography/Norodom-Sihanouk
    https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/lon-nol-5993.php