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Issue:
Genocide
History of
Genocide: Cambodia
Text below
replicated in whole from The Campaign To End Genocide
[http://www.endgenocide.org/genocide/cambodia.htm]
When:
1975 to 1979
Where: Kampuchea
/ Cambodia
Estimated Numbers:
1.7 million people killed
out of a population of 8 million (21% of the country's
population).
Background & The Genocide
Cambodia traditionally has
suffered from ethnic rivalry leading to several exchanges of
political power between the substantial Vietnamese minority
and the Buddhist Khmer majority. When independence came in
1953, Prince Norodom Sihanouk took charge of the newly born
state. A revolution led by General Lon Nol in 1970
temporarily dispelled the government. This government
attempted to suppress the Communist and Vietnamese presence.
In the meantime, the small Communist group, the Khmer Rouge,
grew in popularity and by 1975 was able to take over,
proclaiming the Republic of
Democratic Kampuchea.
In
asserting its new power, the Party began a campaign of
cleansing from 1975 to 1978. The Kampuchean Communist
Party's interpretation of the state required destruction of
cities and the foreign-educated elite in order to rustify,
or to make rural, the country. The goal was a centralized
communal organization of atheistic factory workers and
peasant farmers free of external support. Cities were raided
and people relocated to communal farms. Most people were
left to starve or work to death. Although international
organizations offered aid to the demolished population, the
government refused outside assistance.
Ethnically, the targets of the cleansing were Vietnamese and
Chinese nationals, Muslims (particularly ethnic Chams), and
Buddhist monks. They all were virtually, if not entirely,
eliminated from the population by expulsion, execution, or
starvation.
The
Vietnamese had long been in conflict with
Kampuchea and responded to the
violence against its nationals. A Vietnamese invasion in
1979 replaced the government with moderate Communists
sympathetic to Vietnam's interests. The Khmer Rouge became a guerilla organization and began a
civil war that continued until a tenuous peace was reached
in 1991. A new coalition government (excluding the Khmer
Rouge) under United Nations guidance took power.
Cambodia since has taken steps
toward trying members of the Khmer Rouge as war criminals.
International observers have been hesitant to call the Khmer
Rouge's actions genocide. Since the motivation of the
perpetrators was generally political, the case does not fit
in the common United Nations definition for genocide, but
other definitions include the Cambodian genocide as one of
the most horrific. Often, the 1979 Vietnamese invasion of
Cambodia that deposed Pol Pot
during the America's controversial Vietnam War is instead
the focus of criticism since the US backed the Lon Nol
government as one of its anti-Communism spheres of
influence. Only in the past few years have international
organizations, including the UN, begun to acknowledge the
crimes. The new Cambodian government is preparing to summon
a war crimes tribunal. Yet, international observers who
believe that the government's court cannot credibly try the
Khmer Rouge perpetrators have asked the United Nations to
mediate.
Resources on Cambodian Genocide
The
Cambodian Genocide Group (http://www.cambodiangenocide.org/)
History of
Genocide: Rwanda
For 100
days (April 6 to July 16) in 1994, 800 000 men, women and
children were brutally murdered in Rwanda. The victims were
Tutsi and the moderate Hutus who supported them. The world
largely turned its back on Rwanda, and did nothing to stop
the killings. The UN did send in Canadian Lieutenant General
Romeo Dellaire to “ensure that peace was maintained in
Rwanda”, but the UN Security Council did not give him the
support he needed to stop the genocide; and General Dellaire
was not able to make much of a dent in the Genocide. The
general believes that if he had been given a few thousand
more troops and a mandate to act pre-emptively, he could
have stopped the killings.
General
Dellaire’s new book Shake Hands with the Devil: the
Failure of Humanity in Rwanda, and the new documentary
about Dellaire’s return to Rwanda for the 10-year
anniversary of the genocide, Shake Hands with the Devil:
The Journey of Romeo Dellaire are great resources to
understanding what happened in Rwanda.
Other Resources on Rwanda:
Organizations:
Remembering Rwanda (www.vistiontv.ca/RememberRwana/main_pf.htm
)
Hope
for Rwanda’s Children Fund (www.hopefund.on.ca)
Books:
“We
Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will be Killed with our
Families”
-by Philip Gourevitch
“Conspiracy to Murder: The Rwanadan Genocide”
-by Linda Melvern
“A
Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide”
-by Samantha Power
“Rwanda: the Preventable Genocide”
-by Gerald Caplan (available only online:
http://www.aegistrust.org/images/stories/oaureport.pdf)
A Current
Genocide: Sudan
Background/General Information:
Darfur,
a region in western Sudan, is home to what the United
Nations has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Since February 2003, over 400,000 men, women and children
have died while another 2.5 million innocent civilians have
been forced to flee their homes. The humanitarian, security
and political situation continue to deteriorate: atrocities
continue, people are still dying in large numbers of
malnutrition and disease, and a new famine is feared. The
international community is failing to protect civilians or
to influence the Sudanese government to do so. (from
www.savedarfur.org)
Quick Ways
to Help:
Sign
an electronic postcard
at
www.MillionVoicesForDarfur.org
Wear
a green “Not on My Watch” Wristband:
http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-88482264721289/index.html
How Can You
Help?:
The
Save Darfur Coalition
is an alliance of over 140 diverse faith-based,
humanitarian, and human rights organizations, assembled to
raise public awareness and to mobilize efforts to help end
the atrocities and reduce the suffering in Darfur and nearby
refugee camps.
Here
are several ideas ways an individual or a group can help:
Ask a teacher to devote a
class to
studying genocide.
Collect signatures for a
petition calling
for a strong response by the Canadian government and the
International Community to the crisis in Darfur. Remember
that petitions should include the names and addresses of the
signatories and the petition statement should be printed on
the top of each page. Address the petition to the Canadian
Government or the UN.
Run a Postcard Campaign:
The Million Voices for Darfur campaign helps individuals
contact President Bush and demand that he do more to protect
the civilians of Darfur. You can order postcards or
participate electronically at
www.MillionVoicesForDarfur.org .
Donate money to relief
efforts. Make a
contribution to a humanitarian organization that is
providing aid to the people of Darfur. A list of several of
these organizations can be found here. You can also see a
list of Coalition members and their websites. Or you can
donate online now to the Save Darfur Coalition's fund,
putting your contribution to work for public awareness and
education about the plight of the Darfurian people.
Fast.
Fasting for a day is not only a very personal way to tap
into your compassion for the suffering of others, but also a
very powerful way to act in solidarity with the people of
Darfur. Hold a Sudan fast in solidarity with those who are
suffering from hunger and donate the funds that would have
been spent on meal (or collect pledges from friends and
family). The money can be donated to the Save Darfur
Coalition or any of the humanitarian organizations working
in Darfur to help with relief work.
Hold a fundraiser or
benefit for Darfur.
Funds are desperately needed throughout Darfur and Chad to
deliver food, shelter, medical supplies and humanitarian
relief. There are many ways to fundraise for this effort,
including selling green wristbands or ribbons, holding a
bake sale or concert, hosting a film screening, or
collecting donations.
Host a candle-lighting
ceremony or candlelight vigil.
Coordinate the event in order to commemorate those who have
died. Include poems, readings or prayers that promote peace.
Invite other organizations to present readings.
Identify and contact a
sister school (or church, or community)
in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East or South America
and get them involved. International activity is vital!
Organize a small gathering.
You can distribute information or watch a video presentation
about Darfur. The
Save Darfur Coalition will have a DVD on Darfur and US advocacy available mid-February, 2006.
After watching the video,
the group may decide to take further actions together,
perhaps even hosting a public event. The
Organize a teach-in or a
presentation.
Invite humanitarian experts who are working in the region to
present at religious and civic institutions, community
groups, or your college campus. Set up a photo display and
tables for people send letters. Supply green ribbons. Send
an email to
speakers@savedarfur.org
for speaker suggestions.
Post flyers
(http://savedarfur.org/misc/DarfurPoster.pdf)
around your campus to increase awareness and educate
students, teachers and administrators about the genocide in
Darfur.
Push your student council
to pass a resolution
condemning the atrocities in Darfur and calling upon Canada,
the US and the UN to take further effective actions.
Put together a photo
exhibit featuring pictures from Darfur.
Click
here(http://savedarfur.org/go.php?q=/100Hours/PhotosOfDarfur.html)
for a list of websites featuring photos of the crisis in
Darfur. Many of the photos include captions, which is often
very helpful for educating others. If you are familiar with
PowerPoint, you can also incorporate the photos in a
presentation.
Wear a green wristband or
ribbon. Hand
them out with a flyer explaining why it’s important to draw
attention to the situation in Darfur. Ask a teacher, an
administrator or a local celebrity to wear a green wristband
or ribbon.
Write Letters
to President George W.
Bush, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and your Member of
Parliament.
Also see their
High school Advocacy (http://savedarfur.org/go.php?q=highschool/highSchoolActivism.html)
and University Activism
(http://savedarfur.org/go.php?q=collegeCampusOrganizing.html)
pages.
(adapted from
www.savedarfur.org )
Resources
Genocide Watch www.genocidewatch.org
Human
Rights Watch:
www.humanrightswatch.org |
