In the Shadows of Utopia: The Khmer Rouge and the Cambodian Nightmare

He trained as a doctor in the Khmer Rouge's main hospital during the civil war and worked as a surgeon in Phnom Penh under Democratic Kampuchea. Asked what went wrong, his answer was that nothing did, not until 1977. He does not blame Pol Pot. He blames saboteurs, factions and the Vietnamese, which is exactly what the regime told him to believe, and he still does. 

In this bonus episode, I sit down to go through and explain an interview I recently conducted with an ex-Khmer Rouge doctor, who we will refer to as 'Uncle'.

He lived through the events we have been covering so extensively in the last few episodes of the podcast: the start of the war, Sihanouk's call for his people to join the resistance against Lon Nol, the Vietnamese communists fighting in Cambodia, training to become a Khmer Rouge doctor in their primary hospital during the civil war, and then going on to become a surgeon in Phnom Penh during the regime's time in power.

While he obviously has certain biases and beliefs about what the Khmer Rouge were, what went wrong, and why, this is still a fascinating piece of history to contend with. Hearing from the Khmer Rouge themselves about what they felt they were trying to accomplish, his own thoughts about communism, and his conviction that nothing was going wrong in the country until 1977. He did not blame Pol Pot but, like many Khmer Rouge, he instead blamed 'factions', bad actors, saboteurs, and those who were colluding with the Vietnamese.

We get a very one-sided view of the story here, and I put it into context for you, and challenge the views this Khmer Rouge doctor had come to believe about their war, their time in power, and who was really responsible for what happened.

I must extend a deep gratitude to Chhay Lim, who organised this trip, and organised contacts for me to be able to speak with. 

In February 1971 Lon Nol suffered a stroke and was flown to Hawaii to recover. Many hoped he would not come back. He did, and by December the army under his command had suffered a defeat on Route 6 from which it never recovered.

Time Period Covered: March to December 1971

What was the political fallout from Lon Nol's stroke? How did race and religion become such a key theme of his regime? What led to the worst military defeat of the Cambodian Civil War?

In this episode, Lon Nol returns to Cambodia after recovering from a mild stroke in Hawaii. While many hoped he might step aside, and that the US might provoke a change in leadership, Lon Nol remained in power. His little brother's influence grew, and his obsession with race and religion became even more pronounced. As the Vietnam War played out on Cambodian land, the carnage of American bombs became a regular occurrence. Meanwhile, politics in Phnom Penh leaned toward military dictatorship. By the end of the year, the Khmer Republic had to face its worst military defeat, one it would not recover from.

Check out www.shadowsofutopia.com/episodes/ for maps and diagrams

Sources:

Wilfred Deac The Road to the Killing Fields
Craig Etcheson The Rise and Demise of Democratic Kampuchea
Sat Sutsakhan The Khmer Republic at War
Elizabeth Becker When The War Was Over
David Chandler The Tragedy of Cambodian History
Henry Kamm Report From a Stricken Land

In late 1970 the Khmer Republic launched its first major offensive of the war, an attempt to reopen Route 6 and relieve the town of Kompong Thom. It was the first test of whether Lon Nol's army could actually fight.

Time Period Covered: June 1970 to January 1971

How did the Khmer Republic try to take back control of Cambodia? What was Operation Chenla I, and what did it reveal about the Cambodian army? What was the 'Lon Nol line'?

In this episode, we follow the Lon Nol government as it attempts to prove that the Khmer Republic can fight and win. After the initial chaos of the coup and the brief US incursion, Cambodia's leaders launch their first large-scale offensive: Operation Chenla I. We look at how the Cambodians, with American and South Vietnamese support, attempt to open Route 6, retake lost territory, and secure the Lon Nol strategy.

Please see this link for Chenla Offensive Visuals and Maps: https://www.shadowsofutopia.com/episodes/the-khmer-republic-chenla-one

Sources:

Wilfred Deac The Road to the Killing Fields
Craig Etcheson The Rise and Demise of Democratic Kampuchea
Sat Sutsakhan The Khmer Republic at War
Various New York Times Articles June 1970
CBS News September 4 1970
Ros Sereysothea (song)
David Chandler The Tragedy of Cambodian History
Henry Kamm Report From a Stricken Land
Haing Ngor Surival in the Killing Fields
Presidential Briefings 1970 (CIA reading room)
Lon Nol - Nixon Correspondance (Office of the Historian)

On April 3rd, 1970, a former maths teacher named Kaing Guek Eav walked out of prison in the general amnesty that followed the coup. He is better known as Duch. Within a year he would be running a jungle prison called M-13, and within five, the interrogation centre at Tuol Sleng.

Time Period Covered: April 1970 to July 1971

Why was Duch released from prison on April 3rd, 1970? How did Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge transition from small guerrilla enclaves to administering huge areas of Cambodia? What exactly was 'Independence Mastery', and why was it so central to the Khmer Rouge mindset?

In this episode, we pivot from Lon Nol's takeover to the Cambodian communist perspective, exploring how Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge navigated the chaotic months following the coup. We follow Duch's unexpected release from prison, track Pol Pot's return journey from Beijing and Hanoi, and see how the Khmer Rouge began absorbing millions of Cambodians into so-called 'liberated zones'. Along the way we look at the principle of Independence Mastery, the uneasy alliance with the Vietnamese, and the early precursor to S-21 known as M-13. We also uncover the paranoid mindset driving the Khmer Rouge's suspicion of outside influence, including alleged assassination plots and forced confessions, shadows of the horror to come.

Sources

Chandler - Tragedy of Cambodian History and Voices From S21
Short - Pol Pot
Kiernan - How Pol Pot Came To Power
ECCC Archives - Duch Trial 2009
Heder - Cambodian Communism and the Vietnamese Model
Edwards - Cambodge
Harris - Buddhism Under Pol Pot

On April 30th, 1970, Richard Nixon went on television to announce that American and South Vietnamese troops were crossing into Cambodia. He called it an incursion, not an invasion, and promised it would be brief. Within a week four students were dead at Kent State, and within two months the Americans were gone again. The war they left behind was not.

Time Period Covered: May to June 1970

Why did Nixon invade Cambodia in May 1970? What impact did the 'Cambodian Incursion' have on the war in Vietnam? How did it affect Cambodia?

In part two of our discussion of the situation in Cambodia after the coup, we see how the Nixon White House responded to the crisis. Lachlan asks whether the decision Nixon and Kissinger made was the right one, or whether there was a right one at all. We look at the circumstances that brought about the decision, what options were on the table, and the impact of Nixon's speech announcing the 'incursion'. Then we look at the Cambodia Campaign itself, the fighting that overtakes much of the country, and the outcomes this had in the short and long term.

Sources:

Chandler “Tragedy of Cambodian History”
Short “Pol Pot”
Shawcross “Sideshow”
Kamm “Report from a Stricken Land”
Sak Satsukhan “The Khmer Republic at War”
Wilfred Deac “Road to the Killing Fields”
Walter Isaacson “Kissinger”
Kiernan “How Pol Pot Came to Power”
Etcheson “Rise and Demise of Democratic Kampuchea”
James Sterba "G.I's in Cambodia" (New York Times)