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Cambodia gained its independence from France in 1954 at the Geneva Conference. Like most countries in Southeast Asia, Cambodia had been a former colony. Prince Sihanouk abdicated in favor of his father in 1955 as ruler of Cambodia. Cambodia became a one party state The country was divided into two factions, the right and the left. Lon Nol was the Prime Minister under Sihanouk. In the 1960's there were peasant uprisings which were quickly suppressed. This led to the development of the Khmer Rouge, or the communist Khmer. In 1970, Lon Nol led a military coup. The Kingdom of Cambodia was abolished, and the Khmer Republic was established.

Lon Nol had the support of the American government. There were many reasons for this. The immediate cause of the support for the coup was the need of the United States to secure the area for the Saigon government while gradually disengaging itself and Vietnmamizing' the war in Indochina. America wanted military access to Vietnam and therefore they supported Lon Nol, whom they believed could be somewhat controlled. Under Lon Nol, the Republic of Cambodia suffered extreme corruption and economic chaos. The United States had hope to contain the communist movement in Southeast Asia by helping to establish this government, however, what followed was the seizure of power by the Khmer Rouge on April 17 1975.

The Communist support had been growing in Cambodia because of the dissatisfaction with the government. The leader of the Khmer Rouge was Pol Pot, formerly known as Solath Sar. The Khmer Rouge recruited peasants from rural Cambodia to create a guerilla army. The recruits were often young, uneducated, rural, and loyal. The goal of the Khmer Rouge party was to create a classless system. The cities, such as Phnom Penh, were evacuated with in a few days. The people were organized into collective farms where they were forced to work and produce food, at first these were optional, but in 1974, they became mandatory.. The ideology behind this system was that a self-sufficient economy would be created and all people would be equal and participate in an agrarian society. This plan was formed on the prospects of recreating the Angkor Empire. This required extensive restructuring of irrigation and the establishment of communal living. The establishment of the Khmer Rouges power led to a bloody and tragic massacre of civilians.

The Khmer Rouge referred to the people who had formally lived in the cities as "new people". These people were considered political suspects. These people were reduced to the hard labor. The people who endured the most prosecution were the educated people and the people who lived in the areas under the rule of Lon Nol. The Khmer Rouge system was based on loyalty. Those who were not loyal were killed. The communities were extremely regimented. People lived in fear of the Khmer Rouge and the individual was de-emphasized. The communities became a reeducation program. Strict rules were established and any deviation from the rules, meant death. The basic right of people to live was violated on a large scale. Torture was widespread. Executions were cruel. Religion in Cambodia was forbidden and systematically destroyed which meant many people such as Buddhist monks were also killed and punished on the basis of religion. Approximately 1.7 million people were killed under the reign of Pol Pot - about one fifth of Cambodia's population. This era of terror led to a massive refugee movement from Cambodia to the border of Thailand.

One of the main reasons for the raid of Cambodia by the Vietnamese was that the ideal Angkor Empire included prts of South Vietnam. Thus, The Khmer Rouge systematically invaded Southern Vietnam in an attempt to "reclaim" territory. Vietnam tried to negotiate a peaceful settlement, but to no avail. Former Khmer Rouge who had fled to Vietnam had established a political party and had won backing from the Vietminh. On December 25 1978 a Vietnamese force of 120,000 men with armor and air support entered Cambodia. On January 7 1979, the Vietnamese entered Phnom Penh and three days later, the People's Republic of Cambodia was established. The Khmer Rouge party was pushed to the borders of Thailand and into the mountains.

The Khmer Rouge formed a loose coalition with Sihanouks democratic party. Sihanouk had the rural backing of people because of his historical ties and the Khmer Rouge had military power. This new coalition formed in 1981 under the name of the National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC). This was a facade to gain international recognition. This government was recognized internationally as the representative government for Cambodia partly due to the Chinese backing for the Khmer Rouge and UN recognition of the Democratic Cambodia. This coalition had no power in Cambodia and thus attempted to seek international recognition.

Norodon Sihanouk chairs a meeting of Khmer Rouge leader, march 1973 Left to right: Leng Sary, Hou uon, Pol Pot, Hu Nim, Khieu Sampha, Norodom Sihanouk