Cambodia's Relationship with the world after the Khmer Rouge...

In 1979, Vietnam took over Cambodia and freed its people from the Khmer Rouge regime. The Vietnamese stayed and occupied Cambodia.They ended up governing the country for ten years. In the course of their reign, Vietnam had attempted to rebuild Cambodia, but it proved to be too costly. This led them to "exploit" the natural resources of the country. The people of Cambodia saw this as the Vietnamese attempting to drain their resources. This caused more friction between the Vietnamese and Cambodian people. Finally in 1991, Vietnam abandoned the plan of reconstructing Cambodia and pulled out of the country.

During their occupation of Cambodia, the Vietnamese put the Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot, on trial for the mass killings of Cambodians and the overall inhumane acts he committed during 1975-1979. Although it was apparent that he was the master mind behind most of the "activities," the Vietnamese were not able to convict him of the crimes. Pol Pot again came into the public eye when the U.N. tried to put former Khmer Rouge leaders on trial. Unfortunately, Pol Pot died before they had a chance. Pol Pot died on Wednesday, April 16, 1998 due to a heart attack. He died in a Khmer Rouge-controlled village in northern Cambodia, near the Thai border. He was believed to be 73.

Source: Pape, Eric. “Lessons of Cambodia” Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge: inside the politics of Nation Building. 28 April, 2003. (Expanded Academic Index)

-"Cambodia's Pol Pot confirmed dead." CNN interactive. April 16, 1998. July 30, 2003. <http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/asiapcf/9804/16/pol.pot.on.update/>.

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