KhmerTimes-Apr 21, 2025
Thursday marked the 50th anniversary of the Khmer Rouge conquest of Cambodia and its seizure of political power, which introduced Cambodians to a brutal and devastating regime that disrupted and nearly destroyed the country.
When the Khmer Rouge marched into Phnom Penh exactly half a century ago, remnants of Khmer New Year offerings still adorned the doorsteps of many homes. The echo of gunfire and artillery, which had rattled the city for days, had finally fallen silent. The sun cast a brilliant light over the capital—but beneath that calm, few realized that Cambodia was on the brink of plunging into its darkest era. On April 17, 1975, the Khmer Rouge forces overthrew General Lon Nol’s government and seized control of Phnom Penh. What followed was a swift and brutal evacuation of the city’s population. Residents were forced to leave their homes at gunpoint, embarking on an exodus into the countryside that claimed countless lives. Those who survived faced a bleak new reality—years of forced labor, starvation, and constant fear under one of the most oppressive regimes in modern history. Youk Chhang, the Executive Director of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia (DC-Cam), remembers the vibrant Phnom Penh lapsed into an eerie silence when the Khmer Rouge paramilitaries entered Phnom Penh, this normally vibrant city. Read more at:
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501672025/remembering-the-fall-of-phnom-penh-50-years-ago/
